Bumper strawberry crop (STKL)
Yesterday, we wrote about the possibility of California's drought conditions with the reduction in water allocation from the State Water Project. California supplies 88% of U.S. strawberries, so the concern from a drought would be another year of small supplies for frozen strawberries. The California Strawberry Commission’s acreage survey is for an increase. The acreage planted in the fall, which produces fruit during the traditional winter, spring, and summer seasons, was reported at 28,407 acres, up 5.7% from the previous season. The organic acreage is 4,684 acres, representing 12.8% of the total state acreage remaining steady as a percentage of the total. California strawberry shipments are expected to peak in early May. The Strawberry Commission said, “Combined with warm, dry weather patterns common to La Nina conditions, there is a possibility of higher-than-projected volume in early spring (March) to early summer (June).” Increased acreage, higher-yielding varieties, and optimum weather could produce a larger than expected harvest. The summer acreage produces in the fall season is projected at 8,080 acres. A large strawberry crop would benefit SunOpta's fruit-based division.
Local bars remain closed (BUD)
According to Womply, a local business CRM provider, the closure rate of independent bars and lounges is still at an elevated rate of 39%, as seen in the following chart. Revenue on March 11 was down 24% YOY at local bars, but when measuring only open bars that are still transacting, revenue was up 15.6%. BeerBoard, which has chains in its data set, recently reported that 92% of on-premise establishments were open and pouring draft beer. The difference speaks to the difficult business conditions of small, independent operators.
Gorillas, fastest European unicorn (DASH)
Gorillas, a dark grocery store chain that offers fast delivery has raised $290M in a Series B round of financing. The company claims the round makes it the fastest unicorn in Europe to surpass $1B in valuation. In December, the company raised $44M in a Series A round. Gorillas currently operate in a dozen Western European cities. The startup plans to use the proceeds to expand in more cities throughout Europe. The company targets a delivery time of ten minutes with a fee of slightly more than $2. Gorillas also hire delivery personnel directly. Weezy is doing something similar in the U.K., while DoorDash has created its own branded dark convenience store. Gorillas plan to come to the U.S. shortly, targeting NYC first.
