U.S. Retail sales rise more than forecast in broad-based advance
U.S. retail sales rose by more than forecast in July as Americans snapped up clothes and headed to restaurants, extending solid consumer-spending gains to the start of the third quarter. The value of overall sales advanced 0.5% from June, whose gain was revised down to 0.2%, Commerce Department figures showed. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.1% gain. Excluding purchases of autos and gasoline, sales climbed 0.6%, topping the median estimate for a 0.4 % rise.
Source: bloomberg.com
US: Meijer’s Bridge Street Market readies for debut
After more than a year of planning and construction, Meijer’s Bridge Street Market concept is set to open Aug. 29 on the corner of Bridge St. and Seward Ave. in the grocer’s headquarters city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Touted by the midwestern retailer as a first-of-its-kind location in the region, Bridge Street Market will bring fresh, convenient food and value to residents of the city’s West Side, according to Store Manager Ken Bair. “Bridge Street Market is unique - unique to the region and unique to Meijer, and we are excited to finally share it with the community,” said Bair. “From day one, we hit the ground running to ensure we had the best products on our shelves to meet the communities’ needs. We listened diligently and soaked up the West Side’s heritage, and believe that Bridge Street Market will more than deliver.”
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Tops Markets' grocery business strengthens as summer begins
As summer began, Tops Markets’ grocery business got stronger. The bankrupt supermarket chain’s core grocery business had its best month yet as summer began, reporting its fourth straight monthly operating profit, according to new documents filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The slow strengthening of Tops’ grocery business is a positive sign for the company, which filed for bankruptcy in late February and has been working to restructure its business ever since. Tops has since resolved two key pension issues that were a significant long-term financial burden on the company. Tops still needs to finalize a deal with its secured bondholders to swap most of the company’s $700mln in debt for a majority ownership stake in the restructured supermarket company, and it is expected to close some of its underperforming stores. Tops’ supermarket business has become steadily more profitable as it has moved through bankruptcy, freed from annual interest payments that topped $80mln a year.
Source: buffalonews.com
U.S. retail sales rose by more than forecast in July as Americans snapped up clothes and headed to restaurants, extending solid consumer-spending gains to the start of the third quarter. The value of overall sales advanced 0.5% from June, whose gain was revised down to 0.2%, Commerce Department figures showed. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.1% gain. Excluding purchases of autos and gasoline, sales climbed 0.6%, topping the median estimate for a 0.4 % rise.Source: bloomberg.com
US: Meijer’s Bridge Street Market readies for debut
After more than a year of planning and construction, Meijer’s Bridge Street Market concept is set to open Aug. 29 on the corner of Bridge St. and Seward Ave. in the grocer’s headquarters city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Touted by the midwestern retailer as a first-of-its-kind location in the region, Bridge Street Market will bring fresh, convenient food and value to residents of the city’s West Side, according to Store Manager Ken Bair. “Bridge Street Market is unique - unique to the region and unique to Meijer, and we are excited to finally share it with the community,” said Bair. “From day one, we hit the ground running to ensure we had the best products on our shelves to meet the communities’ needs. We listened diligently and soaked up the West Side’s heritage, and believe that Bridge Street Market will more than deliver.”Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Tops Markets' grocery business strengthens as summer begins
As summer began, Tops Markets’ grocery business got stronger. The bankrupt supermarket chain’s core grocery business had its best month yet as summer began, reporting its fourth straight monthly operating profit, according to new documents filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The slow strengthening of Tops’ grocery business is a positive sign for the company, which filed for bankruptcy in late February and has been working to restructure its business ever since. Tops has since resolved two key pension issues that were a significant long-term financial burden on the company. Tops still needs to finalize a deal with its secured bondholders to swap most of the company’s $700mln in debt for a majority ownership stake in the restructured supermarket company, and it is expected to close some of its underperforming stores. Tops’ supermarket business has become steadily more profitable as it has moved through bankruptcy, freed from annual interest payments that topped $80mln a year.Source: buffalonews.com
Walmart India activates UPI on its B2B e-commerce platform
Walmart India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walmart Inc, activated unified payments interface (UPI) for all its registered members. This payment solution will enable members, especially kiranas/resellers, who shop online at Walmart India's B2B e-commerce site bestprice.in, to make direct and secured payments online from their bank account without sharing bank details, the global retail giant said in a press release: "This will especially benefit kirana members who neither hold any credit/debit card nor have the time to visit banks for making RTGS payments. UPI is in addition to various other payment modes such as credit card, debit card, net banking and e-wallets that Walmart India offers to its members."Source: retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com
New Zealand: Countdown annual profit slides 8% to $284mln
Woolworths Group's Countdown chain of supermarkets in New Zealand says grocery prices fell at an even faster pace in the fourth quarter, although growing demand for online sales helped boost annual revenue. New Zealand food sales rose to $6.4bln in the 52 weeks ended June 24, from $6.2bln a year earlier, though earnings before interest and tax (ebit) dropped 8.2% to $284mln, according to Sydney-based Woolworths' annual sales statement. The decline in earnings was due to increased staff costs, even as New Zealand headcount shrank to 18,430 from 19,228 a year earlier, and increased spending on its 'CountdownX' digital unit.Source: nzherald.co.nz
UK: Co-op accelerates new store expansion
Trade press reports, quoting figures from Barbour ABI, the construction data industry specialist, show that Co-op currently has the largest number of new sites in development of any UK grocery retailer. The data shows that Co-op submitting planning applications for 34 new stores in the first six months of 2018. In the same period Co-op actually completed 21 new openings. After the significant disposal of nearly 300 stores to McColl's in 2017, Co-op is now seeking rapidly to make up lost ground with an increasing rate of store development targeting 'higher value' locations with stores of an optimal footprint for the Co-op convenience offer. Boosted by this growing critical mass of new stores and excellent summer weather, in the latest Kantar Worldpanel data (12 weeks to 15 July), Co-op sales were up 6.4%, well ahead of its supermarket competitors.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Trade press reports, quoting figures from Barbour ABI, the construction data industry specialist, show that Co-op currently has the largest number of new sites in development of any UK grocery retailer. The data shows that Co-op submitting planning applications for 34 new stores in the first six months of 2018. In the same period Co-op actually completed 21 new openings. After the significant disposal of nearly 300 stores to McColl's in 2017, Co-op is now seeking rapidly to make up lost ground with an increasing rate of store development targeting 'higher value' locations with stores of an optimal footprint for the Co-op convenience offer. Boosted by this growing critical mass of new stores and excellent summer weather, in the latest Kantar Worldpanel data (12 weeks to 15 July), Co-op sales were up 6.4%, well ahead of its supermarket competitors.Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Finnish retailer Stockmann reported better-than-expected second-quarter results, thanks to increased sales at its fashion chain Lindex, but warned that its department stores would remain in the red in the full year. Known for its prestigious department stores, Stockmann has struggled in recent years due to a consumer shift to online shopping, prompting cost-cuts and divestments. Its second-quarter adjusted operating profit rose to 24mln euros ($27mln) from 15mln euros a year ago, compared to analysts’ average expectation of 21mln euros in a Reuters poll.Source: reuters.com
Sweden: ICA H1 2018: +5.2% to €5.4bln
ICA has released its first half results, reporting that consolidated net sales increased by 5.2% to SEK 56,439mln (€5.4bln). Operating profit excluding items affecting comparability declined by 3.7% to SEK 2,013mln (€193.3mln). Commenting on the results, CEO Per Strömberg said: ‘The trends from the first quarter of the year continued into the second quarter - good sales growth, good momentum in e-commerce, strong cash flow and favourable earnings performance for several of the Group’s operations. At the same time, ICA Sweden showed weak earnings, where the favourable sales performance was not reflected in operating profit. Targeted measures are on-going to restore profitability’. All store formats reported sales and like-for-like growth during the first half. The strongest performance came from ICA nära convenience stores, which saw net sales excluding VAT increase by 4.8% to SEK 8,719mln (€837.1mln). Like-for-like sales here increased by 5.3%. ICA’s Kvantum supermarket banner saw sales excluding VAT increase by 4.2% to SEK 14,028mln (€1.3bln). Like-for-like sales increased by 3.7%. ICA’s other supermarket banner saw sales excluding VAT increase by 2.8% to SEK 17,533mln (€1.7bln). Like-for-like sales increased by 2.5%. Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Australia's Woolworths annual profit up 13%, flags slow start to fiscal 2019
Australia's biggest grocer Woolworths Group flagged on Monday it was rapidly losing sales momentum after starting to charge shoppers for plastic bags, sending its shares lower. The slowdown, combined with signs of a revival at major rival Coles, signals a possible end to years of outsized growth at Woolworths, which has dropped prices heavily to win business. "Although it is a temporary impact it's a slight negative - it's changing consumer behaviour," said Jason Teh, Chief Investment Officer at fund manager Vertium Asset Management, which owns Woolworths' shares. "I was like most people with these bag changes... I ended up just carrying my stuff, and basically walked out with two goods, just one in each hand - I'd normally buy extra." Woolworths' shares fell 3.5% at start of trading on Monday to a two-month low, before erasing some of the losses to be down 1.0% at A$29.23, while the broader market rose 0.1%. Its comparable sales growth for the second half of the financial year that ended on June 30 slipped by a quarter to 3.7%, even as the company more than tripled the amount of permanently discounted stock over the year.Source: nasdaq.com
Japanese low-cost retailer enters Romanian market
Japanese low-cost retailer Miniso, which specializes in selling traditional food, personal care and home care products, has entered Romania and prepares to open over 40 stores in the country. The first five shops will open this year in several Bucharest malls, local Profit.ro reported. Miniso was founded in Japan in 2013 and has reached over 3,000 stores in 60 countries, including US, Canada, Russia, Singapore and Hong Kong. The retailer had sales of USD 1.8bln last year.Source: agroberichtenbuitenland.nl
Konzum Croatia’s positive result offset by BiH
Konzum Croatia reported sales growth of 3.1% in 2018. This is above the planned revenue, driven by higher than anticipated traffic at its stores. Also, an increased number of promotional activities drove up the average basket size. But Konzum’s performance in Croatia was offset by Konzum BiH. It reported a like-for-like sales decline of 0.6%. This was due to a decline in footfall by 1.5%, although average basket increased by 1%.Source: retailanalysis.igd.com