US: Loblaw exploring partnership with Instacart
Woolworths and Coles may dominate the local supermarket space, however when it comes to customer satisfaction Foodland and Aldi win out, according to a new report from Roy Morgan Research. Among the big five supermarkets, Foodland was the top performer with a customer satisfaction score of 94.4% in August, according to the latest figures from Roy Morgan’s ongoing study involving more that 12,000 interviews with grocery buyers per annum.
Loblaw says it’s exploring grocery home delivery partnership with Instacart
Loblaw Companies Ltd. says it’s exploring the possibility of offering grocery home delivery one day. Spokesman Kevin Groh says in a statement that the company has “engaged” a number of e-commerce innovators around the world, including Instacart, as it continues to explore the best ways to serve its customers in the future. He says that may include home delivery.
Costcutter launches new business services programme
Costcutter Supermarkets Group has launched a new business services programme for its independent store owners by offering preferred suppliers for a selection of services.
Carrefour: End of the remodeling process for BILLA stores in Romania
Carrefour announces the completion of the BILLA remodeling process in Romania, a process that lasted 7 months (beginning March 1, 2017) and was later marked by the opening of BILLA's first store in Bucharest, Market Liberty Mall. The remodeling process ended September 21, 2017 (after approximately 7 months) with the transformation of the last 4 stores, from BILLA to Market, in the cities of: Bucharest (2 stores), Timisoara and Mangalia.
Carrefour and SGS launch visual trust in China
Carrefour and SGS have launched Visual Trust in China. Visual Trust is an end-to-end digital solution that allows Chinese shoppers to check the quality and origins of their purchases by scanning food with their smartphones. When shoppers scan products, they gain immediate access to quality certificates, test results, locations and pictures of farms, as well as nutritional advice.
Canada's Metro bids $3.64 billion for Coutu to fend off Amazon Push
Canadian grocer Metro is in advanced talks to buy pharmacy chain Jean Coutu Group Inc. for C$4.52 billion ($3.64 billion) to diversify its business in an industry under increasing threat from Amazon’s food expansion. Metro is offering C$24.50 a share in cash and stock for Varennes, Quebec-based Jean Coutu, or 6% higher than Coutu’s closing price Tuesday in Toronto. The two companies haven’t reached a definitive agreement, according to a joint statement Wednesday.
Shoprite opens 14 new stores across country
The Shoprite Group, South Africa’s largest private sector employer, has begun implementing its massive national expansion plan with the opening of 14 new stores, including one in the Eastern Cape, this week. It said yesterday it had created 820 new jobs in just one week.
Publix follows Wal-Mart, will test curbside grocery pickup
Publix Supermarkets will test curbside pickup of grocery orders placed online, trying to keep pace with the popular service launched at Wal-Mart, as shoppers demand convenience. Publix launched the test at two stores near Tampa in Wesley Chapel and Valrico. Stores in the Atlanta area will also get curbside pickup by the end of the year.
Retail sales in Korea rise 4.3% in August
Retail sales in South Korea increased 4.3 percent in August from a year earlier, driven by strong sales posted by online malls and convenience stores, government data showed Friday. Sales of 13 major online stores and marketplaces jumped 13.1 percent on-year last month as more people bought airline tickets and travel packages, as well as clothing and fashion items via the Internet, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Spain’s retail sales growth improves in August
Spain’s retail sales grew at a faster pace in August, figures from the statistical office INE showed Thursday. Retail sales advanced by adjusted 1.6 percent year-on-year in August, faster than the 1.2 percent increase seen a month ago. Sales were forecast to grow 2 percent.
Spar Austria to invest €21 million in Steyr shopping centre
Spar Austria is building a new Interspar hypermarket at a shopping centre in the city of Steyr, following an investment of €21.1 million. The work is set to be complete by late 2018, offering job opportunities to around 200 people in the Interspar outlet, as well as Hervis, Media Markt and some new partners.
Colruyt Group calls for simplification Of ‘Cumbersome’ Belgian tax regime
Belgian retailer Colruyt Group has called on the Belgian government to simplify the “complex and administratively cumbersome Belgian tax system”, in order to make it easier for businesses to generate positive growth. In a letter to shareholders, chairman Jef Colruyt said that “sustainable growth also requires an efficient government”, and added that the group is ‘pleased with the government decision to reform the corporation tax by lowering the nominal rate and drastically simplifying the deduction items, while preserving specific incentives for investments, innovation, research and development’. In July, Belgium’s government announced a reduction of the corporate income tax rate to 25% in 2020, from 33.99% today, as well as a number of other measures.
Walmart India may evaluate entering food retail biz
Walmart India said it will evaluate entering into the food retail business if the government allows such ventures to stock about 25-30% non-food items as well, a top company official said this Tuesday.
Amazon and Walmart outscore supermarkets on online grocery satisfaction
Conventional supermarkets and food stores have their work cut out to protect their turf as grocery spending increasingly moves online. While these traditional groceries race to get into the online grocery game, however, Walmart and Amazon are wrestling for dominance at the head of the pack. Amazon beat out Walmart on numerous factors, most related to the online shopping process itself, including ease of checkout, delivery process/order pickup and navigation. Clearly, the retail giant is drawing from years of e-commerce experience to make online grocery work. The retail giant also outscored Walmart on item availability, and consumers' overall familiarity with the site could be another factor contributing to its overall high marks. Walmart bested supermarkets on four key elements, among them the online checkout process and the availability of convenient delivery or pickup times. Having 1,000 pickup points throughout the country and testing automated pickup kiosks in-store certainly helps. But the attributes that stand out are those related to the retailer’s value proposition, which clearly is carrying over to its online offer. Compared with supermarkets, Walmart scored significantly higher on offering a good value for the money paid, as well as making it easy for online shoppers to identify sale prices and have those discounts applied at checkout.