Woolworths says the cost of Simply Collect is negligible because eBay sellers bear the cost of delivery to Woolworths stores and the retailer is already manning parcel collection desks for its online grocery and BIG W customers, smh.com.au reports. The service, called Simply Collect, has been available since February. Woolworths says the cost of Simply Collect is negligible because eBay sellers bear the cost of delivery to Woolworths stores and the retailer is already manning parcel collection desks for its online grocery and BIG W customers. Tesco and Morrisons receive most complaints from suppliers
Tesco and Wm Morrison have received the most complaints from suppliers in the grocery industry about their conduct, according to a Daily Telegraph analysis, telegraph.co.uk reports. The companies both received 18 complaints from 
suppliers relating to potential breaches of the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP). This compares with just four for Marks & Spencer. Sainsbury’s said it had a “small number” of complaints and passed on just two to its code compliance officer.AU: IGA wholesaler Metcash posts $384m loss
Metcash has posted a full year loss of $384m with its IGA division getting beaten down by intense competition from major supermarkets, businessinsider.com.au reports. Food and grocery business earnings in the 12 months to the end of April were down more than 26% to $216.8m. Metcash wrote down goodwill and other assets of $640m, mainly related to the group’s supermarket business. Metcash says its result was due to increased competitive pressures, ongoing price deflation and a change in consumer behaviour. People are buying more fresh and private label goods, areas in which Metcash is under represented.S. Koreans go online to buy groceries amid MERS scare
Online sales at major retailers have jumped 60% as customers shop online for groceries because of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), koreatimes.co.kr reports. According to Emart, in the 10 days after the first MERS death on June 1, online sales jumped 63.1%, and orders soared 51.9%. Ready-to-eat meals soared 90.1%, followed by fresh groceries (83%) and processed food (69.9%). Home plus sales climbed 48.1%, and orders climbed 37.5%. Orders at retailer Lotte Mart surged 61.8%, with online sales up 26.8%. Offline sales fell 10%.German discount grocer Lidl US headquarters set for Virginia
German discount supermarket chain Lidl will build its U.S. headquarters and a separate distribution center in Virginia, creating 700 jobs, Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Friday, newsobserver.com reports. Lidl will invest $77m in the Arlington County headquarters and construct a $125m distribution center and regional headquarters in Spotsylvania County, McAuliffe said. South Korean snack maker Orion considering bid for Tesco unit
South Korea's Orion Corp said on Monday it is considering bidding for British supermarket retailer Tesco PLC's South Korean unit, valued at about $6bn (3.9bn pounds), Reuters reports. Orion, a snack maker and manufacturer of the "Choco Pie" dessert, said it has made no decisions on whether to pursue a formal offer. It received an information memorandum about the sale of the Tesco unit, Homeplus, an Orion spokesman told Reuters previously. UK: Tesco 'needs more than £5bn to rebuild balance sheet'
Tesco needs to raise more than £5bn in order to reduce the pressure on its stretched balance sheet, according to an analysis by Moody’s, telegraph.co.uk reports. The company racked up a £6.4bn pre-tax loss in the last year – one of the biggest in British corporate history – and is also sitting on debts of £22bn including its pension deficit and rental commitments.
Australian retail websites deliver poor customer experience
Major brands in Australia are giving customers a below-par online user experience compared to their global counterparts, a new Forrester report claims, cmo.com.au reports. Markets, Woolworths, Target, Big W, David Jones, and Myer averaged a score of 0.14 out of a possible 50, struggling across all four categories of the evaluation: Value, navigation, presentation, and trust. UK: Director of Sainsbury’s awarded OBE for services to Food and Farming
Judith has been Director of Sainsbury’s brand for 10 years and is responsible for all aspects of Sainsbury’s product offer - from policy formation on aspects such as Animal Welfare, Ethical and Sustainable Sourcing, through to Product Technology, Product Development, Product Safety, and Packaging, Sainsbury's reports. SA big-four grocers under scrutiny for blocking rivals
Leasing agreements between South Africa’s big-four food retailers and shopping mall owners will come under scrutiny from the anti-trust watchdog, it said on Friday, as it gave details of its competition investigation into the sector, moneyweb.co.za reports. Large food retailers Shoprite, Pick n Pay, Spar and Woolworths together make up more than 90% of the $18bn a year grocery market. They are accused of blocking rivals with exclusive shopping mall leases.Workers in China's Tesco strike
Dozens of workers at a supermarket chain in southern China that was once owned by U.K. retail giant Tesco went on strike this week in protest at deteriorating pay and conditions since the chain was sold to a Chinese company, rfa.org reports. CA: Loblaws brings online grocery shopping to Ottawa
In a bid to better serve time-starved consumers, Loblaw Cos. is bringing a new service to its Ottawa area stores that allows people to buy groceries online and then schedule a pickup time at a store that suits them, ottawacitizen.com reports. The click-and-collect service has been operating for a year in Toronto suburbs and has proven massively popular, the grocery chain says. Malaysian 7-Eleven to ramp up e-commerce platform
7-Eleven Malaysia Sdn Bhd is planning to push its e-commerce platform to become even more convenient to consumers, as part of its strategy to maintain market leadership in the convenience store industry, thesundaily.my reports. "We're going to ramp up our e-commerce platform whereby you'll be able to select online and pay at 7-Eleven for your shopping because there are a lot of people who don't necessarily trust payments online but they want to select online," its CEO Gary Brown (pix) told SunBiz in an interview recently.
French Carrefour: Georges Plassat CEO for another 3 yearsGeorges Plassat will be Carrefour's CEO for another three years after the Shareholders' General Meeting from yesterday, June 11, in Paris approved the measure, retaildetail.eu reports.
Interesting links on retail:
Lidl: A significant threat to U.S. retailersClick here to read the article.