The Ministry of Municipalities and Environment (MME), in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC), have launched "Qatar Farms" programme to support local products. Assistant Undersecretary for Agriculture Affairs & Fisheries at the MME, Sheikh Dr Faleh bin Nasser Al Thani said that the launch of "Qatar Farms" is to support the local agricultural produce, which are fresh and of better quality than imported ones. Four big supermarkets - Al-Meera, Carrefour, Lulu and Family Food Center - are participating in the programme.Source: thepeninsulaqatar.com
Belgium: Delhaize to trial deliveries using public transport
Belgian Delhaize will begin piloting deliveries on public transport in 2019 in partnership with transport company Sumy. Initially, products are being delivered from Travie, which takes unsold fresh produce from Delhaize, makes this into soup and sells the products back to the Belgian retailer. Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
UK: Supermarket chain Aldi set to open new outlets in Dorset
Supermarket chain Aldi is looking to open several new stores across Dorset, creating hundreds of jobs. Aldi described Dorset as an important growth area and is now looking for sites in Dorchester, Shaftesbury, Blandford, Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch with further towns expected to be announced soon.Source: bournemouthecho.co.uk
Hypermarkets in UAE offer 50% discount for one month
The residents of the UAE can now enjoy 50% discount on consumer goods and food from March 20 to April 20. The initiative has been launched by the Ministry of Economy as a part of the World Happiness Day in cooperation with co-operative outlets and other hypermarket and supermarket chains in the country.Source: khaleejtimes.com
Jumbo regains title of cheapest supermarket in Portugal
Auchan's Jumbo is once again the cheapest supermarket chain in Portugal, according to the latest study by consumer association Deco Proteste, based on prices collected between September and November 2017. Former leaders Continente and Continente Modelo are now trailing behind, with the average price for the same basket of products being 2% more expensive than Jumbo.Source: esmmagazine.com
Brazil: Retail sales rise more than expected in January
Retail sales in Brazil increased by 0.9% in January 2018 from December 2017, said the country's statistics office. In the 12 months ended in January, retail sales increased by 2.5%. Compared to December, five out of the eight retail sectors surveyed posted higher sales in January, highlighting hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (+2.3%) and other articles of personal and domestic use (+6.8%).Source: markets.businessinsider.com
US: BJ’s to offer Instacart delivery chainwide
BJ’s Wholesale Club has expanded its same-day delivery agreement with Instacart and said it will offer the service from all of its membership clubs by the end of April. The Westborough, Massachusetts based chain first launched its partnership with Instacart a few years ago as a pilot in 18 stores, a BJ’s spokeswoman told Supermarket News. It will now be rolled out through the site delivery.bjs.com to all 215 BJ’s clubs, which operate along the East Coast from New England to Florida. Instacart is the only delivery partner that BJ’s works with through that site, the spokeswoman said.Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Cardenas completes rebranding Mi Pueblo stores
Western Hispanic grocer Cardenas Markets LLC has completed rebannering 15 Mi Pueblo stores following last year’s merger with the chain. The initiative began with the remodel of the Oakland Mi Pueblo store last December. The final two Mi Pueblo locations have now opened their doors under the Cardenas name.Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Supervalu to exit Farm Fresh banner
Supervalu has entered into three separate definitive agreements to sell 21 of its 38 Farm Fresh Food & Pharmacy stores for about $43mln in cash to three retailers: Harris Teeter, Kroger Mid-Atlantic Division and Food Lion. Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based Supervalu is also involved in ongoing discussions and exploring potential deals to sell the remaining Farm Fresh locations to current and prospective wholesale customers and certain Farm Fresh employees.Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Weis’ 4Q caps year of gains
Buoyed by ongoing price investments, disciplined sales promotions and an improved customer experience during fiscal 2017, Mid-Atlantic retailer Weis Markets posted a fourth-quarter comparable-store sales increase of 1.2%, while the quarter’s sales were up 2.2%, when adjusted for the additional week in 2016. For the 13-week period ended Dec. 30, 2017, the grocer’s sales came to $883.7mln, versus $925.1mln for the 14-week period ended Dec. 31, 2016. Weis Markets’ net income rose a substantial 54.7% to $63.7mln while earnings per share (EPS) totaled $2.37, which the company attributed mainly to a $49.3mln decrease in deferred income tax, courtesy of the recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.Source: progressivegrocer.com