US: Greer’s ramps up online grocery with Shipt
Greer’s is expanding its Greer’s To Go online grocery service with Shipt delivery. The Gulf Coast grocer, part of Prichard, Alabama-based Autry Greer & Sons Inc., has launched Shipt delivery of groceries and household staples from stores in the metropolitan areas of Mobile, Alabama, and Pensacola, Florida. With the rollout, nearly 200,000 households in Alabama and Florida will be able to order groceries online from Greer’s and have the products delivered by Shipt in as soon as one hour.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: New Seasons adopts centralized product photo, data exchange
New Seasons Market, one of the West Coast's independent grocers, is adopting a platform to help provide shoppers with consistent, accurate and independently verified product information. Teaming with the Jacksonville, Florida-based Data Council, New Seasons will employ the company's IX-One solution, a membership-based platform that provides independently verified and standardized product information to vendors, brokers and distributors. The grocery technology takes high-resolution product images for marketing and planogramming purposes, and captures all product attributes, creating a centralized product data and information exchange for suppliers to access and share their product information with their trading partners.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Walmart further empowers employees with new suite of mobile apps
Walmart now offers a suite of custom-built apps that help store associates manage a variety of routine activities directly from a mobile store device, freeing up time to handle other important duties. The custom-built suite of apps helps with tasks ranging from the moment a product arrives in the back room to the second a customer finds it on the shelf. In turn, it allows for an improved customer experience: as the apps drive efficiency and free up time spent on other tasks, associates are allowed to provide faster, better service with shoppers.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Carrefour Brasil will invest $443mln in store openings in 2019
Carrefour Brasil, the nation’s largest retailer, is going to spend 1.8bln reais ($443.04mln) in 2019 to open new stores, the company said in a statement to Reuters. Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico reported earlier on Monday Carrefour Brasil’s capital expenditure for 2019. The Brazilian unit of France’s Carrefour SA said in the statement it would open 20 wholesale Atacadão stores and an undisclosed number of small-sized Carrefour Market and Carrefour Express stores.
Source: uk.reuters.com
Romania: Mega Image takes over Adivin ’95 retail network in Constanta
Mega Image acquired the Adivin ’95 network of stores in Constanta. The network was put on sale around two years ago when it entered in insolvency. The Adivin ’95 network was set up in 1995 by entrepreneur Adrian Vintila and owns three supermarkets with a sales area between 400 and 1,000 sqm, with daily traffic exceeding 6,000 customers. Adivin ’95 stores sell a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, sausages, dairy products, sweets, coffee, cigarettes, beverages, and cosmetics or detergents and provided sales of around EUR 1mln monthly.
Source: business-review.eu
Auchan France tests new 'scan & go' service
Auchan France has announced plans to launch a mobile payment app, ‘Rapid'Auchan’. The app has been developed with BudgetBox and Lyf Pay. According to the retailer, 80% of French shoppers claim to have abandoned their shopping due to long checkout queues. Auchan hopes ‘Rapid'Auchan’ will help retain its instore customers by enabling a faster shopping experience. Shoppers can scan and pay for their shopping using the app, without having to queue. Once payment is confirmed, a barcode is displayed and used to finalise the process whilst leaving the store.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Holland: Jumbo launches Europe's first retail radio station
Dutch retailer Jumbo has announced the launch of its own radio station - Jumbo Radio. At present, Jumbo Radio can only be heard in its head office, distribution centre, and in the food market in Veghel. The move makes the retailer the first in the Netherlands and in Europe to have its own radio station. In the coming months, the radio service will be extended to other Jumbo supermarkets. The retailer also plans to turn it into a full-fledged radio station with DJs, music and live broadcasts from its studios in Veghel.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: Asda aims to accelerate innovation
Walmart's Asda division in the UK is looking to transform its insights and analytics capabilities by teaming up with a new tech company. HCL Technologies (HCL), a leading global technology company, announced that it has been selected to help drive IT transformation at the UK’s third-largest grocery retailer, Asda. “As organizations embark on a digital transformation with technology increasingly driving the business, it’s critical that we have the agility to respond quickly to changing needs, particularly in capabilities such as Data and Analytics,” said Phil Tenney, CIO at Asda.
Source: retailleader.com
Coles divesting from Western Australia retail assets
Coles is divesting from three retail assets across Western Australia in an effort to raise capital ahead of its looming demerger from parent company Wesfarmers. The properties, valued collectively at $50mln, are being offered for sale together or individually, and include two freestanding supermarkets in Orana, Albany and Vasse, as well as a Coles Express petrol station in Vasse.
Source: insideretail.com.au
Ahold Delhaize launches new concept store in Belgium
Dutch retailer Ahold Delhaize has announced the launch of a new concept supermarket in Belgium, offering fresh ready-to-eat meals and a range of digital services. The retailer plans to open another nine outlets in the same format by the end of this year, and 36 more by the end of 2019. The new store is the outcome of a thorough analysis of customer needs, and is a complete diversion from Delhaize's classic store design. As well as a wider choice of products, the new-format store offers freshly prepared ready-to-eat meals on a daily basis in its Fresh Atelier section.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Holland: Albert Heijn introduces ‘quiet hour’ for people with autism
Supermarket Albert Heijn in Sint-Michielsgestel has introduced a weekly ‘quiet hour’ for people with autism. On Tuesday mornings music, noise and light will be kept to a minimum in what can be an overwhelming environment for people who have trouble processing multiple impulses, local broadcaster Omroep Brabant writes. The idea comes from Britain where supermarket chains such as Tesco and Morrissons already have a similar service for people with autism. According to a survey by autism association NVA, shoppers are mostly put off by supermarket noises such as piped-in music and clatter but also by the sudden appearance of a pallet of goods in the isles and products that weren’t lined up properly on the shelves. ‘Instead of asking ‘do you have your bonus card’? we ask ‘can I have your bonus card?’ at the check-out. It’s less confusing,’ supermarket assistant-manager Eva Mennes told the broadcaster. Mennes, who came up with the idea, said the Albert Heijn in Sint-Michielsgestel is the first Dutch supermarket to introduce a quiet hour.
Source: dutchnews.nl
India: Walmart, Flipkart plan to cross-sell private brands 
The Indian unit of Walmart said it could leverage Flipkart to cross-sell each other’s private brands, use the expertise of the e-commerce firm in technology and analytics, and in turn, help them with grocery retailing. “Currently, we are selling our private brands only in our stores but don’t see any reason why we can’t sell it outside our stores. With Flipkart, there is an option,” said Krish Iyer, chief executive at Walmart India. “Flipkart is a platform and there are sellers on it, and when you talk about grocery, it’s about getting the right sellers to complete the mix. They are very good at technology, analytics and customer relationship management.”
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com