Spar Austria has introduced a new dedicated health, nutrition and wellbeing section at its Interspar hypermarkets across the country. For people looking to keep fit, the new Interspar range includes naturally functional foods and superfoods, according to the retailer. The new range is well-sorted and clearly arranged with the aim of making it more convenient for customers to find healthy and nutritious products.Source: esmmagazine.com
Germany's retail sales fall for third month
Germany's retail sales decreased for the third straight month in February, Destatis reported. Retail sales fell 0.7% month-on-month in February, bigger than the 0.3% decrease seen in January. This was the third consecutive decline in sales. Sales were expected to grow 0.8%. Both retail sales of food, beverages and tobacco and non-food products advanced 1.2% each annually in February.Source: markets.businessinsider.com
China: Alibaba's Hema Fresh unveils 24-hour delivery
Hema Fresh has introduced 24-delivery services in its 25 stores in Beijing and Shanghai. Users of the Hema app who live within a 3 kilometre radius of a store can now get the same 30 minutes delivery service between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. as well. The new offering includes most items in the store, except for some fresh produce. Delivery time for cooked meals, which are a big draw for Hema, will be extended to 1 a.m.Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Holland: Albert Heijn tells you how to walk in a supermarket
From May onward, Albert Heijn customers in Hoofddorp will be able to use indoor navigation to quickly and effectively complete their shopping list, according to iCulture. An app, co-developed with Philips and Aisle411 will point customers in the right direction to every item. The Appie app already allows customers to sort items based on the route in their supermarket, but this navigation app will basically become a Google Maps with a route to follow. It would also tell you where the items are, eliminating the need to search or to ask an employee for assistance.Source: retaildetail.eu
Online global grocery shopping to double to $334bln
A new report from Forrester Research estimates that online grocery spending around the world, worth about $150bln last year, is set to double in the next five years, reaching $334bln. With a compound annual growth rate, the report finds that even as the market enters the mature phase in South Korea, China, Australia and the UK, there’s evidence that online food sales in laggards like the U.S. and Germany are almost ready to gain critical mass.Source: mediapost.com
Belgium: Colruyt expands range of Halal-friendly foods
Belgian retail group Colruyt has announced it is expanding its range of halal-friendly products to make shopping easier for its Muslim customers. The retailer will introduce some 40 new products specifically aimed at the needs of the Muslim community in Belgium. The products will hit the shelves of 40 stores in mainly urban areas during 2018, according to Colruyt. Source: esmmagazine.com
China: Alibaba acquires Ele.me in $9.5bln deal
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has moved to fully acquire the Ele.me startup, seeking to leverage its service network to dive deeper into brick-and-mortar retailing. The deal, which first surfaced in February as Alibaba approached all Ele.me shareholders for a possible buy-out, implies an enterprise value of $9.5bln for the Shanghai-based startup, the company said in a statement without specifying how much it is paying. Alibaba and affiliate Ant Financial, which currently own 43% of Ele.me, invested $1.25bln in the company in 2016. Source: forbes.com
US: Times Supermarkets promotes Christopher Borden to president
QSI Inc., the Honolulu-based operator of Hawaiian chain Times Supermarkets, has promoted Christopher Borden to president and director of QSI Inc. Hawaii. In his new role, Borden will have primary responsibility for the daily operations and continued growth of the supermarket chain. He was previously director of marketing.Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Target reveals locations of 3 new small-format stores in New York
Target has chosen three New York neighborhoods in its plan to attract younger shoppers and expand in key urban areas. It expects to operate 130 small-format stores across the U.S. by the end of 2019, and already has smaller stores downtown in New York's Tribeca neighborhood and across from Macy's at Herald Square. The retailer also has a larger location uptown in Harlem. The plans announced for three new small-format locations are on the Upper East Side and Staten Island and in Astoria, Queens.Source: cnbc.com
US: Walmart launches global money transfer service
Building on its introduction four years ago of Walmart2Walmart, a domestic money transfer service that offered dramatically lower costs, Walmart Inc. has now teamed up with MoneyGram International to do the same for the global wire service market with Walmart2World. “We think sending money should cost the same regardless of where you send it; that’s why we’ve designed a brand-new global wire service to send money to 200 countries with a consistently low fee,” explained Kirsty Ward, VP, Walmart Services.Source: progressivegrocer.com