Hello Fresh, the meal delivery company, has opened its first retail space in Old Street station for four weeks. The Hello Fresh pop-up will sell single recipe boxes of a meal for two, at £10 each for the whole of March. The most popular recipes, out of a library of more than 5,000, have been chosen to sell at the store, all of which can be cooked in 30 minutes. It will also serve Seedlip & FeverTree mocktails. (igd.com)Aldi to start online sales in China
German discount supermarket chain Aldi is planning to start online sales in China this month, hoping to appeal to Chinese consumers interested in German brands with a selection of wines, snacks and breakfast products. The company will sell its own brand products via online platform Tmall Global, operated by Alibaba, and will use its Australian suppliers to serve the Chinese market, it said in a statement on Thursday. (Reuters)AU: Coles pledges to pay small suppliers within 14 days
Supermarket giant Coles says it will introduce a 14-day payment time policy for small suppliers that provide up to $1m in merchandise to the supermarket annually, as the Small Business Ombudsman continues to highlight late payments as the number one thing driving SMEs “crazy”. (smartcompany.com.au) Auchan planning €1.3bn France investment over three years
Groupe Auchan has revealed that it is planning to invest a total of €1.3bn in growing its brand in France over the next three years. Reuters reported that around 60% of the total will be spent on store refurbishments and a modernisation programme, which will take into account hypermarkets, supermarkets, and convenience stores that trade under the Auchan name. (esmmagazine.com)US: Costco's same-store sales profits miss estimates
Costco Wholesale reported lower-than-expected quarterly comparable-store sales and profits, as big grocery chains competed fiercely to attract customers with lower prices. The company's shares fell about 4% to $170.80 in extended trading on Thursday. The price war in the industry has intensified, with Wal-Mart reportedly running a new price-comparison test to knock out competition from grocery chains and big-box retailers. Costco's total same-store sales rose 3% in the second quarter ended Feb. 12, (Reuters)US: Kroger's first same-store sales drop in 13 years
Supermarket operator Kroger Co (KR.N) surprised analysts with its first quarterly same-store sales decline in 13 years, as competition intensified in the U.S. grocery industry, sending its shares down as much as 5.6% on Thursday. Cincinnati-based Kroger said, excluding fuel, sales from stores open for at least a year fell 0.7%, widely missing analysts' average estimate of a 0.1% rise, according to Consensus Metrix. Kroger blamed the decline on deflation. Target Corp (TGT.N) said on Tuesday it would sacrifice full-year margins to keep its prices competitive. (Reuters)Aldi Süd to roll out new logo
Aldi Süd has unveiled a new logo, which the discounter says 'reflects the significant developments made by the company in recent times'. "For our customers, this is reflected in the ongoing development of our product range, redesigning our branches or actions such as the next pop-up store, 'My Wine World'," says Kirsten Gess, Communication Director, Aldi Süd. (esmmagazine.com) AU: Coles and Woolworths close price gap on Costco
Costco remains as much as 27% cheaper than Coles and Woolworths, but that price gap is steadily closing as incumbent retail giants begin to tackle the warehouse retailer at its own game — bulk packaging. Please, click here to read more at theaustralian.com.au. Latin-America: Cencosud posts lower Q4 revenues
Cencosud S.A. which has operations in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Colombia, today announced its consolidated financial results for the fourth quarter of 2016. For the fourth quarter, revenues were 6.5% lower to CLP 2,850,956m due to currency devaluation. In local currency, Cencosud had positive revenue growth in all businesses across the region. Same store sales accelerated year on year across supermarkets in Chile, Argentina and Colombia, and in Home Improvement in Chile and Colombia. (finance.yahoo.com) Asia: Dairy Farm: positive results in 2016
Dairy Farm, a leading multi-format retailer in Asia, reports sound profit growth of 7% in 2016, despite soft consumer sentiment and intense pressure on pricing in most markets. Sales of US$6.2bn from supermarkets and hypermarkets (excluding Yonghui) were in line with last year in constant currency while operating profit increased by 13% to US$194m. Large formats in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, The Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia saw positive sales growth, while sales in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia were down. Its 7-Eleven convenience stores reported US$2.0bn in sales, an increase of 5% over the previous year in constant currency terms. (igd.com)US: Meijer to invest $375m in new stores
Meijer Inc. will open its first locations in the Upper Peninsula and remodel six stores throughout Michigan as part of a $375m investment across its six-state market, the retail chain announced Thursday. (crainsdetroit.com)Spain's Mercadona increases turnover by 3.9% in 2016
Spanish retailer Mercadona has announced an increase in turnover for 2016 of 3.9%, reaching €21.6bn. Net profit reached €636m, an increase of 4%,while the volume of sales grew 4%. Investment in capital expenditure hit €685m, part of which was used to open 50 new supermarkets and refurbish 35 others. (esmmagazine.com) 
Online shopping 'game changer' for Irish retailers: PwCPlease, click here to read the article.
Are convenience stores still convenient? 7-Eleven takes on the on-demand invasionPlease, click here to read the article.