SpartanNash is expanding its Fast Lane online grocery shopping experience to include at-home delivery in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Delivery will be available on shopthefastlane.com to customers in 24 ZIP codes covering the greater Grand Rapids region, and fulfilled through five area stores. Locations will continue to offer kerbside pickup, with no minimum purchase required.Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Dollar General's strong same-store sales suggest revamp paying off
Dollar General Inc reported strong quarterly same-store sales and gave an upbeat profit forecast for 2018, suggesting that efforts to stock a wider variety of products and remodel stores were paying off. The discount retailer also boosted its stock repurchase program by $1bln and its cash dividend by 12%, helping send its shares up 5%.Source: reuters.com
Italy: Gruppo SUN enjoys private label growth
Following on from its positive 2017 results Supermercati Uniti Nazionali (SUN) has said its private label products enjoyed sales growth of 20.6% in the first 10 months of 2017, versus the national average of 3.8%. SUN said its private label beverage products saw the strongest growth, at 29.3%, versus a national average of 1.4%. Other categories spotlighted by SUN included fresh (+16.3%), fruit and vegetables (+12.8%), personal care (+23.2%) and home care (+17.1%).Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Lotte China moving to sell hypermarket chain
Lotte China plans to wrap up the sales of its hypermarket chain in China within the next three months. Potential buyers have started to inspect the South Korean retail giant’s stores. While many have reviewed documents, Chinese retailer Liqun Group was the first to carry out on-site inspections of Lotte Mart’s Chinese stores, reports Yonhap news agency. However, a Lotte Mart official says three or four other companies also also planning on-site inspections.Source: insideretail.asia
European grocery retail market to be worth €2,289bln by 2022
Global food and grocery experts IGD's key findings from European grocery forecasts to 2022 are: Europe’s grocery retail market will grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.7% between 2017 to 2022. The European grocery market will add €377.6bln to the global market and will be worth €2,289bln by 2022. Turkey, Russia and the UK will drive 51% of Europe’s grocery retail sales growth between 2017 and 2022. Europe will account for 16% of global grocery retail sales growth for the five years to 2022.Source: igd.com
Holland: Spar makes ambitious entry into Greece
Spar International has announced that it will continue its worldwide expansion with an entry on the Greek market of independent food supermarkets. As Spar Hellas, the food retail chain hopes to establish itself as the "most modern cooperative network of independent retail stores in the country", says CEO Fivos Karakitsos. The first ten Greek Spar stores are due to open by July; eighty stores will be operational by the end of 2018. Within a mere four years, more than 500 Spar stores should adorn the Greek food retail landscape, 200 of which are currently part of the Asteras association. In a co-operation with the Mesis chain, most of the Asteras stores will be converted to Spar branches, combining the independent Greek retailers' knowledge with the Spar brand philosophy.Source: retaildetail.eu
Portugal: Sonae accelerates growth, with 5% increase in food sales
Portuguese retail group Sonae has reported that consolidated turnover increased by 7.1% to €5.7bln in 2017, with growth across all its businesses. In particular, the group's food retail business, which includes the Continente grocery chain, saw growth of 5.4%, while the value of online sales surpassed €100mln for the first time ever. Overall, underlying EBITDA increased by 6.9% to €336mln, while net profit reached €166mln.Source: esmmagazine.com
China: Alibaba invests additional $2bln in Lazada
Chinese tech giant Alibaba said it would invest an additional $2bln in Southeast Asian online retailer Lazada as part of its continued push into the region. Last year, Alibaba increased its stake in the Singapore-based firm from 51% to 83% with an additional billion-dollar investment. Alibaba acquired control of Lazada in 2016 with an initial $1bln investment.Source: cnbc.com
Holland: online supermarket Picnic drives its delivery service into Germany
Online goods delivery service Picnic is expanding its formula in Germany, centering on the Düsseldorf area, online news service Nu.nl reported. Picnic, which received a €100mln capital injection from four large investment funds earlier this year, is expanding in both the Netherlands and Germany on a city-to-city basis. Picnic’s free deliveries are made by ‘runners’ driving small electric delivery vans which have set routes in each area of a town it serves.Source: dutchnews.nl
Turkey retail sales rise further
Turkey's retail sales increased for the second straight month in January, figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed. Retails sales climbed a seasonally and calendar-adjusted 1.2% month-over-month in January, slower than December's 2.6% increase. Sales of food, drinks and tobacco grew 0.8% monthly in January and non-food sales, except automotive fuel, rose by 1.0%.Source: markets.businessinsider.com