Denmark: Netto unveils 'discount store of the future' in Copenhagen
Netto, part of Denmark's Salling Group, has unveiled a new concept store in Copenhagen, as part of a brand overhaul. The 900-square-metre outlet features a much larger fruit and vegetable selection, a wider range of convenience products, a new colour palette (even the familiar Netto yellow has received a new look) and the introduction of a more Scandinavian look and feel, with the use of wooden logs in the fresh department. The layout of the store has also been altered, the retailer said, in order to improve traffic flow and make it easier for customers to find the items for which they are looking.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Netto, part of Denmark's Salling Group, has unveiled a new concept store in Copenhagen, as part of a brand overhaul. The 900-square-metre outlet features a much larger fruit and vegetable selection, a wider range of convenience products, a new colour palette (even the familiar Netto yellow has received a new look) and the introduction of a more Scandinavian look and feel, with the use of wooden logs in the fresh department. The layout of the store has also been altered, the retailer said, in order to improve traffic flow and make it easier for customers to find the items for which they are looking.Source: esmmagazine.com
UK retail sales in May 'best since 2014'
The latest release from the British Retail Consortium Retail Sales Monitor (BRC-RSM) shows that UK retail sales grew by 4.1% in May, benefiting from well-timed summer weather over holiday weekends, and the feel-good factor of the royal wedding. Though flattered by a weak comparative from 2017, this rate of growth is well above the current three and 12-month averages of 1.2% and 1.5% respectively. Food & grocery enjoyed some of the best growth seen in recent years, as seasonal and celebratory spending got into full swing with many taking the opportunity for outdoor gatherings and street parties. After a slowdown in the February to April period, the performance in May has boosted the three-month growth rate for food & grocery to 3.4%, underpinned by a like-for-like uplift of 2.0%. Adjusted for inflation (as measured by the BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index) real growth stands at 2.5%.Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Lidl Portugal expands while sourcing locally
The managing director of Lidl Portugal said that the retailer is planning to invest in Portugal this year, 40% more than last year due to buoyant market conditions. "This fiscal year, we will invest €100mln," Massimiliano Silvestri told a meeting with journalists at Lidl Portugal headquarters in Sintra. This includes the opening of "a handful of stores," in Greater Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve, and investing in two distribution warehouses, one in Torres Novas and one in Santo Tirso. The MD said that 2017 has been a positive year with Lidl Portugal registering "double-digit growth." In terms of market share, last year the supermarket chain had 8.6% of this Portuguese market sector, up from 8.2% in 2016. Also last year, the company bought and exported €100mln of Portuguese products, an increase of 40% compared to 2016.Source: algarvedailynews.com
Belgium's Colruyt Group trials self-scan payment app
Belgium-based Colruyt Group has introduced a new self-scan app that enables customers to scan and pay for their purchases with their smartphone in selected Spar outlets. The 'Scan.Pay.Go' app will be introduced in four Spar stores from 4 June, and will be rolled out alongside classic checkouts. Once customers log into the app using their Xtra account, a 'smart' customer card that can be used in 10 Colruyt Group store formats and online, they scan the items in their basket or cart. Unpacked products, such as fresh produce, can be labelled using the digital scales in-store. Customers can keep track of the total cost of their purchases throughout the trip. Once their shopping is completed, they pay with an online banking app or the Bancontact app. Once the payment has gone through, customers will receive a QR code which can be used to leave the shop.Source: esmmagazine.com
Australia's Metcash sees $268mln impairment in supermarkets arm
Australian grocery wholesaler and distributor Metcash Ltd said it expects to record a A$352mln ($268mln) impairment to goodwill and other net assets for the year ended April 30, after the loss of a major customer. The impairment charge in its supermarkets and convenience arm comprises A$318mln of goodwill and other intangibles, and A$34mln of other assets, and is non-cash in nature, the company said in a statement.Source: nasdaq.com
Sonae sees Portugal food retail growth among Europe's fastest
Portugal’s No. 1 retailer Sonae expects the domestic market to grow at one of the fastest rates in Europe until 2022 and plans to open more local supermarkets and boost its online sales to tap the growth. Sonae, which runs 173 Continente hypermarkets and large supermarkets, Worten consumer electronics stores and Sportzone stores said in a presentation Portugal’s grocery retail sales were forecast to grow 2.9% on average a year to 2022, outstripping sales growth of 2.2% in Europe as a whole.Source: reuters.com
Amazon is the online store Germans spend most time on
Of all online stores German consumers visit, Amazon is the one they spend the most of their time. The top ten of online stores where users spend the most time also consists of Chinese ecommerce giant AliExpress, shopping app Wish and online flea market Shpock. Market research company Innofact has analyzed on which ten online shopping platforms users from Germany spend most of their time. A total of 3,000 consumers from Germany were interviewed for this research, which was done on behalf of EY-Parthenon.Source: ecommercenews.eu
US: Online grocer Peapod relocates HQ from suburbs to Chicago
Online grocer Peapod has officially relocated its headquarters from Skokie, Illinois, to downtown Chicago, a move first announced last fall. Noting that it has experienced year-over-year growth and expansion into new ZIP codes, the ecommerce arm of Ahold Delhaize USA plans to support that growth through the new location and also attract “the best and brightest talent Chicago has to offer.” Initially, Peapod had hoped to be in its new headquarters by the end of 2017, bringing together its (at the time) 300 employees, which at the time included the Skokie associates and 120 IT workers based in the Civic Opera Building downtown.Source: progressivegrocer.com
CAN: Sobeys realigns leadership team
As part of a three-year transformation plan, Empire Company Ltd. has shuffled senior management at its Sobeys Inc. supermarket and drugstore subsidiary. The Canadian retailer said that with the new appointments, which include key operations and merchandising roles, the company is establishing a “truly national” merchandising team and bolstering its e-commerce and discount retail leadership.Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Village Super Market, Inc. reports results for the third quarter ended April 28, 2018
Village Super Market, Inc. reported its results of operations for the third quarter ended April 28, 2018. Net income was $6,542,000 in the third quarter of fiscal 2018 compared to $6,015,000 in the third quarter of the prior year. The third quarter of fiscal 2018 includes a $574,000 reduction in deferred tax expense as a result of the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Tax Act") on return to provision adjustments. Excluding this item from the third quarter of fiscal 2018, net income decreased 1% in the third quarter of fiscal 2018 compared to the prior year primarily due to higher operating and administrative expenses partially offset by the favorable impact of a reduction in the fiscal 2018 estimated effective tax rate to 33.3% as a result of the Tax Act. Source: globenewswire.com
US: Rite Aid investors rally to stop Albertsons deal
In its latest filing last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Rite Aid said its merger with Albertsons “is expected to close in the early part of the second half of calendar 2018,” which, according to Forbes, has left room for dissatisfied shareholders to rally for a better deal. One shareholder in particular - Chris Komatinsky, an individual shareholder from Los Angeles who claims to own about 1.5mln Rite Aid shares - released a press release this week calling for the merger to halt and an independent investigation of issues like senior executives’ retention bonuses, the value of the company, and Albertsons’ debt to be completed in the meantime.Source: delimarketnews.com