Morrisons boss waives salary increase butnets £1m bonus
Morrisons chief executive David Potts has waived an increase to his £850,000 base salary but been awarded a £1m bonus, the supermarket group's latest annual report has revealed. Potts joined the business in March 2015 on a salary of £850,000. It has now emerged that Potts waived a 2.5 per cent hike in salary, although the executive has been awarded a bonus of £1.09m, 50 per cent of which is deferred in shares for a period of three years. Taking into account other benefits, Potts' total remuneration for 2015/16 was £2.25m. read more
German cartel office fines retailers for foodstuffs price-fixing
The German cartel office on Monday fined several retailers including Metro a total of 90.5 million Euro ($103 million) for price-fixing in beer, sweets and coffee. The cartel office said it fined German retailers Edeka, Netto and Metro for price-fixing of several beer brands. read more
Amazon is challenging the retail world
When Amazon was launched in 1995, the company's plan was to win customers with low prices. Now, shipping has replaced price as the primary way Amazon is putting pressure on other retailers, ranging from small e-commerce businesses and independent store owners, to mass merchants and national chains such as Walmart, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond and Toys "R" Us. Amazon.com has made shipping costs the way it intends to separate itself from rival retailers, both large and small.
Amazon's Prime memberships, which give members unlimited free - and fast - shipping for a $99 annual fee, have seen explosive growth over the past year... read more
Woolworths sees biggest fall in corporate reputation
Woolworths has seen the biggest fall in corporate reputation, according to an annual survey, which collates insight from consumers and measures how Australians feel about each company. Results of the 2016 Corporate Reputation Index show the supermarket giant fell from 17th overall place in 2015 to rank 40th in 2016. read more
Walmart expands online grocery shopping in Charlotte market
The Arkansas-based retailer will begin offering that option to shoppers in Fort Mill and Huntersville on May 17. Two additional Walmart stores will begin offering free curbside service next week where customers can order their groceries and household items on-line and then pick them up outside the store. A designated parking area is set aside at participating stores, where employees will load groceries into vehicles. read more
Ireland: Supervalu tops pile with 23% grocery market share
Supervalu remains the country’s biggest supermarket as it continues to capitalise on consumers’ growing preference for healthier products. The retailer continues to top the pile in Ireland with a market share of 23%, beating Tesco into second place with 22.2%, while Dunnes Stores has a 21.5% share of the grocery market in third place. SuperValu continued to encourage shoppers to spend more at the tills and cashed in on strong growth in sales of fresh food in the opening three months of the year. Dunnes Stores’ sales growth reached an impressive 8% according to the Kantar Worldpanel data with its ‘Shop and Save’ campaign encouraging shoppers to spend an additional €2.50 on each visit. Tesco’s performance has been sustained by a different approach. read more
UK: Asda increases market share to go level with Sainsbury's
Supermarket Asda and Sainsbury's are now claiming equal shares of grocery spend in Northern Ireland. Kantar Worldpanel's report said Asda had managed to grow its market share in the year to April 24 by 1.6%, leaving it with a 17.6% slice. That brought it level with Sainsbury's market share, with the latter's performance slumping by just under 2%. Asda's growing sales in Northern Ireland contrast with its performance UK-wide, where market share has been declining. But the growth in market share of German supermarket Lidl in the province outshone all the others, with the discounter experiencing a 10.5% increase in spending at its stores. read more
Tesco to sell British favourites in Spain via El Corte Ingles
Tesco is moving in to Spain via a wholesale deal with local department store El Corte Ingles. The supermarket, which already wholesales its products in more than 20 overseas markets including India, will sell British favourites including teas, biscuits and cereals including granola. In return, Tesco is to expand a trial of El Corte Ingles products in its stores including sherry vinegar, sliced meats and extra virgin olive oil. El Corte Ingles has said it will supply 48 product lines to the UK after a successful trial in five Tesco stores in London which began late last year. Its products will now be distributed outside the capital in cities including Brighton, Cambridge and Edinburgh. read more
Retailers in Vietnam must embrace modern practices, say experts
Among the recommendations are that retailers promote local production through distribution and compete with foreign rivals during the current mergers and acquisitions (M&A) boom. The recent penetration of foreign retailers from Thailand, Japan and France, fuelled by the participation of Vietnam in a series of new-generation free-trade deals, hastened the race for capturing a share of the Vietnamese retail market, which is recognised as having large untapped potential with strong purchasing power from a 90-million-strong population. read more