Ex-Sainsbury's CEO Justin King said Brexit will lead to "higher prices, less choice, and poorer quality" at supermarkets. Tesco CEO Dave Lewis says EU exit won't affect choice or quality but says prices are being squeezed. Lewis said that a no deal scenario, if there were to be tariffs, then actually that could impact the price of food. (uk.businessinsider.com)EU: Amazon gets bill for back taxes
The European Union has hit Amazon with a tax bill. The online giant was ordered to pay 250m euros ($294m) plus interest in back taxes to Luxembourg on Wednesday after the European Commission said the retailer had received illegal tax benefits. (chainstoreage.com)UK: Waitrose extends 'Cook Well' recipe box range
UK retailer Waitrose has extended its 'Cook Well' range, which delivers pre-prepared ready-to-cook meal boxes to customers. As part of the expansion plan, an extra 60 new dishes have been added to the range (esmmagazine.com)French Auchan to launch new hypermarket formula
The new formula should help the hypermarket to survive, according to CEO Wilhelm Hubner. The formula is no longer called a hypermarket internally, which is Hubner’s way of saying that Auchan will bring something entirely new to market. It is not entirely clear what it will be however. The new formula will not only be introduced to France, but also to other countries where Auchan’s position is already strong. (retaildetail.eu) Ahold Delhaize sells AH Groenplaats to Spar (Colruyt)
The Belgian Competition Authority (BMA) forced the merger partners to sell thirteen stores before they could merger in Belgium: eight Albert Heijn and five Delhaize stores. The one Albert Heijn location on the Groenplaats in Antwerp failed to find a buyer, but it has finally been sold, Ahold Delhaize announced today. The store has been sold to Colruyt Group, which will turn it into a Spar. (retaildetail.eu)Choppies plans new stores across Africa
The retailer plans to open 22 stores, building on its existing nine stores in Kenya. In South-Africa, Choppies currently has around 70 stores and plans to open a further 12 in the coming financial year. Other store openings are planned in Zambia and Tanzania. In these countries Choppies has said it needs to increase the number of stores it has to ensure it can make a profit. (igd.com)Noon.com launches in the UAE
After a long-planned arrival, Noon.com has launched in the UAE. It is set to go live in Saudi Arabia before the end of October. Noon.com was planned to launch with around 20 million products, including a a comprehensive range of groceries, although it has not been confirmed whether this figure has been reached. (igd.com)France: Franprix adds ‘Noé’ organic store concept
Adding to a number of European retailers launching organic-focused banners to benefit from shoppers’ growing interest in the ranges, Franprix has launched a new concept, which will have a focus on gourmet, organic, and local produce. Commenting on the launch of the new store design, Franprix’s managing director, Jean-Paul Mochet, said: “Our job is to provide the public with an offering that allows them to be sure of the origin of the products they buy, and move towards more responsible consumption.” (igd.com)Italy: Unicoop Tirreno joins MyFoody to combat food waste
Unicoop Tirreno, which operates just over 100 stores, has joined MyFoody, which says that it ‘actively involves shoppers in combating food waste’. Through the app shoppers are alerted to when and where discounted food is available which is close to their expiry date or are affected by other defects. The offers are updated in real time and shoppers are alerted as soon as the products are made available. (igd.com)Italy: Unicoop Firenze sees sales rise 1.2% in 2016
Unicoop Firenze has announced that its sales rose 1.2% to €2.37 bn in 2016. The cooperative said that its pace of growth outstripped that of the market, which stood at 0.1% for the year. Unicoop Firenze said revenue growth came despite it cutting prices by 0.3% during 2016 to enable it to compete with other price-oriented chains in its region. (igd.com)
France: Biocoop appoints new CEO
Organic specialist Biocoop has appointed Orion Porta as its new chief executive. Porta will take over from Gilles Piquet-Pellorce, who has been in the role since 2011. Porta has been at Biocoop since 2009 and takes over as chief executive at a time when competition for organic-focused shoppers is rising strongly in France. Auchan, Carrefour and Casino have all launched or are about to launch a proximity store format focused on organic ranges, which will enable them to all compete head on with Biocoop to some regard. (igd.com)France: Intermarché to stock Conad private label
Intermarché has started to stock Italy-based Conad’s private label ranges under the ‘Creazioni D’Italia’ brand in its stores in France. In its home market Conad’s range is sold under the ‘Sapori & Dintorni’ brand. (igd.com)France: Leclerc to introduce new private label range
Leclerc will launch a new private label range to highlight quality fresh products under the new brand name of ‘Grands Crus Agricole’ (‘Origins of Taste’). The range will be introduced at the end of October and will provide shoppers with a range of 40 high quality products at a strong price point while also having less sugar, less salt etc. (igd.com)Poland and Hungary put pressure on Tesco’s regional sales
Tesco’s performance in Central Europe is attributed to the sales decline – at constant exchange rate - in its two biggest operations, Poland and Hungary, which collectively dropped £64mn (€85mn) in the first half of 2017-2018. Regardless, Tesco stated this is an improvement in its Polish operation through investment in their fresh food offer and focus on promotional activity. (igd.com)US: Analysts question Ahold Delhaize’s bid for Kroger
Analysts have questioned the legitimacy of an ‘anonymous tweet’ reported yesterday, which suggested that Ahold Delhaize is lining up a bid for US retail giant Kroger. According to the tweet, Ahold Delhaize has hired advisors to investigate making a bid for Kroger, at a rate of $32 per share. Kroger currently trades at $20-$21 a share. Please, click here to read more at esmmagazine.com. Sprouts to grow footprint with Mid-Atlantic expansion
Sprouts announced the opening of its first store in the highly competitive Mid-Atlantic region, in Ellicott City, Maryland, according to a company release. This marks the sixteenth state in Sprouts footprint, which is primarily focused on the southwest and southeastern U.S. The retailer also announced it’s opening thirty stores in New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, California and North Carolina over the course of 2018. (fooddive.com) US: Weis Markets expands DC
Weis Markets Inc. has opened a 210,000-square-foot expansion of its distribution center in Milton, Pa. The expansion, which brings the facility’s size to 1.3 million square feet, provides additional dairy, deli, and cold storage (frozen food) capacity and further streamlines the grocer’s supply chain. (progressivegrocer.com) Walmart tests in-fridge delivery
Walmart has partnered with smart lock startup August Home to facilitate in-fridge deliveries in Silicon Valley test homes, according to reports. Delivery drivers are given a one-time passcode, which allows them to access the home (assuming the driver rings the doorbell once and receives no answer). The driver then unloads the groceries into the refrigerator and leaves. Customers can use an app to watch the interaction by way of an IoT surveillance camera. (forbes.com)