Potential Whole Foods bidders include Kroger
Kroger Co. has been stealing Whole Foods' customers hand over fist and now the Cincinnati company is being mentioned as a potential suitor of the healthy foods retailer. CNBC reports a Whole Foods activist investor has a watch list of potential bidders that includes Kroger and Amazon.com. Bloomberg reported this week that Amazon considered a takeover of Whole Foods last fall but didn’t pursue a deal. (bizjournals.com)
Kroger Co. has been stealing Whole Foods' customers hand over fist and now the Cincinnati company is being mentioned as a potential suitor of the healthy foods retailer. CNBC reports a Whole Foods activist investor has a watch list of potential bidders that includes Kroger and Amazon.com. Bloomberg reported this week that Amazon considered a takeover of Whole Foods last fall but didn’t pursue a deal. (bizjournals.com) Amazon's US grocery sales surged 30% to $350m in Q1
As a percentage of the overall grocery retail market, Amazon’s $350m in Q1 grocery sales (annualized – that’s $1.4bn) is pretty small fry. But its mouthwatering 30% year-on year-growth suggests that CPG manufacturers that don’t have a clear strategy for how to engage with Amazon, now risk missing out on big opportunities further down the road, says e-commerce data firm One Click Retail. Please, click here to read the article at foodnavigator-usa.com.
As a percentage of the overall grocery retail market, Amazon’s $350m in Q1 grocery sales (annualized – that’s $1.4bn) is pretty small fry. But its mouthwatering 30% year-on year-growth suggests that CPG manufacturers that don’t have a clear strategy for how to engage with Amazon, now risk missing out on big opportunities further down the road, says e-commerce data firm One Click Retail. Please, click here to read the article at foodnavigator-usa.com. Russia: Pyaterochka to expand fresh offer via COOP shop-in-shop
X5 and Centrosoyuz agreed to launch up to 5,000 Pyaterochka fresh food shop-in-shops by 2021 to expand on its fresh food offer. These retail units will sell goods from local farmers and consumer cooperatives and focus on the fresh food needs of the local customer. (igd.com)
X5 and Centrosoyuz agreed to launch up to 5,000 Pyaterochka fresh food shop-in-shops by 2021 to expand on its fresh food offer. These retail units will sell goods from local farmers and consumer cooperatives and focus on the fresh food needs of the local customer. (igd.com)Perishables boost growth of Portuguese retail sector
The Portuguese retail sector (food and non-food) grew by 3% in 2016 over the previous year, reaching €19.52bn in sales volume. According to the sales report of the Portuguese Association of Distribution Companies (APED), the biggest contribution to this growth came from food retail, which saw a 3.6% increase in sales volume. The 'Perishables' and 'Frozen' categories stood out with growth rates of 7.9% and 5%, respectively. (esmmagazine.com)
The Portuguese retail sector (food and non-food) grew by 3% in 2016 over the previous year, reaching €19.52bn in sales volume. According to the sales report of the Portuguese Association of Distribution Companies (APED), the biggest contribution to this growth came from food retail, which saw a 3.6% increase in sales volume. The 'Perishables' and 'Frozen' categories stood out with growth rates of 7.9% and 5%, respectively. (esmmagazine.com) New Amazon Fresh category features "foodie trends"
Amazon Fresh has added a category dubbed "foodie trends" that features new and trendy food products from startups and brands that are exclusive to the online retailer. The category includes items such as fermented produce, healthy ice cream and coconut-based foods. (smartbrief.com)
Amazon Fresh has added a category dubbed "foodie trends" that features new and trendy food products from startups and brands that are exclusive to the online retailer. The category includes items such as fermented produce, healthy ice cream and coconut-based foods. (smartbrief.com) Sweden: Netto opens stores with an emphasis on fresh
Netto opened two new concept stores earlier this week in Mullsjö and Kållered, southern Sweden. Commenting on the development, Peter Jakobsen continued, ‘We have updated our concept. It is a more modern and fresher layout, [there are also] other colours and large changes in the product range. We have, for example, greater facilities for refrigerators and freezers, and fruit and vegetables … [The] test stores will lay a foundation for our future stores. The plan eventually is to renovate all of our existing stores’. (igd.com)
Netto opened two new concept stores earlier this week in Mullsjö and Kållered, southern Sweden. Commenting on the development, Peter Jakobsen continued, ‘We have updated our concept. It is a more modern and fresher layout, [there are also] other colours and large changes in the product range. We have, for example, greater facilities for refrigerators and freezers, and fruit and vegetables … [The] test stores will lay a foundation for our future stores. The plan eventually is to renovate all of our existing stores’. (igd.com)UK: Warm weather boosts veg sales at Waitrose
The warm UK weather has boosted sales of fresh fruit and vegetables at Waitrose, with products such as British asparagus (up 26%) and Jersey Royal potatoes (up 55%) seeing a sales boost. (esmmagazine.com)
The warm UK weather has boosted sales of fresh fruit and vegetables at Waitrose, with products such as British asparagus (up 26%) and Jersey Royal potatoes (up 55%) seeing a sales boost. (esmmagazine.com)
Loblaw Companies Limited, in 2017 plans to once again invest approximately $1.3bn into the Canadian economy. The investment will expand and improve Loblaw's network, including properties owned and operated by Choice Properties REIT. Loblaw expects to open 30 new stores and renovate more than 500 existing stores, including the continued roll out of Click & Collect e-commerce and the inclusion of fresh food at select Shoppers Drug Mart locations. (prnewswire.com)Spar Spain expands store network
There are now more than 1,000 Spar stores in operation in Spain with a cumulative sales area of over 400,000 square metres. One unusual store opening took place on the island of Gran Canaria with the launch of the first Spar Natural store by Spar Mogán. Spar Natural is a new health store concept that specialises in organic foods as well as vegan, vegetarian, gluten, dairy and wheat free products. (esmmagazine.com) Brazil's GPA books 9.5% rise in revenue from food division
Brazil's biggest retailer, reported a 9.5% rise in first-quarter net revenue from its food division to 10.553 billion reais ($3.37bn), according to a securities filing on Thursday. Sales surged 28.8% in the Assaí cash-and-carry unit, but grew just 0.4% at the Extra and Pão de Açúcar supermarket chains. Via Varejo SA, the appliance division that GPA is looking to sell, separately reported a 2.2% rise in net revenue to 5.993 billion reais, as sales rose 4.2% at physical stores and fell 5.7% online. (Reuters)Slovenia adopts law to shield economy from Agrokor crisis
Slovenia's government on Thursday introduced a law to shield its economy from the negative effects of a crisis at Croatian company Agrokor, the region's largest retailer, which was taken over by the state last week after coming close to collapse. Slovenia's law would prevent the outflow of funds from companies owned by Agrokor that are of systemic importance for Slovenia's economic stability. (Reuters)Malaysia: Village Grocer buys over B.I.G
Village Grocer Holdings Sdn Bhd, the owner of premium supermarket chain, Village Grocer, has acquired a 100% stake in Bens Independent Grocer Sdn Bhd (B.I.G) from BIG Sdn Bhd (The Big Group). The company in a media statement today said the move strengthens VGH's position as the leaders within the premium grocery segment. VGH and B.I.G. operate a total of 13 outlets. (malaysiandigest.com) Carrefour's performance in Asia limited by operations in China
Carrefour noted that it had seen a 'sequential improvement in sales' in Asia. However, this could not take away from the fact that total sales fell by 4.1% in Q1, with like-for-like sales down by 4.0%. China continued to drag on the retailer's performance in the region, with like-for-like sales down by 5.5% during the quarter. While the retailer has continued to back its presence in China, given its long-term potential, the longer its performance remains so weak in the country the more likely an exit becomes. (igd.com)UK food sales continue to outperform: BRC
UK retail sales decreased by 1% in March compared to the same period last year, according to a report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG. However, food sales increased by 1.2%. "Food sales continue to outperform non-food sales as shoppers focus their spending on essential items," said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of BRC. (esmmagazine.com) Kaufland Bulgaria to invest in new stores
According to official information, in 2017 Kaufland Bulgaria will invest €10m - €12m in new outlets and the upgrading of existing ones. The company’s figures show that its income from sales in the calendar 2016 exceeded €7.1bn, marking a growth of 8% compared to the previous year. (agroberichtenbuitenland.nl)Billa Bulgaria to open more stores in 2017.
Retailer Billa said to open more stores in Bulgaria in 2017. “Our objective is to open 10 new stores in 2017,” Boiko Sachanski, Manager of Billa Bulgaria, told “Capital”. It is clear that the company targets only the big cities – Sofia, Varna, Plovdiv and Bourgas. Billa Bulgaria reported income of over €400m for 2016, 15.05% up year-on-year. (agroberichtenbuitenland.nl)Russia: X5 to expand online grocery service
X5 announced the expansion of the Perekrestok online service pilot scheme with the potential to implement a click & collect service in the future. Perekrestok uses a specially built hybrid store that combines features of a regular supermarket and a “dark store” that allows the inclusion its entire product range. (igd.com)Online grocery not popular in France
No matter their gender or age, internet users in France are committed to buying groceries primarily in-store. Just 5% said their last grocery purchase was made digitally, according to a February 2017 survey from Promise Consulting. A separate study from Mappy, which looked at grocery ecommerce adoption among digital buyers in France, found a higher rate than the Promise survey—though the percentage was still low. (Yahoo)