Morrisons is to champion local producers and farmers with trials to assess how much customers want to buy local produce, at a time when prices of imported goods are expected to rise, following the collapse in sterling. Morrisons conducted a survey of its customers. More than 80% says they prefer their supermarket fruit and vegetables to be grown in Britain and an overwhelming 95% want to support British produce growers. (yorkshirepost.co.uk) Documents show Amazon wants to open 2000 US grocery stores
Amazon wants to open 20 brick-and-mortar grocery stores over the next two years and the online retailer believes the US market has room for up to 2,000 of its Amazon Fresh-branded grocery stores over the next decade, Business Insider has learned. Amazon is planning to operate a 20-location pilot program for its grocery stores by the end of 2018, in places like Seattle, Las Vegas, New York, Miami, and the Bay Area, according to documents viewed by Business Insider. (businessinsider.com) First vegan supermarket opens in northern Netherlands
The first vegan supermarket in northern Netherlands has opened its doors in Groningen. The newly opened Vegansuper supermarket, at the New Ebbingestraat, only has vegetable assortment. The supermarket is modern and has a relatively wide range. There is a huge assortment of products from vegetables and fruit to bread, to more sustainable food and frozen meat substitutes, vegetable ice cream and candy. (internationalsupermarketnews.com)Whole Foods eyes millennials with Purple Carrot meal kit test
Whole Foods Market Inc began testing sales of Purple Carrot's vegan meal kits on Wednesday, joining forces with one of many startups that threaten mainstream grocers by delivering boxed, cook-at-home meals. Venture capital firms have funded a bumper crop of meal kit companies, which are particularly popular with sought-after millennials. They include Purple Carrot, Blue Apron, Plated, HelloFresh and Sun Basket, whose subscription plans include weekly shipments with instructions and pre-measured ingredients to make three meals for two people. (Reuters)French Amazon teams up with organic grocer
Online retailer Amazon said on Wednesday it was partnering with luxury food group Fauchon, organic food chain Bio c’Bon and wine retailer Lavinia, to extend the product range of its Prime Now express delivery service in Paris and its suburbs. The deal, which will add 5,000 food products to Amazon Prime Now’s range of 18,000 products in Paris, comes as French retailer Carrefour started testing its own express delivery service, named Livraison Express, this month in several Paris stores, as it seeks to counter Amazon Prime Now. (tech.firstpost.com)‘Carrefour will sell online groceries in Poland’
Carrefour has over 800 hypermarkets, supermarkets and local stores in Poland and launched an online store in Poland last year. But this ecommerce website only offers non-food products. If the rumors are true, that’s about to change. Carrefour is set to sell groceries online in Poland. Click here to read more at ecommercenews.eu. Sheng Siong's Q3 earnings climb by 8.2%
Supermarket operator Sheng Siong Group, reported an 8.2% increase in net profit, to S$15.7m for the third quarter, mainly because of higher revenue and improved gross margin, which was partially offset by higher operating expenses and lower other income. Revenue for the three months, ended Sept 30, rose by 1.2% to S$202.4m. (straitstimes.com)Scottish supermarket sales rise after Brexit vote
Scotland experienced slightly better retail sales growth than Great Britain as a whole in the three months after the Brexit vote. Official figures showed that the value of sales increased by 2.1% between July and September - slightly above the 2% growth recorded in Britain. Euan Murray, of Barclays Corporate Banking in Scotland, said that the Scottish supermarkets were the biggest winners over the quarter, with sales volumes on the up. (bbc.com)Mexico: Walmex Q3 sales are up
Walmex has released results for the third quarter of 2016. Walmex's net sales were up 10.8% against the same period in 2015. Operating income grew by 13.3% for Walmex. The retailer said same-store sales growth was an important factor in its third quarter performance. Walmex also highlighted e-commerce, which it said was growing at a rate over 20%. The retailer opened 27 stores during the quarter. (igd.com)Auchan to expand delivery service in Paris
AuchanDirect is opening a 22,000 sq.m, fully automated warehouse in Chilly-Mazarin, near Paris, in October. This will allow it to deliver products in Paris and the three departments bordering the city (known as 'la première couronne') within six hours by January 2017. It currently takes an average of 24 hours to deliver. The warehouse will initially hold 7,500 products, increasing to 18,000 by the end of 2017. (igd.com)AmazonFresh e-grocery expands
Accelerating its expansion into e-grocery, Amazon.com Inc. today introduced AmazonFresh to Prime members in Chicago and Dallas. The two cities are the fifth and sixth markets Amazon has added AmazonFresh service to this year. (internetretailer.com)Lidl Spain looking for sites and units to expand
Lidl Spain has expressed its intention to develop and open stores in sites that combine commercial and residential areas. A spokesperson for the company said that Lidl is focused on “improving and expanding its portfolio of shops and logistic resources.” (esmmagazine.com)‘New’ repackaged home brand products hit Aussie shelves
Supermarkets are repackaging products to combat what they call a “perception problem” with home brand labels. In a bid to phase out home brands, Woolworths has been trademarking new brands, which are now hitting shelves across the country. Some of the brands - effectively relabelled Woolworths products - include Hill View, Bell Farms, Little Ones and Smitten. (9news.com.au)