Ocado has delivered strong profit and sales growth so far this year but has yet to announce a highly anticipated international tie-up. Pre-tax profits rose by 18pc to £8.5m in the six months to May 15, a slowdown on the 65pc growth the online supermarket enjoyed over the whole of 2015. Retail revenues grew 15pc to £584m, boosted by Ocado's tie-up with Morrisons. Ocado’s CEO said that Ocado was in “multiple discussions” over plans to supply its technology to a foreign retailer and has been linked to deals with France’s Carrefour and US group Safeway. Please, click here to read more at telegraph.co.uk. UK: Morrisons, Asda treat suppliers worst, says watchdog
The UK’s top ten supermarkets have all acted on issues raised by the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) and suppliers are seeing the benefit. According to the YouGov survey carried out on behalf of the GCA 62% of direct suppliers said they had experienced an issue in the past year – compared to 70% in 2015 and 79% in 2014. Suppliers rated Aldi, Sainsbury’s and Lidl as the top three supermarkets in terms of complying 
‘consistently well’ and ‘mostly’ with the Code during the previous 12 months. Morrisons, Asda and Iceland have been tagged as the grocers who treat their suppliers the worst among the UK’s 10 major chains, according to the report. A fifth of Morrisons’ suppliers told the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), Christine Tacon, that the supermarket rarely or never complied with the industry rule book compared with 2% for the best performing supermarket, Aldi. (theguardian.com / gov.uk) Suppliers scared to complain to supermarket watchdog
Firms supplying supermarkets are still reluctant to make a complaint to the sector’s adjudicator, mainly because they fear it would damage their relationship, it has been revealed. Christine Tacon said she was disappointed that the number of suppliers willing to report an issue remained “stubbornly” on around half. (yorkshirepost.co.uk) Germany: Kaiser's acquisition by Edeka uncertain
The acquisition of Kaiser's-Tengelmann (KT) by Edeka is in jeopardy. Edeka has suspended negotiations with trade union Verdi. One of the requirements for the acquisition is that no jobs would be lost, which appears to be a stumbling block for Edeka. (distrifood.nl)UK: C-stores dismiss fears over Amazon Fresh arrival
Convenience retailers have dismissed fears they will be the biggest losers from the arrival of the new fresh food delivery service from online giant Amazon.Sophie Jones, senior UK shopper research manager at analyst Nielsen, said: “Perhaps the biggest impact will be on the convenience market. With 30% of Amazon Fresh customers potentially using it at least once a week, it puts it in competition with convenience retailers as a high-frequency service for busy top-up shoppers.” A local c-store owner said: “We are not too worried about Amazon Fresh, because we have so many points of difference and a very loyal consumer base. We deal with 200 different local suppliers and we do things very differently to the average convenience store, so at the moment we are not too concerned.”UK: Aldi and Lidl hit 10.5% combined market share -
Grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel, for the 12 weeks ending 19 June 2016, show the market slipping into decline for the first time since January, with Lidl and Aldi hitting a record high 10.5% combined market share. Supermarket sales fell by 0.2%, as like-for-like grocery prices declined by 1.4% on last year. The decline is a continuation of the slow supermarket sector growth dating back to summer 2014, primarily a result of cheaper everyday groceries brought about by a retailer price war. (Kantar)
UK: Ocado warns Brexit could push up supermarket prices
Online grocer Ocado warned Brexit could send supermarket prices surging as the plunging pound pushes up costs for retailers. Chief executive Tim Steiner said the weaker pound may lead to "inflationary pressure", but assured he did not believe Brexit would spark a sudden crash in the UK retail market. (belfasttelegraph.co.uk)US: Kroger to build culinary training center
Aiming to make its home city a “food hub” and improve the level at which it executes everything from corporate branded goods to prepared dishes, Kroger will begin building a culinary training center near its headquarters in Cincinnati, CEO Rodney McMullen said Thursday. (supermarketnews.com)New CEO for Walmart Canada
Walmart Canada said Monday it has promoted Lee Tappenden to president and CEO, effective Aug. 15. He succeeds Dirk Van De Berghe, who the company said in mid-June would assume leadership of Walmart China Aug. 22 and also become regional president for Asia. (supermarketnews.com)Thailand: Tesco Lotus online expands as fresh food sales double
Ek-chai Distribution System Co, the operator of Tesco Lotus hypermarkets, says it will proceed with its goal of expanding online shopping and doubling internet sales this year. Wanna Swuddigul, the company's digital and online business director, said today's consumers are demanding convenient access to information, products and services. "Sales and orders of fresh food via our online channel increase two times every year," Ms Wanna said. (bangkokpost.com)Qatar: Al Meera to promote health-focused programme
As part of a collaboration with Sahtak Awalan, which is an outreach educational health programme initiated by Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar in association with the local government, Al Meera has said it will provide shoppers with information and advice on healthy food. (igd.com)UAE: Majid Al Futtaim to invest AED48 bn by 2026
Continuing its strong investment in its home market, UAE-based Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) has announced that it will increase its total investment in the country by AED30 bn US$8.2 bn to US$13.1 bn. The investment will see MAF open 10 new shopping centres and extend six more, while also enabling the addition of 10 new Carrefour-branded hypermarkets and 30 Carrefour supermarkets. (igd.com)Co-operatives UK boosts income by 30% to achieve surplus
Co-operatives UK, the trade body for co-operatives across the country, has increased its income from £2,231,965 to £2,914,953 for the year ended 31 December 2015. With expenditure rising by a similar percentage, Co-operatives UK reached a surplus before tax of £14,391, compared with the previous year’s deficit of £3,616. (thenews.coop)