German retailer Lidl has built a new distribution facility in Nova Pazova, Serbia in preparation for the opening of the company's first stores in the country. The 45,000 square-metre facility can store approximately 30,000 pallets, with 120 loading ramps in order to supply to 100 stores once it is operating at full capacity. The centre also features five temperature-controlled storage zones to allow a variety of different products to be kept at optimal temperatures, including a dedicated chamber used exclusively for chocolate products. Approximately 180 employees will be employed at the site. It will be one of the largest sites in Southeast Europe to achieve the LEED Gold sustainability certificate due to the site’s incorporation of sustainable building materials, efficient use of water and the creation of better working conditions due to the high indoor air quality and use of natural light.Source: industryeurope.com
Danish supermarket tries new tactic to cut plastic bags
Supermarket Netto says that introducing a refundable charge on plastic carrier bags in 42 of its stores has reduced the amount bought by customers. The scheme, which works similar to the Danish system for returning bottles for recycling, adds an extra charge for the purchase of plastic bags, which can be refunded if the bags are later returned. Netto tried out the carrier bag system at 42 of its stores on the island of Funen. The ‘pant’ system for the plastic bags means they are charged at 50 øre (7 euro cents) more than the normal charge for plastic bags in Netto stores. After two months trying out the system, fewer customers than expected have returned the refundable bags. “But the number is increasing strongly. I think it is simply a question of people noticing others in the queue returning a bag,” Netto director Michael Løve told Ritzau.Source: thelocal.dk
Spar UK sales grow 4% in 2017
Spar retail sales increased 4.0% to €3.2bln (£2.82bln) in 2017, despite the ongoing uncertainty of Brexit and a weakened pound. The results were announced in Spar International’s Annual Report 2017 and mark five years of consecutive growth for Spar UK. Net store numbers in the UK remained steady compared to 2016 at 2,620 at year-end, operating from a retail selling area of 384,094m² across the country. Spar in the UK employs approximately 40,000 people.Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Holland: Jumbo starts Belgian daughter company
Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo has made another important step towards its expansion in Belgium: it has founded the company "bvba Jumbo Belgium". Belgian business newspaper De Tijd discovered the existence of the new company in the Belgisch Staatsblad (government gazette of Belgium). Rumours about the Belgian expansion of Jumbo have existed since 2017, but were quickly denied by Jumbo. Nevertheless, real estate agents told RetailDetail that they had already started a search for up to thirty suitable locations. Later on a first location was found in North-Belgian Bree (as of yet still officially unconfirmed), the only official sign up till now was a job ad for a Belgian real estate manager.Source: retaildetail.eu
Big chains continue to dominate Hungaryʼs FMCG market
According to publicly available figures, small FMCG stores have no chance of competing with multinational chains, which are much better positioned in terms of supply and logistics. Tesco is currently the biggest player on the market, while discount chains continue to increase their share. In the 2017 fiscal year, Tesco registered gross revenue growth of 3.5%. Although this is lower than the overall growth in the retail market of 4.9% in Hungary, it still accounted for a significant amount of HUF 808.8 billion, business daily Világgazdaság reported.Source: bbj.hu
UAE's Lulu: investing in the physical store
Lulu recently stated it does not see online as a threat to its physical stores. The retailer’s managing director, Yousurf Ali, said “Price, quality and convenience have always defined retailing - if one can guarantee all three, there’s no reason why brick-and-mortar should lose out to online shopping”. It believes geographical challenges will limit online growth. Therefore, instead of focusing on online Lulu will invest in new stores. Between now and 2019 it is looking to open 12 hypermarkets, mainly in the Middle East. This is double its 2017 openings. The retailer is still looking to grow its online business. To do this it will be upgrading its omnichannel service by expanding click and collect. It is hoping to have it account for 10% of sales in the future, but has not put a timeframe on this.Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Singapore retail sales inch up 0.4% in April, extending weak showing
Singapore retail sales continued its lacklustre streak in April, ticking up marginally by 0.4% compared to a year ago, dragged down by a sharp dip in computer & telecommunications equipment. This followed March's 1.1% drop in retail sales. Excluding motor vehicle sales, retail takings inched up 0.7% in April, according to Singapore Department of Statistics data released on June 12. Performance among the retail industries was a mixed bag, with the largest decline seen in computer & telecommunications equipment (-9.8%), followed by apparel & footwear (-3.4%), supermarkets & hypermarkets (-2.3%) and department stores (-1.7%).Source: straitstimes.com
US: Target and Shipt expand same-day delivery in Texas
Shipt, a leading online delivery marketplace, and Target Corporation announced they will begin same-day delivery of more than 55,000 groceries, essentials, home, electronics, toys and other products to select Texas metro areas. Beginning June 28, same-day delivery from Target will be available in the following metro areas: El Paso, Brownsville/McAllen and Lubbock, Texas. Shipt is launching in El Paso and Lubbock for the first time with same-day delivery from Target. Current and new Shipt members in Brownsville/McAllen will also gain access to Target same-day delivery, raising the number of households that have access to Shipt to more than 329,000 statewide.Source: nasdaq.com
US: Microsoft takes aim at Amazon with push for checkout-free retail
Microsoft is working on technology that would eliminate cashiers and checkout lines from stores, in a nascent challenge to Amazon.com's automated grocery shop, six people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The Redmond, Washington-based software giant is developing systems that track what shoppers add to their carts, the people say. Microsoft has shown sample technology to retailers from around the world and has had talks with Walmart about a potential collaboration, three of the people said. Microsoft's technology aims to help retailers keep pace with Amazon Go, a highly automated store that opened to the public in Seattle in January. Amazon customers scan their smartphones at a turnstile to enter. Cameras and sensors identify what they remove from the shelves. When customers are finished shopping, they simply leave the store and Amazon bills their credit cards on file.Source: cnbc.com
CAN: Metro goes same-day with online grocery delivery
Metro Inc. has begun offering same-day delivery for its online grocery service in Quebec. The Canadian supermarket operator said orders placed before 1 p.m. can now be picked up in-store as soon as 4 p.m. or be delivered as early as 6 p.m. Delivery carries a $10 fee, while the click-and-collect service costs $4. For freshness, Metro uses Tri-Zones technology for online grocery orders. Items purchased online are gathered in-store by personal shoppers and brought to a dedicated Tri-Zones station for temperate, refrigerated and frozen storage. The orders remain in the Tri-Zones area until they’re picked up by customers or collected for home delivery and brought to trucks, which also are equipped with Tri-Zones storage.Source: supermarketnews.com