That's the conclusion from the report into Tesco's dealings with its suppliers by Christine Tacon, the regulator responsible for ensuring Britain's big supermarket chains don't abuse the companies that provide them with products. Her report into Tesco - which in October 2014 said it had overstated profit by £263mn by overestimating the money it received from its suppliers - is incriminating. (Click here to read more at esmmagazine.com)'Lidl US may pose threat to Delhaize'
According to a report from Barclays' analysts, Lidl's planned arrival in the United States may harm Delhaize's Food Lion stores, although Delhaize may seem well-positioned to fight back. The report also suggest the impact may be limited as Delhaize has proven (in Serbia, Romania and Belgium) it can oppose these discounters. It should be able to do the same in the United States, where Food Lion has better like-for-like numbers than its major competitor, Walmart. (retaildetail.eu)Whole Foods shoppers: 'food not worth the money' (survey)
Shares of Whole Foods (WFM) sank 5$ Monday after an analyst downgraded the organic grocer to an “underperform” — a Wall Street euphemism for “sell.” Kelly Bania of BMO Capital Markets slashed her rating and price target for Whole Foods after conducting a survey of more than 1,000 Whole Foods customers. More than 70$ of the respondents told Bania that they had not noticed any changes in prices in Whole Foods over the past three months — even though the company has touted its efforts to lower prices to be more competitive with supermarkets. Please, click here to read more at 5newsonline.com. Whole Foods moves up on top-selling grocers' list
Despite the the disappointing results of survey by Kelly Bania of BMO Capital Markets and its recent difficulties while navigating changing consumer trends and increased competition, Austin-based Whole Foods Market Inc. has moved up a spot on a national ranking of the top-selling food retailers and wholesalers in the U.S. and Canada. Whole Foods increased its ranking from No. 19 to No. 18 on the annual list compiled by New York-based Super Market News, a trade magazine. (bizjournals.com)
Germany: Minister delays Edeka's plan to buy Kaiser’s
German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel has delayed a decision on plans by the country’s biggest supermarket group Edeka to buy grocery chain Kaiser’s, owned by retail group Tengelmann, a ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday. The spokeswoman said the two sides had requested more time to respond to Gabriel’s demand that jobs would be guaranteed for five years. A 14-day deadline to respond to his demands expired on Tuesday. (euronews.com)Russia: X5 reports full-year retail sales growth of 27%
Russian retailer X5 Retail Group delivered total net retail sales growth of 27.3% for 2015, the group's fastest pace of growth since 2011. X5, which operates the Pyaterochka, Perekrestok and Karusel chains, took net sales of €2.02bn in 2015, the highest in its history. Commenting on the results, the group's chief executive Stephan DuCharme said, "Despite a challenging economic environment in Russia, we delivered a strong set of numbers in 2015 and grew faster than the Russian food retail market average. (esmmagazine.com)Russian Pyaterochka driving X5’s growth
Pyaterocha discount stores, its core format, has outperformed other X5’s formats with like for like sales growth +16.7% (+3.6% in traffic, +13.7% in basket). The growth was driven by new store openings as well as successful refurbishment programme. Pyaterochka refurbished 1,411 stores in 2015 which means that more than 70% of Pyaterochka stores are operated under the new concept. (igd.com)Canada: Metro to trial online grocery service in Quebec
Metro customers in Quebec will be able to order groceries online later this year as Canada’s third-largest supermarket chain begins to test an e-commerce service. The Montreal-based company declined for competitive reasons to provide details, including locations and whether orders would be delivered to stores. But chief executive Eric La Fleche said he doesn’t believe Metro is at a disadvantage since demand for the service offered by rivals Loblaw and Sobeys is just starting. “I don’t think that there’s a significant portion of food sales done online today,” he said. (thestar.com)Metro improves profits 24% amid higher grocery prices
The Metro grocery business had a $139.8m profit in the quarter ended Dec. 19, up 24.3% from a year earlier. Metro Inc.says same-store sales at locations open for at least a year were up 2.8% and overall sales for its fiscal first quarter were up 4.3%, rising to $2.96bn. (thestar.com)
High prices forces Canadians to go more frequently to discounters
An increasing number of Canadian shoppers are swapping a trip to a more costly conventional supermarket for one to the local discount grocer, either by choice or force as the economy shows further signs of deterioration. “There’s a bit of a shift to discount in a tougher market. We’ve seen some of that,” Eric La Flèche, the head of Metro Inc. admitted on a conference call. The loonie’s plummet has also sent produce prices soaring by 13.3%, creating a difficult balancing act for grocers who must still stock produce departments without scaring off shoppers. (globalnews.ca)AU: Suppliers argue grocer's demands unfairly help private label push
The former CEO of a major supermarket supplier says Coles and Woolworths could be using the sensitive market information they demand from manufacturers to make their own private label products more successful. In a practice the competition watchdog has vowed 
to keep an eye on, the two supermarket giants ask suppliers to justify wholesale price hikes by submitting detailed information about the cost of their raw materials and input expenses. (smh.com.au)
Amazon invests US$250m into its Indian operationAmazon will infuse INR 1,696 crore (US$250m) into its Indian operation Amazon Seller Services, making it the largest capital investment since the company entered the market in 2014. The investment will fuel Amazon’s expansion plans in India and help Amazon gain market share from its major competitors, Flipkart and Snapdeal. (igd.com)
Canada: Sobeys and Safeway to combine store flyers
Starting January 29, Sobeys and Safeway will combine their
flyers and produce one for both stores. The change will affect stores in western Canada. (globalnews.ca)Metro Group sees growth opportunities in Portugal
German retailer Metro Group will continue investing in Portugal, despite shedding 215 jobs in 2015 as part of a restructuring of its activities. In an interview for daily Diario Economico, the Chief Marketing Officer at Metro Cash & Carry International, Philippe Palazzi, said that Portugal "is a strategic market with great potential", adding that the company is focusing on growth in organic terms, but also looking at investment opportunities. (esmmagazine.com)