US: Jet.com unveils ‘city grocery experience’
As part of a brand relaunch, Jet.com has introduced what it calls a “city grocery experience” tailored to New York City residents. The Hoboken, New Jersey-based Walmart subsidiary said that its enhanced online grocery service will cater more closely to the lifestyles of city dwellers. Customers will be able to choose three-hour scheduled same-day and next-day delivery windows for groceries, everyday essentials and other merchandise.
Source: supermarketnews.com
Popular Filipino grocery chain planning Canada-wide expansion
Just as Seafood City prepares to unveil its second-ever Canadian outpost, the chain of Filipino grocery stores has announced plans for a massive country-wide expansion. Piggy-backing on the previously announced plans for the opening of 100 Jollibee locations across Canada, the popular Filipino brands (both owned by the same parent company) “sees huge market potential in Canada,” according to Retail Insider. Canada’s first-ever Seafood City is situated at The Heartland Centre in Mississauga but a second outpost is currently being developed in Winnipeg at the Garden City Shopping Centre and is expected to open in 2019. It too will house a location of fast food phenomenon Jollibee. “We hope to be able to serve all the Filipino communities and there’s quite a few that are in Canada,” said Eucliff Cheng, Seafood City Supermarket marketing manager to Retail Insider. “I understand that Filipino immigrants are the second largest ethnic group immigrating to Canada.
Source: dailyhive.com
US: Kroger misses same-store sales estimates, shares drop 11%
U.S. supermarket chain Kroger Co missed quarterly same-store sales estimates, sending shares down as much as 11%, as changes to the way it stocks merchandise on shelves kept some customers away from its stores, analysts said. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company said adjusted gross margin fell 36 basis points in the second quarter from a year earlier, hurt by price cuts and higher freight costs. Same-store sales, excluding fuel, rose 1.6 percent in the quarter. Analysts on average had expected a 1.86% increase, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Kroger said net income jumped 44% to $508mln, or 62 cents per share, in the quarter ended Aug. 18, from $353mln or 39 cents per share a year earlier.
Source: reuters.com
Walmart's purchase of Mexico food delivery app set to spur e-commerce
Walmart Inc will acquire Latin American food delivery service Cornershop for $225mln, it said in a move to ramp up its online grocery business in Mexico and Chile. The deal mirrors Walmart’s growing investments and tie-ups in online delivery services across the globe, as it aims to compete with Amazon.com Inc, the world’s largest online retailer. Shares of the retail company’s Mexico division, known as Walmex, jumped more than 3% on the news, closing at their highest level since late July. Walmart’s acquisition of three-year-old Cornershop, which offers its service through a mobile app and was founded in San Francisco, will help it quicken deliveries for its Walmart, Superama and Sam’s Club stores in Mexico, analysts said.
Source: uk.reuters.com
Australia: Kmart set to introduce Afterpay
Shoppers struggling with their cashflow will be pleased to hear that Kmart is set to partner with buy-now-pay-later service Afterpay for online shopping. Kmart - which is owned by Wesfarmers in Australia which also owns Coles and Myer - revealed the upcoming partnership on Facebook. “At Kmart, we’re on a mission to make everyday living brighter for our customers, by making products more accessible for everyone. Our team look forward to sharing details next week of our upcoming partnership with Afterpay for online services,” a post read.
Source: finance.nine.com.au
UK: Co-op Group nearly doubles profits while sales jump on Nisa takeover
The Co-operative Group nearly doubled profits in the first half despite “increasing national uncertainty” as its takeover of Nisa bolstered sales. The company released earnings showed the group logged a 10% rise in sales to £5bln in the six months to July 7. Pre-tax profits surge to £26mln to £14mln a year earlier, which the Coop Group said reflected some one off items and “good business performance”, the Coop said. Strong food sales growth was linked to its offers around the World Cup, as well as benefits from the acquisition of convenience store business and wholesaler Nisa.
Source: lancashiretelegraph.co.uk
France: Monoprix’s fruit and vegetables now available on Amazon Prime
Mieuxvivre-votreargent.fr reports that Parisians subscribed to Amazon Prime can use their rapid delivery service for a range of products from Monoprix (subsidiary of Casino group). Over 6,000 references of which 1,500 are Monoprix own brands will be available. The offer will cover all of the necessities for daily purchases, from fruit and vegetables to cheeses and cured meats to beauty, hygiene and household products. Prices will be the same as those on the Monoprix website.
Source: mieuxvivre-votreargent.fr
Belgium: Match supermarkets report another profitable year
As reported in LSA, Match has announced another year of profit. The supermarket chain, owned by Louis Delhaize, has made several changes believed to have contributed to its profitability. Match has generated a €1.05bln turnover with a net profit of almost €10mln. This marks Match’s second year of stable sales, having made €3.6mln in profit in 2016. In 2013, the supermarket chain experienced net losses of almost €30mln. In March 2018, Match opened a larger and more modern store intended to be "the showcase of the brand's new ambition". The store displayed more fresh and organic products and ranges that were prepared in store. The retailer then introduced a new home delivery and click and collect service in June 2018.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Carrefour Belgium starts lowest price guarantee
Carrefour Belgium has introduced a lowest price guarantee on organic products on its private label: a first visible result of the application of its new Act For Food programme to Belgium. The goal: letting Belgians eat better again. The French chain's international Act For Food programme comes to Belgium barely a week after it was divulged and takes the shape of fourteen promises. In general, Carrefour wants to become "the most important partner in the food transition process", which it believes to be "the most important challenge of the 21st century". We all need to eat in a more sustainable manner, the retailer says, because "we will have 9.5bln mouths to feed by 2050, so natural sources will be ever more depleted and food waste will rise as well."
Source: retaildetail.eu
Germany: Metro to sell Real hypermarkets to focus on wholesale
German retailer Metro AG has decided to sell its struggling Real hypermarkets to focus on its wholesale business, the company said in a statement. Real, with 282 stores and 34,000 staff, has sought to build up an e-commerce operation in recent years, with online orders now accounting for 2% of sales. It has also clashed with trade unions when trying to implement lower pay for new hires. Its total sales fell by 3.1% to 7.2bln euros in the 2016/17 financial year.
Source: reuters.com
UK: Waitrose & Partners' parent sees 99% slump in first half profits
Profit at Britain's John Lewis Partnership, which operates the recently-rebranded Waitrose & Partners grocery business, was wiped out in the first half as it was forced to match discounting by its struggling rivals on a fiercely competitive high street. The employee-owned group reported a 99% slump in first-half profit by an exceptional 1.4mln pounds, hit by its pledge to match prices and lower sales of big-ticket home items. The group had warned in June that first half profits, which are always much lower and volatile than the second half, would be close to zero.
Source: esmmagazine.com