Earth Fare’s artificial-intelligence-powered Smart Flyer boosted sales for the company and freed up its employees to work on other important projects, like product innovation, CEO Frank Scorpentini said at a panel discussion at the Shoptalk show in Las Vegas. The natural and organic grocer sends its consumer data to Daisy Intelligence, an AI firm, which tests various product combinations in the Smart Flyer based on predicted shopper demand. “It helps us understand what [shoppers] want and when they want it,” Scorpentini said. Scorpentini said Earth Fare plans to use artificial intelligence more closely with information from its loyalty database and craft more personalized offers for shoppers.Source: fooddive.com
US: SuperValu investing $69mln in return to Harrisburg distribution hub
SuperValu Inc., one of the largest grocery wholesalers and retailers in the country, is planning to spend about $69mln in a return to Harrisburg, where it will operate a wholesale distribution center to serve its Northeast customers. The plan, announced by Governor Tom Wolf, brings SuperValu back to 3900 Industrial Road. The company announced plans in 2008 to close the Harrisburg facility by 2010 as it consolidated distribution into a Lancaster County facility. A decade later, SuperValu, which has $16bln in annual sales, is growing again and needs more space — and people. It plans to hire at least 350 people over the next three years for the Harrisburg facility. Source: cpbj.com
US: Houston-based Fiesta Mart to be acquired by El Super grocery chain
A Hispanic food retailer is buying Fiesta Mart in a $300mln deal that will infuse new capital into the Houston-based grocer’s fight to remain relevant in the increasingly competitive grocery landscape. The Fiesta Mart acquisition would make the California-based Bodega Latina Corp and its Mexican parent company Chedraui, one of the largest Hispanic food retailers in the country. They are expected to acquire the 63 Lone Star State stores, including 32 in the Houston area, by the beginning of the second quarter.Source: chron.com
Mexico: Walmart reinvents the supermarket for the region
Walmart de México y Centroamérica presented what is described as an “omnicanal” supermarket, a radical shake-up that combines regular shopping with internet purchases and drive-thru areas. The first omnicanal store has been unveiled on the outskirts of Mexico City but the model will be copied for all new supermarkets and refurbishments throughout Mexico and Central America.Source: qcostarica.com
Germany: Aldi and Lidl dig deeper into Britain's grocery market
German-owned discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl are plowing ahead with a rapid expansion in Britain and are on course to grab more market share from the traditional big four players. A top Aldi executive told Reuters it aimed to have 1,000 UK stores by 2022, up from its current 762 while Lidl said it sees potentially 1,200 to 1,500 stores in the long term, up from 710.Source: reuters.com
Russia: X5 opens three Siberian Pyaterochka stores in Tomsk
Russian retail group X5 is further expanding into Siberia by opening its first three Pyaterochka stores in the city of Tomsk. The stores have a total area of about 1,700 square metres and are fully in line with the retail group’s Pyaterochka proximity store concept, according to the retailer. The store will source 20% of its product mix from local Tomsk producers, having already entered into agreement with 17 suppliers from the region. Some of X5’s local partners will also have the chance to supply their goods to neighbouring regions.Source: esmmagazine.com
Norway: NorgesGruppen FY2017: sales rise, but profits fall
Norwegian market leader NorgesGruppen has reported full year results. The numbers showed the strength of its multichannel, multi-brand strategy, but underlined how it had to sustain investment in its operations, with its operating profit falling during 2017. NorgesGruppen said its operating profit had been affected by the restructuring of Denmark-based Dagrofa, in which it has a 48.9% stake. The changes at Dagrofa have seen it focus on Meny, SPAR and FoodService Denmark operations, with Denmark-based Kiwi stores being closed. NorgesGruppen said total operating income rose 6.8% to NOK85.632bln (US$11.09bln), with the retailer saying higher levels of footfall drove its positive performance. The retailer said its research showed it grew sales by 3.1% versus market level growth of 1.1%, suggesting it made strong market share gains during 2017.Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Japan: Muji fresh store launched in Osaka
Japanese anti-brand retailer Muji has opened a massive 4,300sqm store in Osaka featuring its first dedicated fresh department. While the company has offered dried foods, snacks and other foods since it was founded in 1980, and even shelf-stable vegetables in some stores, this is the first time it has ventured into chilled, fresh meat and produce. The Muji fresh store is the brand’s largest globally and five times the typical Japanese footprint. About 50% of it is dedicated to food and it also features a Cafe & Meal Muji eating place.Source: retailnews.asia
AUS: Woolworths and Aldi gain market share on Coles in 2017
Australia’s $100bln-plus supermarket industry continues to be dominated by Woolworths and Coles, according to new research by Roy Morgan. Both Woolworths (32.2%) and Aldi (12.1%) grew their respective market shares by 0.8% during the course of 2017, while Coles (28.8%) saw its stake grow by just 0.1%. The three chains between them hold 73.1% of Australia’s entire supermarket industry.Source: anz.businesschief.com
Switzerland: Migros Lucerne sees profits fall by 7%
Swiss retail cooperative Migros recorded a 6.8% decrease in profit for its Lucerne branches last year, falling to CHF47.1mln (€35.6mln). The Migros Lucerne cooperative saw sales of CHF1.43bln (+0.9%), but EBIT came in at CHF47.7mln (-8.5%), in what it describes as a 'challenging environment'. The retailer serving the central Swiss region had 3.3% more customers last year, however, average customer spend was down 1.7% to CHF35.78.Source: esmmagazine.com