Tesco continues with the modernization process of its sales network in the Czech Republic, with a focus on its supermarkets. "The paradigm for the new concept is a supermarket in Roztoky, Poland and two other small-format stores," explains Martin Behan, Tesco representative for the Czech Republic. When upgrading, the focus is on fresh food. Fruits and vegetables will now have almost 40% more space in the store. New displays have been introduced for both this and the bakery section, including lighting, dominated by various forms of wooden screens, tables and crates. The design of the modernised stores will allow customers to have a better overview of the range and, ultimately feel better about shopping. (mediaguru.cz)UK: Ocado warns Morrisons cannot launch rival online service
Ocado has warned that Morrisons would be unable to start its own internet operation because it was tied to a 25-year deal to sell food online through Ocado’s online service. Reporting solid trading for the third quarter, Duncan Tatton-Brown, Ocado’s finance director, said: “Ocado is the exclusive provider of online grocery services for Morrisons. That is the terms of the deal for the remaining 23 years. The contract will prevent Morrisons launching another service. “If Morrisons want coverage elsewhere in the UK they have to come through us. We are happy to have that discussion. The decision is theirs. Who provides it is us.” (theguardian.com)Target challenges Amazon, enters grocery delivery with Instacart
Target Corp said on Tuesday it has partnered with Instacart Inc to deliver groceries for as little as $3.99 per order, as it overhauls its food business and competes with Amazon's grocery delivery service. The discount retailer will launch a pilot to test the offering in its hometown of Minneapolis and customers in some areas will be able to order online for food, pet products and baby items from two Target stores and have them delivered to their homes. (Reuters)Russian state media say French supermarket fined over food violations
Russian state news agencies say government officials have issued a total of $600,000 in fines for alleged food safety violations at Burger King and French supermarket chain Auchan. Specific reasons for the fines were not immediately clear and Auchan declined to comment. (usnews.com)South Africa's leading c-store FreshStop opens 200th site
South African convenience retailer FreshStop has opened their 200th store in Limpopo, sealing their position as market leaders. FreshStop has enjoyed huge success since South African fuel retailers Caltex, a Chevron subsidiary, and Fruit & Veg City joined forces to roll out a new 24-hour c-store chain in 2009. “We have since opened an average of more than 30 stores a year. FreshStop at Caltex has also achieved international recognition, which has made all the hard work worthwhile,” he added. (petrolplaza.com)Lidl launches campaign to promote healthy food in Portuguese schools
Lidl Portugal has launched a promotional campaign with the aim of encouraging the consumption of fruit and vegetables among 6 to 10 year olds. In partnership with the General Directorate for Health, the General Directorate for Education and the National Program for Promoting Healthy Eating, the retailer will take part in a educational roadshow covering 60 primary schools in Portugal that kicks off on 23 September. With the help of mascots “Super Gang of Fresh” (mushroom, fig, apple, peas, tomatoes, yellow pepper, orange and blueberry), this campaign aims to teach and encourage children to adopt healthy and sustainable lifestyles, through play and pedagogical methods. In addition, the retailer is also promoting the sale of fruits and vitamin juices at its stores. (esmmagazine.com)Germany: REWE supports NRW
In the battle for the takeover of the supermarket chain Kaiser's Tengelmann the REWE Group supports the position of the state Nordrhein-Westfalen. Alain Caparros the CEO of the REWE Group reacted to the statement of the NRW government: “The NRW Minister of Economics Garrelt Duin is right to emphasize that job security at Kaiser's Tengelmann has the highest priority. And there are better alternatives to achieve this than the takeover by EDEKA since they clearly talk about redundancies. REWE is still prepared to ensure all jobs at Kaiser's Tengelmann through a complete takeover of the supermarket chain, or through a partial takeover of the supermarkets of Kaiser's Tengelmann in Nordrhein-Westfalen.” (presseportal.de / REWE)US: Hy-Vee’s supply chain transformation
Hy-Vee, which specialies in a wide selection and great product freshness, has selected Manhattan to help transform its supply chain. The system from Manhattan will allow Hy-Vee to move products through its distribution network faster and with greater accuracy, giving customers the quality and freshness they want and the efficiency that the business expects. The implementation includes Manhattan’s Distribution Management and Distributed Order Management solutions in Hy-Vee’s five distribution centres. (igd.com)US: H-E-B, county reach agreement on unpaid tolls
After amassing more than $700,000 in unpaid fines, supermarket giant H-E-B has agreed to repay in full its Harris County tolls dating to 2001 and to donate the legal costs owed to the toll authority's lawyers to two county agencies. (houstonchronicle.com)
Walmart expands online grocery pickup in Northwest ArkansasWalmart announced Tuesday afternoon that it will be expanding it’s online grocery pickup test to five Neighborhood Market stores in Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers and Bentonville. (5newsonline.com)
Supermarket bringing 'extreme' value pricing to S-California
Less than a week after Haggen announced its failure to crack the tough Southern California grocery sector, Bay Area discounter Grocery Outlet Bargain Market has revealed plans to enter the region with an “extreme” bargain strategy. Emeryville-based Grocery Outlet will open 14 stores in Orange County and Los Angeles over the next year. The family-run grocery stores offer 40- to 70-percent markdowns on popular brands like Tide, Kraft, Kellogg’s, Naked Juice and Tyson. (ocregister.com)
Louis Delhaize suffers falling sales in FranceBelgium-based Louis Delhaize has announced falling sales in France for 2014, continuing the pattern seen by the retailer for the last three years. Investment in prices at both its Cora hypermarket and Match supermarket chains hurt the retailer’s performance during the year, while continued price cutting in 2015 is likely to prolong the pain being felt by the retailer. It said that sales at its Cora hypermarkets fell by 6.3% to €4.57bn despite no change in the number of stores that it operates. At its Match supermarkets sales fell by 6.2% to €1.15bn, while it fell to an EBIT loss of €7.0m. The fall in sales at Match was affected by the closure of three stores, but again the investment in prices by the retailer was the main driving force behind the decrease. Louis Delhaize and Carrefour signed an agreement to partner for purchasing negotiations for national and international brands, food products and general merchandise, excluding private label products and fresh produce in late 2014, which has helped Louis Delhaize continue to invest in price during 2015. However, while the initiative is likely to help underpin its margins, the effect on sales is likely to be negative. (igd.com)
UK: Morrisons reveals which 11 stores it will close
Supermarket chain Morrisons has revealed which 11 stores it plans to close as part of cost-cutting measures that will see 900 people lose their jobs. Morrisons had outlined its plans for the closures last week, but has only now announced which stores will be hit. The full list is: West Bromwich, Salford, Burnham-on-Sea, Castletown in Sunderland, Clevedon, Little Hulton, Northallerton, Oldbury, Shildon, Streatham and Tyldesley. (theguardian.com) US: A&P judge OKs modified KERP; auction delayed
The judge in A&P’s bankruptcy case has approved the retailer’s request to set aside $3.9m to pay retention bonuses to certain employees who stay through the wind-down of the company’s stores, with the caveat that an additional $1.1m be put aside to help pay severance to workers who will be let go. In a separate filing, A&P has pushed back the deadline to field bids for its stores to later this week, and asked that the auction of stores that already have bids be delayed by a week. (supermarketnews.com)Albertsons to press ahead with IPO
U.S. supermarket chain Albertsons Companies Inc is moving ahead with plans for an initial public offering in late September or early October that could value it at as much as $24bn, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter. (Reuters)Tunisia: Monoprix Tunisia makes profitable growth
SNMVT, which holds the Monoprix franchise in Tunisia, has announced that its investment in operational efficiency was enabling it to drive profitable growth in the country. Although below the retailer’s stated aim for 2015 to grow operating profit by 50% and net profit by 20%, SNMVT said that it was performing positively, with its gross margin rising to 10.84%, while its operating profit had almost tripled to US$560,000. SNMVT noted that the market environment remained ‘difficult’ with a fall in tourism and its impact on the wider economy limiting shopper confidence and spending. (igd.com)Interesting articles on retail:
US: Haggen plans broad retreat from costly expansion, filing shows
Please, click here to read the article.
US: Haggen Receiving $215M Cash Infusion
Please, click here to read the article.
European grocers’ expansions could impact KrogerPlease, click here to read the article.