UK: Morrisons want to end supermarket queues
Supermarket giant Morrisons is launching a new system to keep customers from waiting at store checkouts. The supermarket giant is pushing to cut down the length of time customers have to queue at checkouts with a ‘one-plus-one’ system which would mean one person waiting while another is being served. Stores countrywide could see the frustrations of queueing shoppers ebb away as they have been told to implement the system to reduce waiting times. (thesun.co.uk)Walmart is about to get a lot cheaper in one key area
Walmart shoppers will soon pay less for groceries. The retailer is slashing prices in its grocery department with a particular focus on fresh produce, consumables, and over-the-counter drugs, the company told Business Insider. Consumables include items such as laundry detergent and windshield-wiper fluid. The price cuts are part of a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar investment that Walmart launched in the first quarter of the year. The rollbacks will put pressure on Walmart's profit margins, but the retailer is betting that resulting traffic gains will offset this, according to UBS analyst Michael Lasser. Please, click here to read more at uk.businessinsider.com AU: Metcash under threat as grocery wholesale sector set for shakeup
DHL and a new wholesaler operation called irexchange (Independent Retailers Exchaneg) look set to enter the grocery wholesale market in Australia. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, retailers are looking to different supply chain routes in order to compete with giants such as Woolworths and Coles. The paper reports that irexchange has already set up meetings with several retailers who are currently Metcash customers. The new service would allow customers to order via a portal and have their products with them within two days via delivery from DHL. (businessreviewaustralia.com) Coles to open nine supermarkets in WA
Coles is investing more than $120m to open nine new supermarkets in WA. The new stores will create more than 1200 construction and 850 retail jobs for West Australians. There are currently more than 11,700 workers at the 90 stores statewide. The news comes prior to German discount supermarket giant Aldi entering the WA market. (couriermail.com.au)Walmart in top spot on Fortune 500Fortune on Monday released its annual list of the 500 largest companies in the United States, with Walmart retaining its top spot on the Fortune 500 for the fourth consecutive year. (time.com)
Asda's CEO says incoming COO will succeed him
Asda's chief executive Andy Clarke said on Monday incoming Chief Operating Officer Roger Burnley will eventually succeed him in the top job at the British supermarkets arm of Wal-Mart. In an interview with industry publication Retail Week Clarke did not say when he will step down from a job he has held since 2010 but said Burnley would take over when he does. "I said I wanted to find somebody who had the ability to be my successor," Clarke told Retail Week. (Reuters)Woolworths new labels 'defensive strategy against Aldi': expert
Woolworths' private label changes are a defensive response to the growing popularity of German discount retailer Aldi, but won't have the impact the retailer hopes it will, an academic says. Australia's largest supermarket chain is dumping Homebrand and Select labels and replacing them with Essentials and a new brand called Woolworths'. The Woolworths brand will cover more than 2,000 products, mainly food, and is expected to come with a lower price tag than the existing Select range. (skynews.com.au)OK Zimbabwe profit collapses 91%, fears worse to come
OK Zimbabwe reported an 88% decline in operating profit at $1,3m for the year ended 31 March 2016 compared to $10,7m in prior year as the increasingly competitive retail sector contends with declining consumer spend. Profit after tax and finance charges fell by a massive 91 percent to $700,000, from $7,5m previously. OK Zimbabwe, the country’s largest retail group, is often considered a bellwether for the nation’s economy. (source.co.zw)Lidl Portugal says fruit suppliers must comply with Code of Conduct
Lidl Portugal has said that its suppliers must comply with a Code of Conduct, which aims to improve the minimum social standards of its business partners in various countries. In its Code of Conduct, Lidl claims that "human dignity must be respected as a fundamental condition of social life". This code prohibits child and forced labour and imposes respect for the labour legislation of each country, as well as environmental regulations. The news agency had asked the retailer to comment on the launch of a campaign by several NGOs, denouncing human and labour rights violations in tropical fruit plantations that supply supermarkets like Lidl. (esmmagazine.com) 
Ottawa-based grocery chain looking to southern Ontario for growthPlease, click here to read the article.
US: Unified Grocers sales up 1% in 2Q
Unified Grocers, Los Angeles, CA, reported sales for the fiscal second quarter ended April 2 of $915.1m, up 1% from the same period a year ago. The company reported a loss of $5.1m, compared to year-ago loss of $10m. For the first six months, sales were $1.9bn, up 0.7% over the same period one year prior. The distributor reported a loss of $6.7m, compared to year-ago loss of $11.5m. (theglobeandmail.com)