Portuguese grocery retailers Intermarché and Grupo Dia Portugal are to end their joint negotiating and purchasing platform Cindia. The news was announced by Os Mosqueteiros, the Portuguese unit of French retailer Les Mousquetaires, stating that the platform will be closed in the coming months. Cindia was set up by the two partners in May 2015 to negotiate with Portugal’s biggest brands, with the aim of optimising the purchasing conditions for both banners, while improving the services offered to suppliers.Source: esmmagazine.com
Carrefour Romania’s sales up by 10.6% in Q1 2018
Carrefour Romania’s sales increased by 10.6% in Q1 2018 at constant exchange rates and an increase by 7.7% like-for-like, driven by an increase in volumes, to EUR 486mln, VAT included, according to a report of the Company. "In Poland, total sales were up +5.7% at constant exchange rates (-0.8% like-for-like), while strong momentum continued in Romania, with sales growth of +10.6% at constant exchange rates and +7.7% like-for-like, driven by an increase in volumes" says the report.Source: business-review.eu
Auchan China and Tmall Supply enter supply agreement
Following on from its announcement in Q4 2017, Auchan China and Tmall Supply have entered into the Auchan Tmall Supply Agreement. RT Mart has said that it believes cooperating with Tmall will enable it to source products it did not have access to before and will improve the range available in Auchan stores in China. The agreement will last for nine months and acts retrospectively from 1 April 2018 to 31 December 2018.Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Spar continues expansion with entry into Sri Lanka
Spar International will make its entry into the Sri Lankan market with ‘ambitious plans’ to open 50 new stores by 2033. The expansion will be helmed by Spar Sri Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, a partnership between Spar South Africa and Ceylon Biscuits Limited. The partnership was launched at the grand opening of the first Spar supermarket in Colombo, the country’s capital. Sri Lanka is Spar’s 48th market worldwide, and its sixth in Asia.Source: esmmagazine.com
Carrefour Taiwan shines in sagging Asia market
Carrefour Taiwan showed growth for the 13th consecutive quarter while in the rest of Asia first-quarter sales sagged for the French hypermarket operator. Taiwan’s like-for-like sales rose by 3.3%. A strategic partnership formed with Tencent in China rapidly materialised, says the group, including the launch of a WeChat app.Source: insideretail.asia
India: Honey Money Top Retails buys Singapore Angel-backed grocery app
Delhi-NCR-based supermarket chain Honey Money Top Retails Pvt. Ltd has acquired for an undisclosed amount Supply Chain Analytics and Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which operates grocery delivery app iOrderFresh. The deal is expected to help Honey Money Top build a strong online presence as a retailer catering to customers in Delhi-NCR.Source: vccircle.com
Auchan to expand in Ukraine
Following on from its acquisition of the Karavan chain and the start of the rebranding process in the country, Auchan has said it will open its first supermarket in April 2018. The retailer has said the 3,500 sq. m store will focus on shoppers’ everyday needs, while also supporting their top up missions and providing a café with food-for-now options. It will also look to offer shoppers a wider range of global foods. Auchan said the design of the new store will be built following shopper feedback and meet their future shopping needs. The retailer has said the format will be rolled out during 2018, initially in Kyiv.Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
CAN: Loblaw expands its online grocery service to Amherst
Loblaw Companies announced the expansion of its popular online grocery service into Amherst. This service, the first of its kind in the Atlantic region, lets customers shop for all of their groceries online, then schedule a convenient time to pick up their order at their local Atlantic Superstore without even having to leave their car.Source: cumberlandnewsnow.com
US: Peapod is “doubling down” on value
Amid surging competition in online grocery services, Peapod said it’s “doubling down” on its value proposition for consumers with new savings, delivery and meal kit options. The Ahold Delhaize USA online grocer announced everyday price cuts on thousands of products, including natural and organic items, meat, fresh produce and dairy. The changes will show the old price slashed with the new, lower price. In addition, customers will see flags highlighting further savings via weekly promotions on many items.Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Albertsons forecasts positive comp growth in 2018
Albertsons officials are expecting identical-store sales—which only recently turned positive—to continue growing in its new fiscal year. The Boise, Idaho-based retailer said it is forecasting same-store sales growth of 1.5% to 2% in fiscal 2018, which began Feb. 25. Albertsons’ ID sales in fiscal 2017 declined by 1.3% overall, although the most recent fourth quarter saw a 0.6% comp increase.Source: winsightgrocerybusiness.com
US: Costco Wholesale Corporation reports March sales results
Costco Wholesale Corporation (“Costco” or the “Company”) reported net sales of $12.92bln for the month of March, the five weeks ended April 8, 2018, an increase of 10.9% from $11.65bln last year. For the thirty-one weeks ended April 8, 2018, the Company reported net sales of $81.43bln, an increase of 11.8% from $72.82bln last year. This year’s five-week March retail-month had one fewer shopping day versus last year, due to the calendar shift of Easter. This negatively impacted total and comparable March sales by approximately one to one and one-half%.Source: globenewswire.com