The union representing almost 30,000 Loblaws employees has confirmed it is “ramping up strike preparations” after members overwhelmingly voted to reject a “tentative” labour deal the collective bargaining body had reached with the company, hrmonline.ca reports. The union representing almost 30,000 Loblaws employees has confirmed it is “ramping up strike preparations” after members overwhelmingly voted to reject a “tentative” labour deal the collective bargaining body had reached with the company. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 1000A, speaks for thousands of Loblaws, Zehrs, and Fortinos employees across Ontario – it said in a statement. Ahold, Delhaize agree on $29bn merger
Dutch-based supermarkets operator Ahold has reached a deal to buy Belgian peer Delhaize, the companies announced on Wednesday, in a move that will create the sixth-largest food 
retailer in the United States and the biggest in Europe's Benelux region, Reuters reports. In a joint statement, the two companies said Ahold would have a 61% stake in the merged entity, which will have €54.1bn ($60.6bn) in sales, more than 6,500 stores worldwide and complementary operations in the United States and Benelux. Ahold, best known in Europe as owning the Albert Heijn chain of supermarkets in the Netherlands, is operator of Stop&Shop and Giant stores in the United States, while Delhaize owns the Food Lion and Hannaford chains.
US: Walmart to impose charges on suppliers as its costs mount
Walmart Stores will begin charging fees to almost all vendors for stocking their items in new stores and for warehousing inventory, raising pressure on suppliers as the world’s largest retailer battles higher costs from wage hikes, Reuters reports. The company said it started informing suppliers about the fees and other changes to supplier agreements last week. The changes, which also include amended payment terms, will affect 10,000 suppliers to its U.S. stores. While the chain has sometimes imposed such fees in the past, they were not applied uniformly. Some but not all suppliers were charged, spokeswoman Molly Blakeman said without providing details. US: New Jersey supermarkets forced to close or adapt
New Jersey is dotted with supermarkets that have fallen victim to a tough business environment and a rise in competition nj1015.com reports. The supermarket landscape is evolving in the Garden State, and part of that evolution is the permanent closure of once-popular grocery store locations. Linda Doherty, president of the New Jersey Food Council, said “It’s a difficult state to do business with. A high tax rate, over-regulated, wealth is leaving the state; it’s a challenging business environment.” It’s not all doom and gloom, though, on the supermarket front. According to Doherty, certain chains, such as ShopRite and Whole Foods, are making big strides in New Jersey, but “you don’t see that in the news as much.”US: H-E-B, Publix, Chick-fil-A, and Trader Joe's earn top emotion scores
Based on a study of 10,000 U.S consumers, H-E-B, Publix, Chick-fil-A, and Trader Joe's took the top four spots in the 2015 Temkin Emotion Ratings, which rates how customers feel about their interactions with 293 companies across 20 industries, prnewswire.com reports. The next seven companies at the top of the ratings are USAA, Aldi, Hy-Vee, PetSmart, Dairy Queen, Walgreens, and Amazon.com.US: Brick Meets Click predicts robust online sales growth
Brick Meets Click is projecting online grocery shares by 2023 will be 23% in the New York metro area, 13.5% in Chicago and 8.6% in Atlanta, based on a new framework the company said it has developed for identifying and anticipating the growth potential of online grocery sales in specific markets, supermarketnews.com reports. The current figures for online grocery sales are 5% in New York metro, 3.8% in Chicago and 2.3% in Atlanta, the company said.Malaysia: 7-Eleven opening 200 stores; aims for more fresh food
7-Eleven Malaysia plans to spend RM80 mln to RM 90 mln to open 200 7-Eleven stores and refurbish 200 nationwide this year, said CEO Gary Brown, therakyatpost.com reports. He said the company wanted to create a more inviting and warmth environment to attract more customers. “We have also included more fresh foods, use light-emitting diode lighting at our stores which are energy-saving as well as organise on-going strategic promotions,” he said after the firm’s annual general meeting here today.US: Peapod appoints a new president
After co-founding and leading web grocer Peapod since 1989, Andrew Parkinson moves into an advisory role as a former J. Crew web executive takes over as president and general manager, internetretailer.com reports. SPAR Group-owned BWG acquisition cleared by Competition Authority
South Africa-based SPAR Group-owned BWG’s €23m acquisition of ADM Londis in Ireland has been cleared by Ireland’s Competition Authority, igd.com reports. Announced in February, the purchase sees BWG acquire the Londis symbol brand, which operates from more than 200 stores, across a number of formats, throughout the country.Kenya: Uchumi changes CEO after not paying suppliers
The chairwoman of Kenya-based Uchumi, Khadija Mire, has announced that the retailer has relieved its CEO, Jonathan Ciano, and its CFO, Chadwick Okumu, of their duties and suspended its human resources manager, Michael Kibe, igd.com reports. Ciano and Okumu have been accused of ‘gross misconduct and gross negligence’ following suppliers’ decision to stop delivering to the retailer after they have not been paid, which has left many stores under-stocked and had a knock-on effect on trading. Ciano and Okumu denied the accusations. The retailer is undertaking a forensic audit of its operations and searching for a new CEO and CFO. Mire said that Uchumi is expecting to pay suppliers in the next 90 days, with 50% of debts outstanding for more than three months expected to be paid within two weeks. China: CR Vanguard launches e-commerce site
To capture the fast growth of e-commerce, leading Chinese retailer CR Vanguard launched its e-commerce site ewj.com, igd.com reports. The products carried on the site include fresh produce. Currently it delivers only in ShenzhenIndonesia: PT Hero to open 10 new large format stores
Dairy Farm subsidiary, PT Hero Supermarket Tbk, which operates hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience and drugstores, plans to invest up to US$48m as it expands its network in several regions, including Bangka and Lombok. Éxito takes express format to Uruguay
Grupo Éxito has opened its first two express convenience stores in Montevideo, Uruguay, under the banner Devoto express, igd.com reports. Éxito already operates 110 express stores in its home market of Colombia, and is extending the successful format as part of its international growth strategy.Indonesia: Lotte looking to acquire shopping malls
Lotte Group is also reportedly in discussions to invest in the market, with plans to buy several shopping malls, igd.com reports. Lotte entered the Indonesian market in 2008 and has 39 Lotte Mart hypermarkets, a department store and 33 food service outlets in Jakarta.Hungary: Ban of Sunday trading boosts on-line sales
In the first quarter of 2015, retailer on-line sales in Hungary were 16% greater than in the same period of the previous year, reaching a value of €96.8m. In the second quarter of the year, with the entry into force of the ban on Sunday trading, turnover reached about €129m, as reported by the Department of Trade and Investment Promotion in Budapest. On-line sales in Hungary are dominated by G'Roby and the British supermarket chain Tesco. Auchan plans to launch on-line sales by the end of this year.Interesting links on retail:
The man who's reinventing WalmartClick here to read the article.
Spar-owner BWG completes €220m refinancingClick here to read the article.