The very first Carrefour Bio opened its doors three years ago in Paris, paving the way for another 4 Bio stores. By the end of the year, the French supermarket chain aims to have 10 Bio stores, with a larger product range in - on average - larger stores. It will sell 3,700 different products, with 1,500 private label products among those. Vegetables and fruit are sold in paper bags. (retaildetail.eu)AU: Woolworths stretches supplier payments to save cash
Woolworths is planning to stretch out payments to most of its food and grocery suppliers to 60 days – two or three times the payment terms at Coles – in an attempt to free up cash and improve working capital. Industry sources said Woolworths had a project team in its supermarkets division reviewing suppliers' terms of trade and identifying "legacy" suppliers on 30-day terms who can be pushed out to 60 days – double the 30-day terms Woolworths expects from its own debtors. While the project could alleviate pressure on Woolworths' cash flow, it threatens to antagonise suppliers who have criticised Woolworths for paying bills well outside trading terms. (smh.com.au) US online grocery doubles in two years
Online grocery penetration has doubled in just the past two years – from 11% in 2013 to 21% in 2015 – per the latest round of Brick Meets Click research that surveyed 12,000 grocery shoppers in 4Q 2015. Key findings from this new report include:- Online grocery shopping is going mainstream: 41% of shoppers surveyed have given it a try at some point.
- Penetration has doubled: 21% of the shoppers surveyed bought groceries online in the month before the 2015 survey, up from 11% in 2013.
- Three distinct types of trips emerged from survey responses: Specific product shopping is the most common at 61%, followed by major grocery shopping at 15%, and subscription-based shopping at 12%.
- Major online grocery shopping and subscription-based trips create strong bonds with customers.
- Active Users of online grocery services are spending a significant percentage of their weekly grocery dollars online – 16% on average. (brickmeetsclick.com)
Whole Foods Market is looking for unique products from local growers and producers to feature in two upcoming stores: H Street, Washington, D.C. and Pentagon City,Virginia. Interested suppliers can submit information online at www.wholefoodsmarket.com. The submission deadline is Friday, April 8. Showcasing local supplier partners from within our communities is a core value of Whole Foods Market,' said Julia Obici, vice president of purchasing for Whole Foods Market'sMid-Atlantic Region. (4-traders.com / ENP Newswire) FMI, GMA dismayed as Senate blocks GMO bill
The Food Marketing Institute and Grocery Manufacturers Association expressed their disappointment Wednesday, when a cloture vote did not get the necessary 60 votes to move a measure — that would establish a voluntary, national standard for GMO labeling and block individual states from mandating GMO disclosure — to the U.S. Senate. Forty-eight senators voted yes and 49 voted no, according to reports. (supermarketnews.com) US: Walmart is hitting it big with millennials
Walmart Stores says it is making strides with a surprising customer base. The world's largest retailer is becoming more popular with millennials, according to information the company has gathered. Two-thirds of Americans between the ages of 20 and 35 have shopped at a Walmart in the last month, and they're more likely to shop at Walmart than the average American, Walmart's Chief Merchant told Wall Street. As the big-box chain looks to gain traction in its turnaround, these results show that some of its strategies may be yielding results. (fool.com)Aldi to open new outlets in Spain
German discount supermarket chain Aldi has announced the opening of a number of new stores in Spain this month. Some of these are the reopening of refitted stores, which have been changed with the goal of improving services and customer experience. (esmmagazine.com)UK: Walmart's Asda says to cut 750 jobs
Asda has confirmed plans to cut up to 500 jobs in stores and 250 at its head office in Leeds as the retailer battles to protect profits while sales slide. The supermarket is looking for ways to trim costs as it battles against discounters Aldi and Lidl, which have undermined its position as the UK’s cheapest supermarket. Andy Clarke, its CEO, has said he wants to halve the price gap with the German chains to 5% over the next two years under his Project Renewal scheme. (theguardian.com) Tesco 'on cusp of something special', says UK boss
Tesco's UK boss gave on Wednesday the most bullish assessment of prospects for Britain's biggest retailer since it was rocked by an accounting scandal in 2014, saying it was winning back customers and "on the cusp of doing something special". Speaking at the Retail Week Live industry conference, Matt Davies highlighted the feedback the supermarket group was getting from its more than 3,500 stores in Britain. "On every key measure of great service, customers are more positive about Tesco than they've been for years," said Davies in his first official speech as CEO of Tesco's core UK and Ireland business. (Reuters)UAE’s Consumer Co-operative Union discusses 2015 performance
The chairman of the UAE’s Consumer Co-operative Union said that the Co-ops had enjoyed sales growth of 3.22% in 2015, taking the total to US$1.95 bn. He also said that the company’s private label products had enjoyed strong growth in 2015 and accounted for US$20.7m in sales at the end of the year. For 2016 Al Shamsi said that the company was expecting private label products to grow by double digits, while it was expecting to end the year with 148 stores, up from 112 as of March. (igd.com)Africa: Choppies enjoys 17% growth in revenues
Choppies said revenues rose 17% to BWP3.5 bn (US$308.9m), while gross profit increased by 11% to BWP714m (US$63.0m) as the retailer invested in expansion, with 26 stores added in the half year. During the first six months of its financial year Choppies said it had reached a number of milestones, including opening its first store in Zambia, opened new stores in its existing markets of Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe and acquired businesses in Kenya and South Africa. (igd.com)Metro Retail reports bigger profit
Cebu-based retailer Metro Retail Stores Group, Inc. posted a net income after tax of P758.6 million for the year 2015 — 20.6% higher than last year. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the company said net sales grew by 13.9% to P32.3 billion in 2015. The same store sales grew by 8.8%. (cebudailynews.inquirer.net) Thailand's TCC said to get €3.2bn loan for Big C
TCC Holding Co. has obtained a €3.2bn bridge loan to fund its acquisition of a controlling stake in Thai supermarket chain Big C Supercenter Pcl, according to people familiar with the matter. (Bloomberg)
