A long list of suppliers halted their supply of merchandise to the Mega chain yesterday, after the chain asked the court to summon a creditors meeting for the purpose of reaching a debt settlement, globes.co.il reports. Mega owes NIS 1.29bn: NIS 705m to suppliers and the rest to the banks. As part of its court petition, the chain proposed that the suppliers agree to the postponement of payment of 30% of the debt for five years, which will be paid in 36 instalments, and that the rest of the debt be spread over four payments.Moscow shopping centres serve as an indicator of the economic crisis
The number of shops vacant due to the economic crisis in Russia continues to grow, as reported by turkrus.com. According to the company Knight Frank, the occupancy rate in shopping centers in Moscow fell to the lowest level since the 2009 crisis. Their research indicates that the proportion of empty shops in shopping centers in Moscow at the beginning of the year rose to 9.1% from 6%, the highest rate since 2009. The number of newly constructed shopping centers in Moscow is also in decline; 6 large new shopping centres opened since the beginning of the year, and these are opening with high proportions of unoccupied premises. The percentage of empty shops has reached 35% in shopping centers that have become operational in Moscow since 2014. Meijer announces up to $100m commitment to locally-grown produce
As Meijer continues to expand across the Midwest, its commitment to purchasing local produce has also grown to represent an annual economic impact of nearly $100m, prnewswire.com reports. "Meijer has a longstanding commitment to buying locally-grown produce when available as long as the quality meets our high standards," said Jerry Suter, vice president of fresh merchandising for the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer. "Not only is buying local produce the right thing to do, it's what our customers want and deserve. We are currently one of the largest purchasers of local produce in the markets we serve." Meijer has purchased from local growers big and small since the company's inception, but its effort to buy local has expanded significantly over the past decade as the retailer has grown into new markets and the focus on local became more important to customers. Online retailer Amazon opens in Mexico
Online retail giant Amazon has opened its Mexico site for business, offering free delivery on orders of over 599 pesos ($38.25), CNBC.com reports. A statement posted on the Amazon.com.mx site Tuesday said "we are launching in Mexico with more categories, more items and more functions than any other international Amazon website has featured at launch."Matahari opens new upmarket grocery retail store in Indonesia
Indonesian multi-format retailer Matahari Putra Prima has expanded its retail presence in the country by opening a new upmarket grocery retail store format, retail-business-review.com reports. The new store format under Foodmart Primo brand follows the company's observation and analytical studies on Indonesian shopping trends. As part of its study, the company found that the rate of middle class consumption is increasing across the regionMercadona chair ‘most influential businessman’ in Spain
Chairman of Mercadona supermarket chain Juan Roig is ranked top for the best corporate reputation in Spain, according to a recent study, thinkspain.com reports. Factors taken into account are economic and financial results, quality of products and services offered, international spread of the companies, and their perceived strengths as leaders.UK: Ocado reports rise in shoppers after drive to shed posh image
Efforts by Ocado to shed its upmarket image appear to have helped it attract a wider range of shoppers, as figures show the online grocer’s customer numbers rose sharply in the first half of its financial year, theguardian.com reports. Tim Steiner, CEO of the company said: “We are becoming really mainstream and we are taking mainstream customers from the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda.” In the first half of the financial year, a 30% year-on-year increase in customer acquisitions drove the number of active users of the service up 18.9% to 471,000. In the first half of 2014, there were 396,000 active customers – classified as someone who has shopped with the service in the previous 12 weeks. Gross sales rose 15.7% to £512m in the 24 weeks to 17 May but pre-tax profit fell to £7.2m from £7.5m a year earlier. Price cuts amid fierce competition in the sector squeezed profit margins.
US: Publix gets tax break to expand pharmacy DCPublix, one of the largest supermarket chains in the nation, will get a tax break from Orange County to expand a pharmacy distribution center, rlandosentinel.com reports.
US: Merger puts SpartanNash at top of Fortune’s growth list
SpartanNash was highlighted as the No. 1 company on the annual Fortune 500 list published this month. The designation recognizes the largest annual revenue increase among companies on the list, supermarketnews.com reports. Spartan Stores’ merger with wholesale rival Nash Finch, completed in late 2013, more than tripled Spartan’s 2014 revenues, moving the company up 452 spots to #359 on the list of public U.S. companies ranked by revenue. UK: Morrisons grows market share for first time since 2011
Wm Morrison has grown its share of grocery spending for the first time in almost four years as new boss David Potts shows signs of turning around the embattled supermarket group, telegraph.co.uk reports. Morrisons grew sales by 0.6% in the 12 weeks to June 21 compared to the same period last year, expanding its share of the UK grocery market from 10.9% to 11%. In contrast, Asda, Morrisons’ Yorkshire rival, suffered its worst performance for a decade. The last time that Bradford-based Morrisons grew market share was December 2011. The latest industry figures from Kantar Worldpanel demonstrate the continuing pressure on Britain’s food retailers. Sales for the sector as a whole dipped by 0.1% year-on-year, marking the first decline since last November, as commodity prices fell and competition between supermarkets drove grocery prices down by 1.7%. Apart from Morrisons, the rest of the “Big Four” suffered from falling sales. The declines were led by Asda, which endured a 3.5% fall in sales. Analysts at Barclays said Walmart-owned Asda's performance was the worst for a decade. Last year, Asda was the best performer of the “Big Four”. UK: Tesco seeks fresh start with suppliers who survive cull
Suppliers to Tesco can expect a better deal from Britain's biggest supermarket chain as it tries to sustain a tentative revival - providing their wares survive a cull that is removing thousands of products from shelves, Reuters reports. Click here to read more.