Waitrose vows to pay smallest UK food suppliers within seven days -
Waitrose has vowed to pay all of its smaller British suppliers within seven days as it moves to beef up its reputation as an ethical retailer. The upmarket grocer’s pledge will see it pay all small-scale suppliers, whose business is worth less than £100,000 per year, within a week of receipt of an electronic invoice. Waitrose said more than 600 UK food producers will benefit from the change, which will be phased in during the next two months. The grocer said the changes have been agreed following “an internal review of payment terms” and boasts that the new agreements with suppliers are “industry leading terms.” (retail-week.com) 
Lidl will invest 350 million euro in Spain in 2016, i.e. 33% more than what it invested in 2015, which proves how committed the company is to continue its expansion in the country, said the company's financial CEO, Ferran Figueras. This year, the retailer plans to open nearly 40 new stores, although most of them will replace other stores that have become obsolete for the chain's current needs. Last year, Lidl increased its number of customers by 8.5% and they currently have more than 3.5 million customers per week. (efeempresas.com)Ahold-Delhaize merger ‘expected before end of July’
The intended merger between Ahold and Delhaize is expected to be completed by the end of July, subject regulatory approval by the Federal Trade Commission of the US, Delhaize has said in 
a statement. Ahold has also given further details on its its €1 billion capital repayment and reverse stock split, which was announced last year and approved by the retailer’s shareholders in March. (esmmagazine.com)Wal-Mart rolls out special carts to improve fresh food offering
Wal-Mart Stores Inc has begun rolling out specialized carts designed to keep employees out on the floor culling produce and reducing wastage, the latest step in a push to improve its fresh food offerings and revive sales growth. The world's largest retailer has deployed what it calls "quality carts" at 500 stores and plans to have them in all of its nearly 5,000 U.S. outlets by the end of the third quarter, Vice President for Central Operations Shana DeSmit told Reuters in an interview. The carts, equipped with weighing scales and a box to collect the discarded produce, will help employees carry out tasks that were typically carried out in the back room, she said. With the carts, employees can sort fresh produce by removing items nearing expiration and weighing them to manage inventory counts and help with replenishment. Wal-Mart's service levels have suffered due to fewer employees in store interacting with consumers. (Reuters)India: BigBasket to invest $13,5m for recruiting more farmers
BigBasket plans to invest up to Rs 90 crore ($13,5m)to recruit hundreds more farmers to its network, beefing up its supply chain ahead of a potential entry of deep-pocketed global corporations including Walmart and Amazon into India's online grocery market. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)Italy’s MD to open 44 new stores by 2017
Italian food retailer MD is planning to open 44 new supermarkets by 2017, taking its store total to 780, up from the current 725. The company is currently undertaking a transformation of its activities, with the rebranding of LD Market, a supermarket network acquired from Lombardini group in 2013, to the MD brand, while at the same time phasing out the MD Discount concept. Italian food retailer MD is planning to open 44 new supermarkets by 2017, taking its store total to 780, up from the current 725. (esmmagazine.com)Brazilian supermarket: Customers pick produce from garden
A supermarket chain in Brazil—which wanted to emphasize that it was selling fresh, local, sustainably grown food—is experimenting with "fresh garden" installations in its stores, where rows of herbs, onions, and greens are displayed as if they're growing in the store. Unlike some German supermarkets that have started actually growing greens inside mini-vertical farms inside stores, the stores in Brazil made a pseudo-garden. (fastcoexist.com) Poland: Metro Group discontinuing small cash & carry format
Makro Cash&Carry has decided to reduce operating business model complexity and focus on active distribution instead. Makro announced that it will close one full-size cash and carry store and 10 out of 11 Punkt stores, due to limited growth potential and business performance. (igd.com)Poland: Tesco closing unprofitable small stores
Tesco is going to close seven small stores (with sales are up to 1,000 square metre) by September 2016 after it closed six stores in March 2015. The store closures have been going on for quite some time as the company looks to drive store profitability. Tesco aims to streamlines its business in Central and Easter Europe. In the Czech Republic, Tesco closed 20% of its convenience stores (28 Zabka stores) in its 2015/2016 financial year. (igd.com)Retailer Cencosud's owners to sell 5% stake via share offer
Latin American retailer Cencosud said on Monday it would sell a 5 percent stake in the company via a share offering, which a source said was designed to shore up finances. The retailer, which is headquartered in Chile and has operations throughout South America, is controlled by Chile's Paulmann family, which currently owns about 57% of the company, according to Thomson Reuters data. (Reuters)Discounters may be Brexit winners as Britons fret over economy
Britain’s exit from the European Union may lead shoppers to shift grocery spending toward discounters as pessimism over the economy leads them to cut back, according to researcher Nielsen. About 37 percent of 417 Britons surveyed by Nielsen after the Brexit vote said they plan to change the supermarket they shop at the most. German discounters Aldi and Lidl are among the biggest potential beneficiaries, the researcher said. (esmmagazine.com) Seven & i: sluggish sales growth
Japanese retail giant Seven & i has reported a 0.6% increase in group sales to JPY2, 561bn (US$25bn) in the first quarter ending 31 May 2016, while its net profit reached JPY43bn (US$0.4bn), 2% up from last year. Seven & I’s convenience store operation Seven-Eleven Japan has registered a 5% increase in sales, with total store sales reaching JPY1,100bn (US$11bn). The group’s operation in US and Canada has seen total sales slip by 3%. (igd.com)US: Roundy’s accepts first BrightFarms shipment
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