Coles is understood to be introducing new technology to reduce its estimated annual $1.1bn theft debt by reducing stealing at self-serve checkouts. Retail sources have told news.com.au that Coles is looking at machine scanners that can more cleverly identify specific fruit and vegetables by a combination of weight and image recognition. A spokeman for Coles denied the company was introducing the technology. (news.com.au)UK: Marks & Spencer to supply British Airways
British Airways economy class passengers on short-haul flights will soon have to pay for snacks and sandwiches supplied by Marks & Spencer if they want a meal in mid-air. (theguardian.com)Japan: Department store to deliver organic produce
Japanese department store operator, Isetan Mitsukoshi, is looking to set up a mail-order food sales joint venture with vegetable delivery specialist Oisix. Isetan Mitsukoshi will spin off its food service's mail-order food sales department to create the venture. Isetan Mitsukoshi will likely take a 51% stake, with Oisix holding 49%. The new company will offer organic produce handled by Oisix. (igd.com)Costco Q4 profit unaffected by low fresh food prices
Costco Wholesale Corp reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as it benefited from paying lower fees to credit card partner Visa Inc and shoppers spent more on appliances, electronics and hardware. The lower payments helped offset falling prices of grocery and fresh food in the quarter, CFO Richard Galanti said. Net income rose to $779m in the fourth quarter ended Aug. 28, from $767m a year earlier. (Reuters)Onex in the lead to buy US grocery chain Save-A-Lot
Supervalu Inc. shares gained as much as 9.6% on a report that private equity firm Onex Corp. may acquire the company’s Save-A-Lot discount chain. Reuters reported that Toronto-based Onex made the best offer for Save-A-Lot, which Supervalu had been considering spinning off. Supervalu is expected to make a decision on what to do with the business in the next two weeks, the news service said, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. It isn’t clear how much Save-A-Lot could fetch, but it has previously been valued at as much as $1.8bn, Reuters reported. (Reuters)Share of e-grocery market by country:
Please, click here to enlarge map
1. S. Korea 16.6%
2. Japan 7.2%
3. UK 6.9%
4. France 5.3%
5. Taiwan 5.2%
6. China 4.2%
Source: Kantar
Romanian retailer Profi opens 15 new stores
Romanian supermarket chain Profi, owned by Polish investment fund Enterprise Investors, opened 15 new stores and hired 300 more people in September. The retail network thus passed 450 units in Romania and got close to 11,000 employees. (romania-insider.com) AU: Woolworths considers $1bn fuel station sale
Australian supermarket giant Woolworths Ltd on Friday said it is considering offers to buy its petrol station chain in a deal said to be worth more than $1bn, extending an asset sell-off as it shores up its core grocery business. The sale would broaden a divestment programme under new Chief Executive Officer Brad Banducci as he refocuses on the grocery business, amid a price war with other supermarkets. (Reuters)Turkey: Sales discounter BIM grow
Net sales of of Turkish discounter BIM increased by 15.8% to TRY 9.8bn (€2.9bn), while net income increased by 12% to TRY 305.9m (€91.6bn). Like-for-like sales per store per day increased by 5.9%, while like-for-like baskets grew by 8.7%. (igd.com)Germany: Kaufland launching online in Berlin and possibly in Poland
Kaufland, the Schwarz Group's hypermarket banner, has launched an online service in Berlin. The website will offer the same prices as in-store and the retailer is offering first time customers a coupon and free shipping as an incentive to try the service. Kaufland is also considering launching online in Poland, showing a growing focus on the channel. (igd.com)Germany: Metro's Emmas Enkel to close online business
The grocery e-commerce business, which is mostly owned by the Metro Group, will close its online shop as of the 30th September 2016. This follows the closure of its online stores earlier this year. However the Metro Group says it will retain the brand and will give further announcements on the future direction it will take. (igd.com)Google expands online delivery service to 13 states
Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc, said that it is expanding its home delivery shopping service, Google Express, to more than a dozen eastern states, Tech Crunch reported. The company offers among other things dry good groceries. Google express has discontinued its trial to sell fresh food. (learnbonds.com)Turkey: Migros sales grow by more than 15%
In the first of quarter 2016, Migros' sales grew by 16.2% to TRY 5.1bn (€1.5bn), although net losses continued, with Migros reporting a net loss of TRY 113.9m (€33.8m). Migros opened 142 stores in the first half, most of which are in Turkey, bringing its store count to 1,528 stores. (igd.com)
Sainsbury's Argos-shaped millstone is a pretty big drag: GadflyPlease, click here to read the article.