Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - July 7, 2026

Summary

The CPG Guys – Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - July 7, 2026
Podcast Summary

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Episode Overview

In this July 7, 2026, "Commerce Riff" episode, co-hosts Peter V.S. Bond (PVSB) and Sri Rajagopalan (Sri) return after a brief hiatus to break down the week's most important stories shaping commerce and the CPG (consumer packaged goods) industry. The discussion cuts into the changing landscape of retail through the lens of transformative technologies, landmark financial results, retail mergers and acquisitions, and an unprecedented wave of leadership changes at top grocery chains. The hosts provide pointed insights on how these business shocks and tech upgrades are rewriting the rules for brands, retailers, and solution providers.

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Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Industry Shifts & Upcoming Milestones (00:00–01:10)

• The episode opens with the hosts reflecting on their recent trip to Cannes Lions and highlighting America’s 250th birthday, a moment Sri calls "a wonderful time to be part of history."
• Both share excitement for their upcoming trip: Baseball Hall of Fame induction in Cooperstown, followed by an “immersive five-day Omnicommerce Media program at Cornell University,” where, as Sri mentions, students will write and implement real AI agents—a first-of-its-kind opportunity.

2. General Mills Q4 2026 Results: Is This an Inflection Point? (01:10–04:56)

• PVSB delivers a nuanced breakdown of General Mills’ fiscal year and Q4 results.
  • Headline figures: FY26 net sales down 5% (to $18.4B), while Q4 net sales up 1% (to $4.6B).
  • Loss per share (“sounds like a disaster”): $3.74 loss versus $0.53 profit last year, but this is explained as “almost entirely non-cash goodwill and brand intangible impairments” plus valuation loss from planned Brazil divestiture.
  • Adjusted financials: “Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.95, up 27%”—beating expectations set around $0.80–0.82.
  • North America Retail: Segment sales down 4% (to $2.5B), but “rate of decline is decelerating meaningfully” from a 10% drop one year prior.
  • Strategic moves: Agreement to sell the Brazil business (Yoki & Katano brands) by end of 2026—“portfolio simplification, plain and simple.”
  • Cost-savings target: “Fiscal ’27 outlook calls for improved organic growth and a target of $3B in cost savings by 2030. That tells me leadership is playing offense on the cost structures so they can reinvest in the brands that need it. Innovation, marketing—maybe even some M&A optionality down the line.”
  • Retail media implications: “A CPG that’s freeing up $3B of cost has more room to lean in on retail media partnerships, retail media measurement, and first-party data investments.”
• Notable Quote:

  “Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.95, up 27%... The underlying engine—price mix, cost discipline—is running better than the top line might suggest.”
  —Peter V.S. Bond, (03:00)

• Memorable market color:

  “For a stock that’s been under pressure... just listen to any of the analysis. Our dear friend Nick Modi at RBC Capital has delivered a beat and a planned quarter is exactly what the algorithm ordered.”
  —Peter V.S. Bond, (04:20)

3. Kroger’s Acquisition of Giant Eagle – A Return to Roots? (04:56–07:35)

• Sri analyzes Kroger’s notable pivot back to traditional M&A after years of focusing on other models (e.g., Home Chef, Murray’s Cheese, e-commerce attempts, and the failed Albertsons merger).
• Deal details: $1.65B for Giant Eagle, which operates 200 stores. The price—“about four days’ worth of sales for Kroger”—is described as “nothing relative pittance,” considering Giant Eagle’s $9B revenue.
• Acquisition rationale:
  • “Geographic benefits are clear but not as compelling as past deals.”
  • Main new market is Western Pennsylvania, notably Pittsburgh. Also, a return to Northeast Ohio.
  • There is significant overlap—some store divestitures are probable.
  • “We’re also not sure if Giant Eagle is something Kroger isn’t. Both share a lot of DNA—pharmacy, private label, retail media, alternative supermarket models.”
  • The deal has “no true gem” like Harris Teeter’s e-commerce or Mariano’s fresh food expertise.
  • The real challenge: improving Giant Eagle’s performance amid competitive pressure from mass merchants (Walmart took and then lost top share in Pittsburgh).
• Notable Quote:

  “The purchase price amounts to about four days’ worth of sales across Kroger’s businesses, which I would personally call as nothing relative pittance.... But what is Kroger actually getting for its money? The benefits seem pretty mixed.”
  —Sri Rajagopalan, (05:50)

• Memorable moment (with a pun):

  “That cost that like a well-crafted in-store promotion. Get the pun, Peter? Just too good to pass up.”
  —Sri Rajagopalan, (05:16)

4. Amazon’s RADS Lands at ASDA – A Global Retail Media Inflection (07:35–10:27)

• PVSB highlights ASDA’s exclusive move as the first retailer outside the US to deploy Amazon’s Retail Ad Service (RADS), which will power both its groceries and George fashion/home channels.
  • Context: This isn't ASDA buying media on Amazon—it's ASDA licensing Amazon’s ad tech stack (“the machine, the targeting and the measurement, the auction logic”) to run natively on its own channels.
  • Strategic logic: Brands and advertisers already trust Amazon Ads, and fragmented UK retail media means “familiarity and frictionless onboarding Day 1 scale beats a bespoke build every time.”
  • Potentially transformative: If RADS works, “Amazon as the ad tech utility layer for grocers who don't want to build their own stack—that reshapes the competitive map for every mid-tier retail media network.”
  • Caution to advertisers: “This is announced not live—don’t reallocate retail media budget just yet.”
• Notable Quote:

  “Amazon just turned a business that generated tens of billions of dollars into a thing its own grocery rivals can rent... That’s the headline within the headline.”
  —Peter V.S. Bond, (08:35)

• Market significance:

  “If RADS performs well at ASDA, that becomes a template... that reshapes a competitive map for every mid-tier retail media network watching from the sidelines, including right here in the US.”
  —Peter V.S. Bond, (10:10)

5. Massive Executive Volatility in Grocery Leadership (10:27–13:06)

• Sri documents a flurry of high-level moves at leading grocers in June—with implications for company culture, strategy, and potential further industry consolidation.
  • Major appointments:
    • Claire Peters (ex-Amazon, Woolworths, Tesco) nominated CEO of Ahold Delhaize’s US business—“one of the most significant appointments this decade.”
    • Tracy Cullen (first female president) takes over King Kullen, a Long Island institution.
    • Woodman’s Food Markets promotes Clint Woodman to CEO, Kristen Popp to president.
    • Stater Brothers in California hires Bruce Robinson as VP of Sales & Merchandising—Robinson has 40 years at Texas giant H-E-B.
    • Paul Miller becomes CPO/CMO at Grocery Outlet; Ian Ferry promoted to CFO.
    • Jelson’s appoints Koichi Toyo as CEO; Cordero rises to Chief of Stores at El Super; and Todd Schnook Jr. becomes CFO at Schnuck’s Markets.
  • Industry takeaway: Highest level of volatility seen in a long time, both in c-suite and broader executive ranks.
• Notable Quote:

  “This has been the most volatility in a long time, Peter. Lots going on in the grocery sector.”
  —Sri Rajagopalan, (12:55)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On General Mills’ Adjusted Results:

  “Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.95, up 27%… The underlying engine—price mix, cost discipline—is running better than the top line might suggest.”
  —Peter V.S. Bond, (03:00)

• On the Market’s Reaction:

  “For a stock that’s been under pressure… just listen to any of the analysis. Our dear friend Nick Modi at RBC Capital has delivered a beat and a planned quarter is exactly what the algorithm ordered.”
  —Peter V.S. Bond, (04:20)

• On Kroger’s Giant Eagle Play:

  “The purchase price amounts to about four days’ worth of sales across Kroger’s businesses, which I would personally call as nothing relative pittance.... But what is Kroger actually getting for its money? The benefits seem pretty mixed.”
  —Sri Rajagopalan, (05:50)

• On ASDA’s RADS Launch:

  “Amazon just turned a business that generated tens of billions of dollars into a thing its own grocery rivals can rent... That’s the headline within the headline.”
  —Peter V.S. Bond, (08:35)

• On Leadership Volatility:

  “This has been the most volatility in a long time, Peter. Lots going on in the grocery sector.”
  —Sri Rajagopalan, (12:55)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – Episode open, Cannes Lions recap, upcoming Omnicommerce Media program
• 01:10 – General Mills Q4 and FY26 earnings analysis
• 04:56 – Kroger’s acquisition of Giant Eagle: rationale, history, and market implications
• 07:35 – Amazon RADS powers ASDA’s retail media: strategy and global impact
• 10:27 – Executive volatility: Recent C-suite and leadership changes in grocery
• 13:06 – Wrap-up

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Final Thoughts

This episode offers a brisk yet insightful tour through the strategic, financial, and leadership changes reshaping the CPG and grocery sector. PVSB and Sri blend data-driven analysis with shrewd commentary, giving the audience not just the headlines, but the “signals” beneath. The show remains the pulse-point for industry professionals looking to see where commerce is truly headed next.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign It's July 7, 2026 and this is the Commerce Rift brought to you by the CPT guys. 10 minutes of the news stories that matter in commerce. This week we're back after a short hiatus. We took a while away working at Cannes Lions down in the Riviera. I'm your co host PVSB and I'm joined as always by Papa Entourage as I've come to call him, the father of pop stars, co founder of Think Blue Consulting. Sree, what's going on? What's on your mind today?

[B]

How's it going, Peter? Glad to be back from what I would call and wide successful Cannes Lions festival for the CPG guys and the FMCG guys. What I'm thinking about today is obviously the 250th birthday of America. Congratulations. What a wonderful time to be part of history. And then my mind is future forwarding to two and a half weeks away. You and I are going to do something very fun, very interesting. We're going to go to the Baseball hall of Fame induction ceremony. Major League Baseball in Cooperstown. Followed by the immersive five day program at Coopers Cornell University. First of its kind, Omnicommerce Media combines AI students will actually get to write agents, live agents in course. Back to you, man.

[A]

Sree, dare I say I'm equally as excited about going to Cooperstown and seeing you experience it for the first time as I am about getting up to Ithaca and executing the omnicommerce program. We've got about 75 people in the room for that and the excitement is already building. All right, let's kick things off with the Q4 General Mills earnings release. General Mills just closed the books on fiscal 2026. And depending on which line of the P and L you're staring at, this release reads like either a rough year or a genuine inflection point. Maybe it's both. Headline wise, you've got full year net sales of 18.4 billion, which is down 5%. Ouch. That's the story on the COVID But flip to the fourth quarter and the tone changes a bit. Net sales of 4.6 billion, up 1%. And organic net sales basically flat year over year. And that's short term stabilization. Now here's where I want you to slow down because the loss per share headline will scare people. Right. Diluted loss per share of 374 versus a profit of 53 cents a year ago sounds like a disaster. But that swing is almost entirely non cash goodwill and brand intangible impairments. Plus evaluation loss tied to the plan Brazil divestiture Strip that out. Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.95 27% in constant currency, beating what wall was modeling, which was sitting around 80 to 82 cents going in. And that beat matters because adjusted operating profit came in at 75 million, up 13% in constant currency. That tells you the underlying engine price mix cost discipline is running better than the top line might suggest. Let's talk North America Retail, because that's the segment every CPG exec on this podcast LinkedIn feed is going to be watching, right? Cheerios, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker that is the heart of the house. Q4 net sales there were 2. 2.5 billion down 4% year over year. Again not good on its own. That doesn't sound like progress, but context is everything. The Same segment was down 10% in the year ago period, so the rate of decline is decelerating meaningfully. That's the signal management wants investors to key in on heading into fiscal 27. Which brings me to the next two headlines I think actually matter more than the quarter itself. 1 General Mills has entered a definitive agreement to sell his Brazil business, which I referenced. The Yoki and Katano brands expect to close by the end of calendar 26. Portfolio simplification, plain and simple, to the fiscal 27 outlook calls for improved organic growth and a target of $3 billion in cost savings by fiscal 2030. Let's hope for their sake that they can actually make that after having reported consistently quarters that were missing numbers. Three billion by 2030 is a big number for a company this size, and it tells me leadership is playing offense on the cost structures so they can reinvest in the brands that need it. Innovation, marketing may even some M and A optionality down the line. We'll see the market likes it too. Shares popped close to 4% in the pre market, still a long way from the $54.52-week high, so nobody's declaring victory. But for a stock that's been under pressure, just listen to any of the analysis. Our dear friend Nick Modi at RBC Capital has delivered a beat and a planned quarter is exactly what the algorithm ordered in for our retail media and commerce audience. Specifically, watch what a leaner, more efficient General Mills does with its trade media spe. As the savings materialize, a CPG that's freeing up $3 billion of cost has more room to lean in on retail media partnerships, Retail media measurement and first Party Data investments. That's the storyline you and I will be tracking through fiscal 2027 over to you, Sri.

[B]

So from grocery Drive it's Kroger and the new acquisition. Over the past decade or so, we are aware that Kroger has strayed from the M and a strategy that has powered just what I would call large grocery empire. Instead of acquiring regional chains to grow its footprint and add valuable assets, the company focused on Bol deals, home Chef Murray's cheese. A flawed e commerce partnership is what we would call it, and it's overly ambitious attempt to merge with Albertsons, which did not work out at the end of the day because of antitrust. Kroger now plans to acquire Giant Eagle. It seems to be like a return to original form, the $1.65 billion deal, which the company expects to close sometime next year. Next Kroger 200 stores, a handful of pharmacies that cost that like a well crafted in store promotion. Get the pun? Peter was just too good to pass up. The purchase price amounts to about four days worth of sales across Kroger's businesses, which I would personally call as nothing relative pittance considering Giant Eagle's $9 billion in estimated revenues on an annualized basis, analysts with RPI Capital Markets wrote in a research note Wednesday. But what is Kroger actually getting for its money? The benefits seem pretty mixed. In the past, Kroger made acquisitions that introduced it to new regions, added valuable assets, picked up Fred Meyer all the way back in 1998 to expand into the Western U.S. when it acquired Harris Teeter in 2014, Kroger gained what I would say an ahead of its time e commerce platform that helped it hone and build its online grocery business to what it is today. The geographic benefits of adding Giant Eagle are pretty clear, but don't seem as compelling as in the past deals. Kroger's already had stores in four out of the five states where Giant Eagle operates, which is different from its traditional acquisition strategy of the past. The major market additions are Pennsylvania, where Kroger doesn't operate any stores, period. Specifically western Penn, where Giant Eagle has built a robust presence stemming from its Pittsburgh Headquart and Northeast Ohio market, where Kroger hasn't operated for decades. We're also not sure that Giant Eagle is something Kroger doesn't, but both grocers share a lot of DNA, from their deep investments in pharmacy, private label retail media to the fact that both operate alternative supermarket models, Giant Eagle's market district and Kroger's Marketplace stores. These assets will probably integrate nicely with Kroger, but that doesn't seem to be a true gem in the deal. Like what we thought Harris Theater's online business Mariano's food service expertise bought Giant Eagle has faced strong competitive pressure from Mass Merch and other low priced retailers in the recent years. It actually ceded to the top market share spot in its hometown to Walmart a few years back before quickly regaining it. Getting the full value of this deal means Kroger will have to sharpen Giant Seagull's performance as it tries to improve its own. That all adds up to an awfully full plate for Kroger and its recently minted CEO, said Neil Sanders, Managing director with Global Data. I believe you have an announcement to share.

[A]

I do, I will say about the Giant Eagle intended acquisition. You know it's been 11 years since they've had a successful, well, acquisition. It was Mariano's back in 2015 and Harris Teeter the year before, so we'll see. It does move them closer to the Northeast. But despite their size SRI without any representation east of Harrisburg and north of dc, Kroger still isn't really a national retailer. So when they start creeping their way into the metro New York area or into New England, that's a, that's a whole different story. But meanwhile they're going to have to deal with divestitures of stores in the Columbus area, where they do have some overlap. All right, on June 23rd, Asda announced it's deploying Amazon Retail Ad Service, or RADS for short, across ASDA and its George fashion and home business. ASDA is the first retailer anywhere outside the USA to run this service. Rachel Iyer, who you and I met at Cannes Lions as his chief customer and digital officer and Joseph Park, VP of Creative Experiences and AI Solutions and Amazon Ads both put their names on this as a UK first rollout is phased starting Q4 this year. So mark your calendars. This is announced not not live. Don't reallocate retail media budget just yet. Confirm the go live phase first. For those who haven't tracked this, RADS is Amazon's advertising technology licensed out of a product. Think of it as Amazon ads as a service for a competitor's storefront. As isn't buying media on Amazon as does licensing the machine, the targeting and the measurement, the auction logic and running its natively on its own site and on George that's the headline within the headline. Amazon just turned a business that generated tens of billions of dollars into thing its own grocery rivals can rent as it just came out of Walmart's shadow after Project Future it's mid turnaround. It just signed a Kato for its supply chain and fulfillment backbone and now it's handing its advertising intelligence layer to Amazon, its single largest online competitor in the uk. Rachel Ayers Logic is sound. Advertisers already know Amazon ads. They trust it. Fragmented UK retail media landscape rewards, familiarity and frictionless onboarding Day 1 scale beats of bespoke build every time when you're ready racing to catch share for brands. This is a net positive near term one framework, cross platform reporting and the ability to extend a campaign from ASD and George straight into Amazon ads inventory. That's real incrementality and real reach and it's exactly the kind of simplification RMN buyers have been begging for for the broader retail media network landscape. Watch this closely. If RADS performs well at asda, that becomes a template. Amazon as the ad tech utility layer for grocers who don't want to build their own stack that reshapes a competitive map for every mid tier retail media network watching from the sidelines, including right here in the U.S. sree over to you.

[B]

Thank you so much Peter, and let me close this out with discussing how much volatility we've had in leadership in grocery in the last few months. Grocers are particularly busy making executive changes in June as numerous Companies named new CEOs and others made adjustments to their exec teams. Amongst the biggest announcements were Ahold Delhi's disclosure that it nominated former Amazon grocer executive Claire Peters to serve as CEO of its US Businesses. Changes last month also include the appointment of the first female president of Long island grocery chain King Cullen, and the naming of a new vice president of sales and merchandising for Fresh by Stater Brothers Markets. Let's look at some of the others and significant executive changes in this sector that I'm discussing. Stateside Unit a Dutch supermarket chain named Claire Peters, who was most recently served as Amazon's vice president for Worldwide Fresh, and she will be the next CEO. I think it's important to point out she previously worked for Australian grocer Woolworths Group and held several roles at Tesco in the UK and Thailand. She is set to replace JJ Fleeman, who stepped down last month and will become CEO of dollar general in 2027, a Long island supermarket chain. King Cullen, as I mentioned, announced that Tracy Cullen, great granddaughter of its founder, has become the chain's president and chief operating officer. Cullen, who's replacing the retiring Joseph W. Brown in both roles, is the first female to serve as president King Cullen, Woodman's food markets announcer, disappointed Clint Woodman as CEO and Kristen Popp as president. Both executives have been with the chain for about 30 years. Southern California Grocer named Bruce Robinson, who spent 40 years working for Texas Grocery ACB as vice president of sales and merchandising for Fresh. Robinson's appointment is among several top executive changes as Stater Brothers since the grocer named a new CEO last September. Grocery outlet made two top executive level changes. Discounter appointed Paul Miller as chief purchasing and merchandising officer, promoted Ian Ferry to cfo. Christopher Miller, who served as the discounter CFO since the start 2025, and Matthew Deli, who worked as chief merchandising and purchasing officer since early 2076, both departed the company last month. Jelson's Market staff Koichi Toyo, who has worked for the parent company Pan Pacific International holdings for more than two decades as its president. CEO. Toyo replaces Ryan Adams, who led the company since April 2024. Yr name's chief of stores the Hispanic grocery store operator appointed longtime employee Jose Manuel Cordero as the chief of stores. Cordero has worked for the retailer for his entire 35 year career. A family holding company A grocery chains including Schnook's Markets Festival Foods named Todd Schnook Jr. As a CFO. Snook, formerly VP of own brands and merchandising chief of staff for Schnooks, took over for David Bell following the announcement of Bell's transition to president of the 1939 group in 2025. This has been the most volatility in a long time. Peter Lots going on in the grocery sector.

[A]

People a lot of people moving around sri That's a wrap on this week's Commerce riff. Before we go, make sure you've caught our most recent episodes of the CPG Guys. That includes Kiri Masters, our own the scenes recap of Cannes Lions and of course Nielsen IQ North America President. Our dear friend Liz buchan, holder of a five timer CPG guys jacket. Live from the stage closing out C360 with of course the CPG guys. If any of this sparked a thought, drop it in the comments. We read them. And if you're not already following us on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube, now is the time. See ya. The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGuys LLC or the individual author Hosts or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGuys LLC. The views expressed by Guests are their own, and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. The views expressed by CPTGuys LLC do not represent the views of their employers or the entity they represent. CPT Guys LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or other damages arising out of any individual's use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we present in this podcast.