There are now 40 ShopRite stores that are a part of this program. The expansion includes some New Jersey ShopRites: ShopRite of Marlton, ShopRite of Union Mill Road, ShopRite of Evesham Road, ShopRite of Mt. Laurel and ShopRite of Garden State Pavilion. (nbcphiladelphia.com) Amazon sets sights on grocery in Europe with checkout-free trademark
Amazon.com Inc. is laying the groundwork to bring its checkout-free grocery store Amazon Go to Europe, as the US giant steps up its efforts to crack the $800bn global market. The UK Intellectual Property Office on Friday approved the Seattle-based company’s application to trademark the slogans “No Lines. No Checkout. (No, Seriously.)” and “No Queue. No Checkout. (No, Seriously.)” A corresponding application is being reviewed by the European Union’s equivalent agency. The company has opened a futuristic test store under that name in Seattle that has no cashiers or checkouts. (Bloomberg)US: Instacart continues rapid pace of expansion
Instacart has expanded service in Texas, Connecticut, Ohio, Florida and South Carolina, according to Progressive Grocer. The company plans to open in 100 new markets this year alone. Instacart service is now available to shoppers in many areas who visit Costco, Publix, H-E-B and BJ's Wholesale Club. (fooddive.com) Porgugal: Sonae concludes acquisitions of Brio and Go Natural
Porgugal's Sonae MC has announced that it has completed the deal to acquire 100% of Brio’s capital and 51% stake in the company that owns Go Natural. The Portuguese retail and telecommunications conglomerate said that both deals are in line with its strategy to invest in Health and Wellness, i.e healthy foods and promoting a healthy lifestyle. It said, ‘The Brio supermarkets will all undergo a process of communication standardisation under the Go Natural brand […] which will open new growth opportunities.' (esmmagazine.com) UK: Asda launches ‘Purple Majesty’ chips
Asda has introduced new chips that aim to tap into the growing trend for purple food in the UK. The new ‘Purple Majesty Chips’ (500g/ RRP £1) are made from Purple Majesty potatoes grown in Norfolk and Lincolnshire. (kamcity.com)Croatia supermarket chain that threatens a crisis
The country's biggest company, Agrokor, which owns the supermarkets, is teetering on the brink of collapse, the BBC reports. And if it does fall, the impact will reverberate across the Balkans. "The collapse of Agrokor could cause a recession," says Croatia's Economy Minister Martina Dalic."Its core company, Konzum, has 2,500 suppliers, which employ more than 150,000 people. There is a systemic risk if Agrokor is faced with bankruptcy." (BBC) UK: Tesco faces yet more legal action
Tesco’s accounting scandal has once again come back to haunt it as lawyers push investors to back fresh legal action. Rosenblatt Solicitors have stated that the shareholders’ current payouts do “not extend far enough” and has called on investors to back legal proceedings. It has accused the UK’s largest supermarket of submitting innacurate financial figures “for much longer” than the period investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). (retailgazette.co.uk) Oman: Lulu Group to source fresh produce from Sri Lanka
To further boost its sourcing operations and to bring in high quality products for its large chain of hypermarkets, Middle East-based retail giant Lulu Group inaugurated its world-class sourcing, food processing and export unit in Sri Lanka. The state-of-the-art facility will primarily focus on sourcing, processing, storing, packaging and exporting of fruits, vegetables and commodities from SriLanka to various Lulu operations around the world. (island.lk)UK: Asda needs to embrace customers' omnichannel habits: Kantar Retail
Kantar Retail has said that Walmart-owned UK retailer Asda will need to embrace omnichannel in a manner similar to that of its rivals if it wants to turn around its operations. Derya Yildiz, Senior Analyst Kantar Retail says that Asda "faces several challenges in an age where customer loyalty is difficult to win. Asda wants to clearly differentiate by being the destination for value-seeking busy customers but achieving this will not be easy and will come primarily through uncovering the omnichannel habits of these target shoppers." In addition, the retailer will look to benefit from its positive relations with suppliers. "One of the key weapons that Walmart will look to use in the upcoming period is positive relations with suppliers," said Yildiz. (esmmagazine.com)Italy: CIA-Conad sees 3.5% growth in 2016 sales
Italian regional grocery retailer Commercianti Indipendenti Associati (CIA) has reported 2016 turnover of €1.45bn, up 3.5% year-on-year. Last year, the company invested €41m in consolidation activities and network development, reports local news portal Chiamicitta. The retailer plans to invest over €250m in the period 2017-2019, including the opening of around 20 new stores. (esmmagazine.com)SPAR Norway expands its e-commerce network
Since last year, SPAR Norway has been increasing its focus on online retail to alleviate the challenge of large distances between stores and drive business to independent retailers across the country. EUROSPAR Hunstad is the first SPAR store in the north of Norway to launch an online site, providing everyone in Bodø with access to top quality fresh goods online. All products are handpicked instore by a EUROSPAR Hunstad employee, meaning that the same people one meets in the store are the ones picking and handling all the items that are ordered online. (eprretailnews.com)India: Bigbasket customer base hits 5 million mark
Online supermarket Bigbasket on Friday said that it has achieved a customer base of 5m with a presence over 26 cities across India, the company said in a statement on Friday. The online grocer that posted a loss of Rs 277 crore during FY16 on revenues of Rs 563 crore, said that it saw a corresponding increase in the average monthly sales from Rs 150 crore to about Rs 190 crore per month, up 30%, with increasing customer base. (financialexpress.com) Pam Panorama introduces new Metro store format in Italy
Italian grocery retail group Pam Panorama has introduced a new 'metro' store format. The first Pam Metro store has opened in Vicenza and features an assortment focused on new food trends to meet the needs of its customers. These include organic, ethnic and vegan products. (esmmagazine.com)