The boss of Sainsbury's, Mike Coupe has said the fall in the pound following last month's Brexit vote will not necessarily mean higher prices for shoppers, but he sees the danger of a UK recession. Mr Coupe told shareholders at the supermarket's annual general meeting in London today that with many products sourced months in advance, there is little prospect of inflationary pressures having an immediate impact. (thisismoney.co.uk) US: Kroger, Produce Mom partner up to encourage to eat fruit and veg
Stores in Kroger's Central Division will see a lot more produce marketing efforts thanks to a new partnership with The Produce Mom. In stores, produce departments will display The Produce Mom’s Produce Challenge, a monthly calendar that encourages shoppers to eat more fruits and vegetables and shop the entire department. (supermarketnews.com)
UK: Aldi is hungry for a 10% share of the grocery market
It's a tough time for supermarkets, but as the price war between the Big Four rages on, Aldi's UK CEO says he is aiming to take a 10% share in the grocery market. Speaking to City A.M., Matthew Barnes, Aldi's CEO in UK and Ireland Matthew Barnes said: "We will have 10% market share". Aldi now has a 6.1% share. "We are investing £100m in reducing prices and reducing prices on 25% of products", he said. (cityam.com)AU: Woolies could trigger price war: analysts
Woolworths is at risk of resorting to "irrational" price cuts if its current efforts to lure more shoppers fail, analysts warn.The supermarket giant spent $550mn in the 2015/16 financial year on lowering food and grocery prices and improving customer service. However a survey of 58 supermarket suppliers by investment bank UBS has found that has not translated into noticeable improvements. "The current value message is not winning back shoppers and in-store execution remains poor and is deteriorating," UBS analysts said in their report. (news.com.au) Supermarket shares plunge amid Asda price cut reports
Supermarket shares have taken a hammering amid reports that Asda could slash prices over the summer and send profits plunging across the sector. Tesco was one of the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 Index, tumbling 8%, after HSBC analyst David McCarthy warned that Asda was eyeing a "major price repositioning" that could "seriously damage sector profitability". Morrisons also came under fire, down more than 6%, while Sainsbury's fell 3%. (belfasttelegraph.co.uk) CA: Loblaw sends strongly worded letter to major suppliers
Loblaw president Galen Weston, who observed in May that consumers were getting fed up with rising food prices, now wants his company’s largest suppliers to shoulder a bigger part of the inflationary burden. In a strongly worded letter to its large suppliers this week, Loblaw is asking the group to cut costs by 1.45%t for shipments received by the country’s largest grocery chain on or after Sept. 4. (business.financialpost.com) US: Marsh Supermarkets names Supervalu as primary wholesaler
Supervalu announced it has entered into a long-term supply agreement with Indiana-based Marsh Supermarkets to serve as its primary grocery wholesaler and to provide certain professional services to the grocery chain. Instacart launches with Publix
Publix Super Markets will begin offering Internet ordering and delivery in the Miami area next week as part of a test program with Instacart, the companies said Wednesday. (supermarketnews.com)US: Wal-Mart opens $100M DC in Mebane
Wal-Mart will be hosting a ceremony July 13 to celebrate the opening of its biggest new investment in North Carolina, its new nearly $100mn refrigerated DC in Mebane. According to the announcement issued by the company Wednesday. (bizjournals.com) South African retailers face weak full year results
Consumer sentiment in the second quarter of 2016 hints at weaker full year results from South Africa’s major retailers. The FNB/BER consumer confidence survey showed that consumer confidence dropped from a reading of -9 in the first quarter to -11 in the second quarter of 2016. Shoprite Holdings and Woolworths are among major retailers set to release results in August. These companies will act as a litmus test of sorts; they will demonstrate how well shoppers are coping in the prevailing environment. (africanbusinessreview.co.za) Netto to double number of Swedish stores
Danish budget supermarket Netto are expanding their bid on the Swedish market and are set to double the number of Swedish stores over the next ten years. “We have a very aggressive investment plan in Sweden, where we see great potential,” Bent Holm, Managing Director of Netto in Sweden, told Jyllands-Posten. (cphpost.dk) Japan's Aeon posts quarterly loss
Retail giant Aeon logged a net loss of 6.2bn yen ($61.2mn) for the first quarter ended May 31. (asia.nikkei.com)
UK: Coop buys six My Local storesFollowing My Local entering administration and the closure of 90 stores the Co-op has stepped up and purchased six stores for an undisclosed sum. (igd.com)
Booker Group posts quarterly trading update
UK food-wholesaler Booker Group has today announced its Q1 trading update. CEO Charles Wilson has stated that after a solid quarter, group sales rose by 10.0%, including those of Londis and Budgens. Cash-and-carry business Makro also had a good quarter, in the areas of cash profit and customer satisfaction. (esmmagazine.com)
UK: Marks and Spencer sales downMarks and Spencer said like-for-like food sales in the first quarter were down by 0.9%. Meanwhile, like-for-like sales at its clothing arm fell by 8.9%. (BBC)
Food prices see biggest fall in a year ahead of Brexit
UK shoppers’ budgets have been boosted by falling food prices, which saw their biggest decline for more than a year in June. Grocery prices fell by 0.8%, following a 0.3% fall in May. The data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Nielsen Shop Price Index reflects the period from 6 to 10 June, just ahead of the EU referendum. (independent.co.uk) Wal-Mart in China faces employee protest
Wal-Mart faces protests by employees in China over what they say is a drastic change in work schedules, as the company overhauls its struggling business amid an economic slowdown and competition from e-commerce. (stltoday.com)