Aldi unveils 'Store of the Future' concept

Philippines-based department store chain Metro Retail Stores Group is planning to double its store count in the next five years with an investment of PHP15bn ($319 mln). Under the expansion plan, the company aims to double its current gross floor area of around 400,000m2 and improve logistics and supply chain. Recently, the company opened its 48th store at the UP Town Center in Quezon City, Philippines. The total department store count of the retailer now stands at 11.

Dansk Supermarked Group has revealed it is to convert three quarters of of its døgnNetto discount-convenience stores to the Netto discount banner this year, while the remaining stores will be converted to the retailer’s new convenience concept, føtex food. read more

Natural Grocers, which sells organic and natural foods, has new stores planned for Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Cedar Falls. He said the chain, which has stores in 19 states, has been looking at expanding into Iowa for more than two years. A Clive location opened in February. An approximately 15,000-square-foot Cedar Rapids store is planned to open in the first quarter of 2017. read more

Lidl reported its 2014 financial data at the Romanian Finance Ministry. This is the first official financial data published since the company entered the local market in 2011. The company posted a turnover of EUR 875 mln and a profit of EUR 13.3 mln. The company had 3,500 employees in 2014. Last year, the retailer opened ten new stores and the consumption went up by 9%. read more

The Stop & Shop Supermarket celebrated the opening of its green energy facility in Freetown, Massachusetts. The facility will convert inedible food from its Stop & Shop New England stores into energy that will help power the company’s distribution center. The Stop & Shop green energy facility is expected to process an average of 95 tons of inedible food per day, an estimated 34,000 tons per year. As the food breaks down, it produces gas that fuels a generator that, in turn, generates electricity. The energy produced by the 12,000 square-foot facility will provide up to 40% of the 1.1 mln square-foot Freetown distribution center’s energy needs, enough power to operate the facility for four months out of the year. The facility will create 1.25 mw of clean electricity. read more

Swedish retail group ICA Gruppen has seen sales in its stores decrease slightly in the month of April. Overall sales from its Stormarknad, Kvantum, ICA Supermarket and Nära banners were down 0.8 per cent compared to the same month in 2015. Like-for-like sales decreased by 1.1 per cent. read more

Online wholesale store Jet.com has launched a pilot program to sell fresh groceries like milk, fruit and meat to some customers. For now, grocery delivery is available to customers in 875 Zip Codes throughout New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., with much of the pilot concentrated in New Jersey and D.C. The move represents an attempt to enter an e-commerce sector that Amazon hasn’t completely taken over. It also pits Jet against online grocery services like Peapod, FreshDirect and Instacart. read more

Grocery shopping isn’t cheap. Retail food prices have risen faster than the overall rate of inflation, cheatsheet.com reports, with 55% of consumers in 2015 telling Gallup they were continually spending more on groceries than they did the year before. The average American family spent about $3,971 in 2014 on groceries, equalling about $331 per month and 7% of annual expenditures. 1. Aldi 2. WinCo 3. Fareway 4. Sprouts and Fresh Thyme 5. Trader Joe’s 6. Salvage grocery outlets read more

Germany's Aldi Süd has unveiled its new 'Store of the Future' concept, which it hopes to roll out to all stores by 2019 according to esmmagazine.com. It incorporates new areas such as a 'coolbox', featuring snacks and drinks, a seating area behind the checkout area, in-store coffee machines and customer restrooms. The centerpiece of each store will be the 'Fresh Zone', incorporating fruit, vegetables... read more

Against what can be in many Latin American markets a challenging backdrop for trading from supermarkets and hypermarkets, more retailers are targeting growth from elsewhere. Of course there's a growing focus on atacarejo style formats, but momentum is also building in the convenience and proximity channel. This drives increased access for shoppers.... read more

Marka, the Dubai-listed retail group, announced another quarter of losses, but remained confident about its plans to deliver profit in 2016. The company reported a loss of Dh18.13 million for the first three months of the year. It did not provide a figure for the corresponding period a year earlier. The retail sector has been hurt by the strong US dollar, to which the UAE dirham is pegged, making purchases more expensive for many visitors... read more