Chinese Alibaba, which is exploring online grocery, said its income from operations surged 65% on the year to 48 billion yuan ($6.97 billion) for the fiscal year ended March, as the increase in domestic users of its e-commerce services slowed, but customers bought more. Alibaba is also working on online grocery shopping. Chinese online grocery penetration is expected to to quadruple to 16% by 2020 according to analysts. (asia.nikkei.com)Wal-Mart's food sales soar; online sales up 69%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. gained momentum in its fight against Amazon.com Inc., with its online sales growing at their fastest clip in at least five years. The e-commerce business saw gross merchandise volume -- a measure of all the goods it sells online -- soar 69% in the first quarter, Wal-Mart said on Thursday. Total revenue climbed 1.4% to $117.5bn. Wal-Mart said it had found that offering online groceries brings in new customers, and those shoppers are typically young families “who don’t want to drag their kids around a Wal-Mart,” according to Jennifer Bartashus, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. Comparable-store sales of food were the highest in more than three years, Wal-Mart said, as deflationary pressure subsided. Wal-Mart International Q1 net sales fell 3.5% to $27.1bn; excluding currency, Q1 net sales in the division rose 0.8% to $28.3bn, an increase of 0.8%. (Bloomberg/Dive.com)
Unified posts $7.9M loss, 4.1% sales drop in Q2Unified Grocers said Wednesday that its sales fell by 4.1% and its losses accelerated in the fiscal second quarter as the distributor faced customer losses, deflation and expenses associated with its forthcoming takeover. (supermarketnews.com)
US: Meijer enters new territory
Meijer is expanding its already considerable footprint in its home state of Michigan. Meijer on Thursday opened its first locations in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula area, in Escanaba and Sault Ste. Marie. The supercenters are the latest in a $375m investment this year that includes the construction of seven new Meijer supercenters and remodel projects for 22 additional stores in Indianapolis, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky. (chainstoreage.com) Dia facing litigations in Spain, Brazil and Portugal
The supermarket group Dia is facing 32 litigations filed by franchisees and ex-franchisees, ten of them in Spain, twenty in Brazil and two in Portugal.This has been reported by the company at the end of the shareholders meeting held this week, in which its CEO, Ricardo Currás, was questioned regarding the company's litigations. Currás believes that these figures reveal "an extremely low level of litigation," since the chain has about 4,000 franchises in the countries it operates. (EFE)JD rumored to invest in Indonesian E-commerce company
China's JD is reportedly currently negotiating with PT Tokopedia, an e-commerce company in Indonesia, for a potential investment deal. If an agreement can be reached, it will help JD accelerate its expansion in Indonesia, one of the largest markets in Southeast Asia. (chinaretailnews.com) Walmart's Asda slows rate of sales decline
Asda, the British supermarket arm of U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart, slowed the rate of sales decline in the first quarter, it said on Thursday, as its new management team started to make its mark on the business. The UK's third-largest supermarket chain behind market leader Tesco and Sainsbury's said that sales at stores open more than a year fell by 2.8 percent, excluding fuel, in the three months to March 31, compared with a 2.9% decline in the previous quarter. “We’re pleased that the momentum of Q4 has continued into the new year with a third consecutive quarter of improvement," said Chief Executive Sean Clarke. “Despite this progress we are in no way complacent and there is still much for us to do." (Reuters)Basque Country: Eroski to focus on more local and fresh produce
Basque retailer Eroski aims to refurbish 79 supermarkets and open four new ones in 2017 under a programme to create a chain of modern stores. The retailer’s key objectives are to provide greater variety of choice for consumers, more personalised deals, a focus on fresh produce, and local product sourcing. They include a range of 21,000 local products with more than half of its suppliers and local producers. (thenews.coop)Colombia's Grupo Éxito posts strong first quarter
Colombia-based Grupo Éxito has reported sales of COP$ 13.33bn in its first quarter, a 12.9% increase on the same period the previous year. The retailer attributed the sales to the ’strong sales performances in Brazil and Uruguay driven by the positive outcome of commercial activities’. Sales in Assaí stores alone grew by 28.8% in local currency. In the last 12 months, a total of 12 Assaí stores were opened, and this expansion greatly contributed to its growth. (esmmagazine.com) 
Booker says Tesco merger completed late 2017UK wholesaler Booker has said that its planned merger with retail giant Tesco should be completed ‘in late 2017 / early 2018, subject to, amongst other things, the necessary shareholder approvals’. (esmmagazine.com)
X5 Retail opens new DC in Perm
X5 Retail Group has confirmed the opening of a new distribution centre (DC) in Perm, strengthening its Urals logistics infrastructure. The logistics facility of over 23,500 sq m will supply Pyaterochka stores in the Perm Region (currently more than 280 stores). Featuring five storage zones, each with a specific temperature band, the facility is designed to accommodate all categories of goods. (stockmarketwire.com) Marks & Spencer named UK supermarket of the year by Which?
British consumer expert Which? has announced Marks & Spencer as the 2017 'Supermarket of the Year' in its latest awards ceremony. Marks & Spencer's crowning as ‘Which? Supermarket of the Year’ ended a 'run of success' for rivals Aldi and Waitrose, the group said. (esmmagazine.com)Portugal: Sonae's sales rise
Portugal's largest retailer, Sonae SGPS, posted on Wednesday a 6% increase in first-quarter sales and its profitability improved even as net profit fell a steep 72% after one-off capital gains a year ago. While net profit slumped to just €8m, it was still higher than 4m expected on average by analysts. (Reuters)