Asda reports significant improvement
Asda has reported a robust Q1 sales performance, including like-for-like sales growth of 1.3%, in the 14 weeks to April 12. This marked a significant improvement from the previous quarter, with the retailer attributing this to the success of its programme of investing in lowering the price of everyday.....

UK: Morissons signs deal with Ocado
Morrisons, the UK's fourth largest supermarket chain, is going into business with internet grocer Ocado.Morrisons says it has agreed a deal that will enable it to launch an online grocery service by January 2014.The delivery vans will carry the Morrisons brand, with logistical support by Ocado from its.....

Woolworths trials Click&Collect at Melbourne Airport
Passengers can order food up to a week ahead then grab them on their way home at the site beside the new Woolworths public pick-up lane outside the Park Royal Hotel, Melbourne Airport.Melbourne Airport CEO Chris Woodruff said the innovation was believed to be a first for any airport in the world."It.....

Taiwan: 7-Eleven, FamilyMart record rising profits in first quarter
Taiwan's two largest convenience store chain operators have reported rising profitability in the first quarter from a year earlier, supported by store renovations at home and the closing of loss-making outlets overseas.President Chain Store Corp posted NT$2.02 billion, or NT$1.94 per share, in net profit for.....

US: Food Lion increases sales on reopenings
Food Lion has made what it calls “significant investments” in 178 stores in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. To support these efforts, the Salisbury, N.C.-based grocer has also hired 800 employees.Part of Food Lion’s ongoing store rebranding initiative, the investments are based.....

Metro Group launching online store in Russia
Metro Group Cash & Carry in Russia are to launch an online store during 2013.A trial phase will begin this year for the service and Metro Group is said to have already selected a warehouse, located between Noginsky and Moscow. The offering will include food and non-food, with both branded and private.....

Most UK consumers see convenience stores as essential
An independent survey commissioned by Hermes has found that convenience stores and corner shops play an important part of the local community, providing a high quality experience that the majority of residents feel is at least on par with that of large supermarkets.Almost 90% of the respondents agreed that.....

France: Casino granted permission to buy Norma
Casino has received permission from the French Competition Authority in its bid to acquire 38 outlets from Norma, the German discounter.The stores in question are located in the Southeast of France, with the majority in the Lyon region and along the Mediterranean coat. While Casino's acquisition is expected.....

India: Goverment to issue FDI clarification
The department of industry policy and promotion (DIPP) is set to issue a set of clarifications on foreign investment in multibrand retail to address concerns and provide clarity on norms ranging from investment in back-end infrastructure to sourcing from SMEs and farmers. This is the latest in a series of.....

Austria: Rewe fined 20.8 million Euro
The cartel court in Austria has fined food retailer Rewe 20.8 million Euro due to price agreements.This antitrust fine is the second highest in Austria’s history. Previously, The Federal Competition Authority (BWB) fined the "lift cartel" 75.4 million Euros."The food retailer agreed on sale prices and other.....

UK: Iceland launches online service
Iceland Foods has announced that it has begun trials of a new online shopping service that allows customers to place orders up to 10pm for free delivery the next day, subject to a minimum order value of £25.The trial is currently taking place at a small number of selected Iceland stores in the North West,.....

Ahold appoint Group Chief Information Officer
Ahold announced the appointment of Ben Wishart to the new role of Group Chief Information Officer.Based at Ahold's Corporate Centre in the Netherlands, Wishart will take up the position on 17 June and will report to Jeff Carr, chief financial officer. He joins Ahold from UK food retailer Morrisons plc, where.....

UK: More shoppers using budget chains alongside premium brands
A new survey by Vouchercloud has revealed that nearly two thirds of consumers who use upmarket stores such as Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Booths and Whole Foods Market top up their weekly shop at budget supermarkets.Of the 2000 surveyed, 64% admitted to using budget supermarkets as well as upmarket.....

Mercator posts Q1 loss
Mercator Poslovni Sistem reported a net loss in the first quarter, saying the economic crisis in Slovenia and the region continues to hurt sales of the largest supermarket chain in the Balkans.Revenue fell 2.6 percent to 658.4 million Euro ($850 million), while the net loss was 8.6 million Euro from a.....

UK retailers in Israel technology mission
The senior technology advisor to British Prime Minister David Cameron will lead a delegation of 10 chief information officers from leading British retail chains, including Marks & Spencer, Tesco and John Lewis, in a visit to Israel, starting next Sunday. During the four-day visit, they will be exposed to.....

UK: Ocado shares drop on Morrisons-Waitrose issues
Ocado has dropped 8% on concerns about the effect of its proposed tie-up with Morrisons on its existing deal with Waitrose.Lawyers for Waitrose are poring over its deal with Ocado to see if any move by the online grocer to help Morrisons set up a website would constitute breach of contract.The news followed.....

UK: Sainsbury's profit falls despite rise in sales
Sainsbury's has posted a fall in pre-tax profits despite a rise in sales, as conditions remain 'challenging'.The supermarket made a pre-tax profit of £788 million in the 52 weeks to 16 March, a figure which was down 1.4 per cent on the previous 12 months due to property disposals. Profits from the sale of.....

Owners get two bids for Slovene food retailer Mercator
The owners of Slovenia's largest food retailer Mercator have received two bids for their majority stake in the company, the consortium of 12 local companies and banks that jointly control 53 percent said on Monday."The members of the consortium are studying the bids and expect to continue talks with the.....

UK: Waitrose unveils on the go avocados
Waitrose has announced the launch of its Good to Go Avocado with Honey and Mustard Dressing. Designed as a quick and easy lunchtime snack, Waitrose said the avocado is ready to be cut in half and drizzled with dressing.It said a ‘spife’ – a plastic spoon with a serrated knife edge is contained in the pack,.....

Argentina: Production of fruit and vegetables grows with increased exports
This year the estimated production of major (take this away) fruit will be 3.8 percent higher than in 2012, while exports grew by 12.6% a year in the first quarter of 2013.Vegetable production will also have a good performance and will increase by 3.3 percent this year, while exports of these products have.....

2011-2012 Season
Chilean fruit to Asian markets increases by nearly 11%
During the 2011-2012 season (from September 1, 2011 to August 31, 2012), the Chilean fresh fruit shipments to Asian markets recorded an increase of 10.7% from 344,006 tons in 2010-2011 to 380,718 tons, according to information from the Association of Chilean Fruit Exporters (Asoex).The markets that had the.....

India: Tesco seeking FDI sourcing clarity
UK's leading retailer Tesco plc on Friday sought clarifications from the government regarding sourcing norms for foreign direct investment in retail before drawing up its plans for India.The company, which has a partnership with Tata group firm Trent, said its plans for India would be announced after it got.....

Sprouts Farmers Market files to go public
Fast-growing Sprouts Farmers Market LLC, has filed to go public, saying it expects to raise up to $300 million.Sprouts has 157 stores in eight Southwest states, nearly half as many as segment leader Whole Foods Market Inc., also prominent in Colorado. Sprouts says it plans to open 19 more stores this fiscal.....

US: Roundy's sales up 4%
Net sales at Roundy's Inc. were up 4.8 percent to $983.5 million for the first quarter of fiscal year 2013, ending March 30, reflecting the benefit of new stores and a 1.3 percent increase in same-store sales.“We are pleased with our ability to continue to realize improvements in both sales and volume.....

Carrefour "going slow" in India
French retail chain Carrefour could review its plans to set up stores in India, if some of the "tough" policy riders are not relaxed. The euro 80-billion chain, the second-largest in the world after Walmart, is learnt to have sent feelers to the French government, as well as some key Indian ministries,.....

UK: Waitrose seeks to halt Ocado-Morrisons deal
The head of Waitrose has revealed he will reject a deal between Ocado and Morrisons and that the John Lewis business is now ramping up its own online service in direct competition to the digital retailer.In a major blow to Ocado’s plans for expansion, Mark Price revealed significant frustration over the.....

Metro group considering market exits
In an effort to channel funds into its struggling German home market, Metro Group is reportedly considering an exit from Egypt, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan and Japan, according to local reports.Sales in the retailer's home market of Germany grew by 1 per cent to reach €6.1 billion in the first quarter of 2013,.....

India: Reliance Fresh takes Bharti to court
Reliance Fresh has dragged Bharti Retail to court over what it claims are misleading price comparisons, signaling an escalation of tension between the two groups.The RIL-owned retail company has asked the Delhi High Court to stop Bharti Retail from claiming that the same products are available in the Easyday.....

Delhaize profit helped by Belgian and US sales
Delhaize Group has reported a profit and announced CEO Pierre-Olivier Beckers plans to retire by the end of the year.Delhaize Group reported revenue growth of 2.1 percent for the first quarter, comparable store sales growth of 1.9 percent in the US and 2.4 percent in Belgium and underlying operating margin.....

Germany: REWE to offer payback from 2014
From 2014, REWE will reward its customers with Payback points for their purchases. The retail company has signed an agreement to this end with Germany’s biggest loyalty programme. “We are delighted that our customers in over 3,000 REWE stores will be able to benefit from this attractive programme starting.....

Bid for more middle class clientele
US: Walmart launches image campaign
Wal-Mart has just launched a new image campaign , depicting their stores as “An American Success Story.”In an out-of-character move, it plans to air the campaign primarily during the Sunday morning news shows, targeting “opinion leaders” and more upscale shoppers than most of Wal-Mart’s current customers......

Lidl MD:
Ireland: New retail conduct will have cost implications
Discount supermarket chain Lidl has warned that a new retail code will add to costs without helping grocery suppliers.Lidl managing director Kenneth McGrath, said that the chain, which operates in 26 European countries and has 135 stores in Ireland employing over 3,000 people, already had a very stringent.....

UK: Morrisons online service to begin with Southern focus
Dalton Philips, whose efforts to battle falling sales at Morrisons include joining rivals in selling groceries online said the service, expected to launch in January, will not be available in all parts of the country to begin with.While he declined to confirm that the Bradford-based chain's online offer will.....

UK: Retailers commit to further cuts in food waste
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has announced that grocery retailers have signed up to challenging new targets for cutting food waste in the supply chain and at home.Under the third phase of the Courtauld Commitment, launched yesterday (Thursday) by the resource efficiency body WRAP, all the major grocery.....

Argentine fruit and vegetables bounce back
The production and sale of Argentine fruits and vegetables is beginning to rebound after a year in which the sector's problems continued to deepen; loss of competitiveness due to rising costs and lower demand, especially overseas because of the global economic crisis.According to a report by consultancy IES,.....

Belgium: Colruyt introduces umbrella private label brand
Belgian retailer Colruyt is to launch a new umbrella private label brand called 'Boni Selection'.Replacing more than 50 existing own brand lines, the new Boni Selection products will feature 'contemporary, recognizable packaging', as well as a new logo, according to the Belgian retailer. The first products.....

UK: Morrisons make a "Steady start" to 2013
Retail chain Morrisons has opened the year with "a steady improvement from the previous quarter," this was in line with expectations.Total sales, excluding fuel were up by 0.6%, and like for like sales were down 1.8%. According to a statement from the chain: "Throughout the quarter the industry has remained.....

Russia: Magnit sales up again
Russian food retailer Magnit said on Wednesday its sales rose by 33 percent in April, year-on-year, to stand at 45.8 billion roubles ($1.5 billion), in line with growth in the previous month.Magnit, which recently overtook rival X5 as Russia's biggest grocery chain by revenue, said the April result brought.....

UK: Marks & Spencer open new distribution warehouse
Marks & Spencer is promising huge improvements to the way it serves online shoppers after opening a fully automated 900,000 sq ft warehouse in Castle Donington on Wednesday that will be able to handle 1m orders a day.Laura Wade-Gery, director of multi-channel and e-commerce, said: "E-commerce has become.....

Ireland launches first UK retail programme
Bord Bia (The Irish Food Board) has announced that it is joining forces with Musgrave Retail Partners GB to launch its first retail programme in the UK.Bord Bia CEO, Aidan Cotter and Musgrave MD, Donal Horgan will launch the programme on Tuesday 14th May when activity starts with a series of workshops and an.....

PriceSmart increases net sales
PriceSmart, Inc. has announced that for the month of April 2013 net sales increased 10.7% to $176.1 million from $159.1 million in April a year earlier. For the eight months ended April 30, 2013, net sales increased 11.0% to $1,483.8 million from $1,337.2 million for the eight months ended April 30, 2012......

US: Whole Foods profit rises 20%
Whole Foods Market Inc (WFM)., the largest natural-goods grocer in the U.S., boosted its forecast for earnings this year after sales at established locations increased and second-quarter profit climbed 20 percent.Net income rose to about $142 million, or 76 cents a share, from $118 million, or 64 cents, a.....

Spain: Mercadona, unbeatable among Spanish distributors
The Valencian supermarket chain Mercadona already accumulates 21% of Spain's expenditure on food, household goods, pet food and baby products. This represents a 1.3% increase over 2011's percentage, according to data from the annual Worldpanel Distribution 2013 report, by Kantar Worldpanel.Behind Mercadona.....

Spain: Mercadona and DIA, the most dynamic chains 2012
According to the annual report Worldpanel Distribution 2013, conducted by consulting firm Kantar Worldpanel, 21% of what is spent in Spain on food, drugs, pet food and baby products goes to Mercadona, a 1.3% market share increase compared to 2011. DIA Group improved its position and placed second with about.....

Kenya: Nakumatt plans mobile convenience stores
Nakumatt Holdings has announced plans to introduce a containerized mini retail store to provide shopping solutions during events in remote locations.The new retail store will be developed and housed in a 20 foot shipping container and will be available for rapid deployment countrywide.As part of the firm’s.....

US: Q1 sales up at Weis Markets
Weis Markets Inc. reported first-quarter 2013 sales of $682.7 million, a 3.2 percent increase over the same period last year, while its comparable store sales increased 0.8 percent.For the 13-week period ending March 30, the company's net income increased 0.5 percent to $20.1 million compared to the year-ago.....

Spain's Dia says Q1 net profit up 19 percent
Spanish retailer DIA, the world's third biggest discount grocer, on Monday reported first quarter adjusted net profit of 28 million Euro ($37 million), up 19 percent from the same period in 2012.Dia has flourished in its home market despite a recession, thanks to its cheap pricing in a country where 27.....

UK: Morissons to announce 2% sales drop
The consensus among city analysts is that Morrisons will report a 2% fall in underlying sales for the first quarter of its financial year, following a 2.1% reverse over the previous 12 months.Clive Black, analyst at Shore Capital, said: "Morrisons has been under performing the British supermarket scene since.....

Waitrose sales rise 11%
Waitrose has benefited from not being involved in the recent horsemeat scandal, seeing its sales rise 11% over the past three months. The managing director, Mark Price, said: "I think we're a business that has got a heart and soul, which we haven't lost through the economic downturn, and we want to help our.....

Kenya: Uchumi Falls six month low
Uchumi Supermarkets Ltd., Kenya’s only publicly traded retailer, fell to the lowest level in more than six months as investors sold the stock on bets its valuation is too high compared with the nation’s bourse.The stock dropped 6.1 percent to 18.55 shillings by the close in Nairobi, the lowest since Oct. 17......

UK: Sainsbury's to report new sales record
Sainsbury's is benefiting from a rapid growth in sales online and in its convenience stores.Food sales have also been boosted by a successful revamp of its own brand range and the launch of the Brand Match voucher scheme.Sainsbury's could now overtake Asda this year to reclaim the position as the second.....

UK: Nisa launching price cut drive
Following the success of its 2012 price cut initiative, Nisa has announced that it will again launch a £10m investment in price cuts and promotions to assist retailers in a competitive marketplace and to aid its customers during a challenging economic period.The £10m will be invested in a range of.....

US: Walmart cheaper than Dollar General
Prices at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are lower on average than Family Dollar Stores Inc. and Dollar General Corp. as the world’s largest retailer expands its presence in neighborhood markets.Wal-Mart prices were below Dollar General’s 100 percent of the time in household goods and more than 85 percent of the time.....

Auchan shows renewed interest in Vietnam
More and more large retail chains are announcing investment in the Vietnamese marketplace.Auchan has returned to Vietnam with the decision to invest $500 million in the market within 10 years.Auchan showed interest in Vietnam a while ago, but shrank back from perceived uncertainties relating to real estate.....

Migros rises to 2 year high
Migros surged to a two-year high after Carrefour's Turkish joint-venture partner said it is considering buying the grocery chain.The shares rose 2.4 percent to 23.8 liras at the close in Istanbul, the highest level since May 2011. Almost 6.2 million shares traded, more than six times the stock’s three-month.....

US: Harris Teeter reports Q2 earnings of $32.9 million
Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. earned $32.9 million, or 67 cents per diluted share, in its fiscal second quarter ended April 2.That was up from net income of $30.3 million, or 62 cents per diluted share, a year earlier. That figure included a $200,000 loss from discontinued operations related to the sale of.....

Argentina: Supermarket sales grew by 14.5% in March
The National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC) reported last Friday that supermarket sales grew 14.5% in March over the same period of 2012 in seasonally adjusted terms. At current prices, they totaled $10,213.4 million, a 26.9 percent increase.The Supermarket Survey revealed that the variation with.....

India: Government probing potential Bharti-Walmart violation
The Government has said Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is investigating alleged violation of foreign exchange regulation by chain Bharti-Walmart."On the basis of a reference received from Reserve Bank of India, ED has taken appropriate action to investigate alleged contravention of the provisions of Foreign.....

Philippines: Puregold doubles profit
Puregold said it chalked up a consolidated net income of P962 million in January-March, up 105.3% from P469 million in the same three months last year, while consolidated net sales grew by 49.8% to P16.09 billion from P10.74 billion.“The 49.8% growth in consolidated net sales was principally due to the 18.2%.....

US: Publix first quarter proft jumps
Publix's first-quarter profit jumped 15.1 percent from the previous year, the company reported Wednesday.Sales reached $7.5 billion for a 6.1 percent increase from last year. Sales in established stores were up 3.9 percent.Profit was $471.3 million, or a 15.1 percent increase. Earnings per share for the.....

Spain: Eroski pilots convenience format
Spanish retailer Eroski debuted its convenience format 'Eroski Center' in Pamplona, Navarre, on 24 April. The new wholly-owned Eroski Center branch took an investment of €1.4 million, stocking some 10,000 SKUs.Almost half of the selling space of the 1,300 square meter store is dedicated to fresh.....

AU: Woolworths backs parallel importing
Woolworths Ltd has established a team to expand its parallel importing of products from international locations in order to reduce prices, The Australian Financial Review reports.Woolworths, which has accused suppliers of earning excessive profits in Australia by charging local retailers higher wholesale.....

US: Fresh Direct expanding in three states
Online grocer FreshDirect will expand service to new customers living in more than 90 ZIP codes in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The move follows an eight-county expansion from Center City Philadelphia to the greater Philadelphia area suburbs in January 2013.“With our suburban customer growth.....

Sweden: ICA started year on "positive note"
Swedish retailer ICA said it started the year on a "positive note", despite booking a drop in first-quarter profit hit by one-off costs.ICA, owned by Swedish investment fund Hakon Invest, booked operating profit of SEK562m (US$85.9m) in the period to the end of March, compared to SEK690m last year. The.....

Yildiz Holding planning to be Turkey's biggest retailer
According to local daily Sabah, Yildiz Holding is planning to buy A-101, Turkey's second largest retail chain in terms of number of stores operating in the hard-discount segment. Reportedly, following the recent acquisition of DiaSa, Yildiz Holding is willing to further increase its presence in the retail.....

Taiwan: FamilyMart, 7-11 to expand fresh food
The nation’s two largest convenience store chains both plan to expand their fresh-food businesses by introducing more products and increasing their number of large outlets with more in-store seats.Taiwan FamilyMart Co, the nation’s second-largest convenience store operator, said yesterday it would launch a.....

DIA to trial fresh banner in France
Spanish discount retailer DIA is to trial its Dia Fresh store format in France, following its launch in Spain last year.Dia Fresh, the retailer's new neighbourhood store concept, is a small-format banner with an emphasis on fresh produce such as fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and baked goods, as well.....

Carrefour decreases stake in Turkish business
Carrefour looks to be moving toward the rumoured exit from the Turkish market, decreasing its majority stake in its business there.The retailer has sold a 12 per cent stake in its Turkish operations to its partner in the venture, Sabanci Holding, according to LSA. The move decreases Carrefour's shareholding.....

Walmart seeks to invest in Peruvian territory
The rapid growth of retail business in Peru has attracted interest from big chains like WalMart that is targeting a market dominated by Chilean companies with a strong presence in South America.Peru, one of the most dynamic economies in Latin America, has steadily seen its middle class and consumer demand.....

Food growth leading the way in retail sales
While the latest AFGC CHEP Retail Index indicates that consumer confidence remains shaky and retail growth is lacklustre, ABS statistics show that food is in a better position than other retail sectors.The Index is a collaborative project between the Australian Food and Grocery Council and CHEP Australia,.....

UK supermarkets lose brand value
Asda, Co-op, Morrisons and Tesco, four leading UK supermarkets, saw their collective brand value fall by £3bn during 2012, reversing a long-term positive trend for the sector.Brand Finance, the brand valuation firm, highlighted the poor performance of UK top 50 most valuable brands of British origin.It noted.....

Ireland: Aldi and Lidl have 13% of the market
Aldi and Lidl, with a 13.1% share of the grocery market, now outsell all smaller grocery shops combined whose market share has fallen to 11.3%, according to the latest supermarket share figures from Kantar Worldpanel.The figures from Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland, published yesterday for the 12 weeks ending.....

Germany: Edeka reports increase in sales
German retailer Edeka has booked an increase in full-year sales, with growth in each of its divisions.In the 12-month period, group sales grew by 3.8% to reach EUR44.8bn (US$58.6m), it reported 29 April.Independent retailers that operate under the Edeka franchise saw revenues grow by 6.4% to EUR21.3bn,.....

Germany: Rewe stores to join payback loyalty scheme in 2014
From 2014, over 3,000 Rewe Stores will reward its customers with Payback points for their purchases. The Payback loyalty card scheme has more than 20 million active users of its multiple channels, which include offline, online and mobile. As Rewe’s stores are spread widely across Germany, the Payback card.....

Brazil: Pão de Açúcar profit rises 70%
Grupo Pão de Açúcar, Brazil's biggest diversified retailer, said on Monday that first-quarter net income rose 70 percent from a year earlier to 275 million reais ($138 million), according to a securities filing.Profit beat an average forecast of 244 million reais in a Reuters survey of eight.....

Spar announces media centre launch
Spar UK has joined forces with Retail Marketing International (RMI) to launch the Spar Media Centre, offering FMCG suppliers the opportunity to communicate their promotions with convenience customers in Spar stores across the UK.Based within Spar’s central office in Harrow, Spar said the Media Centre will.....

Waitrose secures Eurostar contract
Waitrose is to provide food for all of Eurostar’s services to the Continent in the first move into on-board catering for the supermarket. With retailers looking to increase market share wherever possible, the deal by the supermarket arm of the John Lewis Partnership will be closely watched by.....

US: Safeway reports flat sales
Grocery store operator Safeway has reported mixed first-quarter results.The Pleasanton, Calif-based owner of the Vons, Pavilions and Pak N Save chains reported earnings of 35 cents a share, excluding special items. That was up 17% from the year before and in line with estimates provided by a poll of Thomson.....

Dubai retailer MAF close to finalising Egypt supermarket deal
Dubai retail firm Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) is in advanced discussions to buy Egypt’s largest supermarket chain from family-owned Mansour Group, it is claimed.A due diligence process for the purchase of Mansour Group’s Metro chain and discount grocery store Kheir Zaman has been concluded, one source said,.....

Finnish retailer opening supermarket in Estonia
Prisma Peremarket, part of Finnish SOK group has signed a contract to open a new store in central Tallinn.The new store will be located on the corner of Hobujaama and Ahtri Street in the complex that will also include a bus terminal.The company plans to invest about 30m Euro in the store.Janne Lihavainen,.....

UK: Asda's use of technology key to success
WalMart Stores's UK Asda grocery business's use of technology to expand its online, delivery and pick-up services for groceries could be the "secret sauce" that helps the world's largest retailer develop its online grocery presence in the US, an analyst said last Thursday.Asda offers online grocery services.....

UK: Asda to open more stores this year
Asda is to open 12 more stores, creating up to 2,500 new jobs in the UK.The retailer said it was investing £700m in its outlets and online operations.Chief executive Andy Clarke said: ‘I’m proud that in the continuing and challenging trading environment we were able to increase total sales by 4.5 per cent.....

UK: Distribution deal on the cards for Morrisons and Ocado
UK grocer Morrisons is close to finalizing a distribution deal with online retailer Ocado for the launch of its e-retailing venture, according to The Financial Times reports.Despite rumours of Morrisons acquiring Ocado or taking a stake in the company, it is thought that the agreement would be a joint.....

South Africa: Pick n Pay to cut prices
The new chief executive of South Africa's Pick n Pay said he planned to win back market share by cutting prices, a risky strategy for a retailer already hurt by weak margins.South Africa's second-largest grocer has lost ground to rivals Shoprite and Spar, after failing to invest in its supply chain and open.....

UK: Londis first to offer independent retailers personalised web pages
Londis has become the first UK convenience chain to offer its retailers personalised web pages for their stores. The new pages form part of the Londis consumer website, which was upgraded last year.Londis said that the new functionality allows retailers to personalise their own store page with unique.....

Metro triples earnings on sale of Couche-Tard shares
Metro Inc, Canada's third-largest grocer, more than tripled its second-quarter earnings, helped by an after-tax one-time gain of C$266.4 million related to the sale of 10 million shares of Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.The company's net earnings rose to C$366.8 million, or C$3.77 per share, from C$96.1.....

France: Carrefour rolls out Courses Éco Discount aisle
Carrefour is tightening its pricing strategy with plans to install its Courses Éco discount section in a number of its hypermarkets during 2013. The retailer is to introduce the Courses Éco aisle to 30 of its French hypermarkets, rolling it out in hypermarkets in less affluent areas.The aisle's assortment is.....

UA: Supervalu losses continue to mount
About a month since the close of the deal that created a new, leaner Supervalu Inc., the Minneapolis-based grocery operator continues to post losses that have haunted the company for multiple consecutive quarters.Supervalu reported fourth quarter fiscal 2013 net sales of $3.89 billion (down 2.3 percent) and.....

Finland: Kesko profit falls
Finnish retailer Kesko reported a 17 percent fall in adjusted quarterly profit as cost cuts failed to make up for a slowdown in consumer spending.Kesko said first-quarter operating profit fell to 18.6 million Euro ($24.17 million) from 22.3 million euros a year earlier.Analysts on average expected a fall to.....

UK: Rise in employment driven by food retailers
Latest figures from the BRC-Bond Pearce Retail Employment Monitor have shown retail employment rose by 1.8% in the first quarter of 2013 compared with a year earlier, driven entirely by part-time workers and predominantly in food retailers.In the first quarter of 2013, the number of outlets rose by 1.4%,.....

Large retailers express more interest in India
Global retailers finally seem to be gaining confidence in investing in India. Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Tuesday said several global retailers, including Tesco and Sainsbury’s, had shown interest in setting up multi-brand retail stores in the country.“Yes, there have been expressions of.....

UK: Asda plans same day delivery service
Asda is planning to introduce a same-day grocery delivery service as part of a £700m investment drive in the UK. The company intends to trial the same-day service from next month, with customers able to collect their order from stores. The investment is part of £700m that will be pumped into the retailer's.....

Philippines: FamilyMart eyes 300 new stores
Japanese retailer FamilyMart Co. Ltd. said it will open 300 convenience stores in the Philippines over the next five years.Ayala Land Inc., which brought the Japanese store to the country, said about 40 percent of the stores would be opened to franchising.“We were actually prodded by incessant and numerous.....

UK: Aldi challenges Sainsbury's for cash gain
Kantar Worldpanel retailer share data, for the 12 weeks to 14 April 2013, indicates that the UK grocery retail market grew at 3.6%, a slight slowing on the 3.9% seen in the previous period. The Kantar measure of inflation showed the rate of price increases slowed to 3.8% indicating the rate of volume decline.....

Walmart continues to lobby over FDI in India
Walmart continued to lobby with American lawmakers over Indian retail FDI rules during the first quarter of 2013, even as a probe is under way into the global retail giant’s US lobbying activities for facilitating its India entry. In its latest lobbying disclosure report filed with the US Senate and the.....

Organic chain Tegut want to tempt more clients with discount prices
The German trading chain Tegut, known for its organic products, wants more and more to become involved in discount prices for foodstuff. "The cheap articles inour assortment are not well recognisable. These will have to be made better known," Tegut-chef Thomas Gutberlet recently said to news agency.....

Swiss buy the most fairtrade products
Nobody buys as many fairtrade products as the Swiss do. Annually they spend almost 50 Swiss francs per head of the population on fairtrade products. In the meantime there are around 2,000 different fairtrade products available and this number increases all the time. In the country last year a turnover of.....

Asia: 7-Elevent operator to bid for Makro
Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont could soon be spending billions of dollars again in yet another big Southeast Asia consumer deal.As The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, CP All PCL, which operates 7-Eleven convenience stores in Thailand, is planning to make an offer for retailer Siam Makro PCL, which.....

Delhaize announces first quarter revenue of 5.5 billion Euro
Delhaize Group has announced preliminary unaudited figures for the first quarter of 2013 and its decision to postpone its Capital Markets Day.In the first quarter of 2013, Delhaize Group's revenues were EUR5.5 billion, an increase of 2.1% and 1.5% at identical and actual exchange rates, respectively. Organic.....

Ireland: Musgrave launches 'Bright New' Centra range
Musgrave has introduced a wholly revamped private label range for its Irish convenience and neighbourhood stores under the Centra brand. Differentiated with simple and bold on-pack designs, presenting a 'Bright New Range', the Centra brand of products now includes 900 lines across key grocery.....

UK: Record grocery market shares for Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl
Latest grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel for the 12 weeks ending 14 April 2013, show an increasingly polarised grocery market as Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl all posted record market shares.Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “Aldi has set two records in the latest period, with its.....

Auchan already has as many hypermarkets in China as in France
It doesn’t seem like the crisis has greatly affected the French distribution giant Auchan in regard to China. A few days ago the group published its annual turnover which yielded a total increase of 7% over the last year, up to 60 billion Euro. This progress in turnover is the result of strong.....

Aeon may open discount stores across S.E. Asia
Aeon is reportedly set to open discount shopping centres in Southeast Asia, in a shift away from its policy of focusing on relatively affluent customers. According to a report in the Nikkei daily, the Japanese giant is now aiming at attracting middle-income shoppers in the fast-growing retail markets of the.....

Casino falls in Paris as French sales decline on price cuts
Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA, the owner of France’s Monoprix and Geant supermarket chains, fell in Paris trading after saying first-quarter organic sales in its home market slid 3.4 percent because of price cuts.The decrease was led by a 12 percent drop in revenue at Geant Casino hypermarkets, excluding.....

Spanish supermarket Dia to sell Turkish business to Yildiz
Spanish supermarket group Dia said on Friday it had agreed to sell its Turkish business to Yildiz Holding and one of its subsidiaries, retailer SOK Marketler.Dia has a 60 percent stake in its Turkish chain DiaSA and the rest is owned by Sabanci Holding, which will also sell its shares. Yildiz is paying 136.5.....

Carrefour growth down to Brazil
French distribution chain Carrefour had a rise in sales of 1.3% to 20.83 billion euro in the first quarter of 2013. There were problems for the chain in Europe, with only Belgium performing well.In France, still worth more than 45% of company sales, sales dropped another 0.7%. The fact that Carrefour still.....

UAE: Carrefour franchise plans expansion
Majid Al Futtaim, which holds exclusive rights to the Carrefour franchise in 19 markets across the Middle East and Central Asia, has entered into a 20-year lease for the first Carrefour Market, a convenience-store sized market, in Abu Dhabi. Measuring around 1,200 square meters in the AD-1 Tower Project, the.....

UK: Waitrose sales jumps driven by fruit
Waitrose has revealed that its sales jumped 24.6% to £115.4m in week to 13 April. Whilst the group noted that figures were distorted effect of the fall of Easter and school holidays when compared to last year, they were still well above its expectations.Performance was boosted by the warmer weather with.....

Carrefour still struggling in Europe
Carrefour saw its sales slip in the first quarter due to the poor economy in Europe and currency depreciation in Latin America.The retailer said Thursday that revenue was 20.8 billion euros ($27.3 billion) in the January-to-March period. That's a 1.3 percent drop when sales from discontinued operations are.....

Waitrose to expand in UAE
Waitrose plans to expand its operations in promising UAE market by opening more branches in the emirate this year, its top official said.Waitrose is to extend its presence in the country with the opening of another supermarket in Dubai, bringing the total number of shops in the UAE to five. It will be.....

Ireland: Aldi planning 20 more stores
Aldi has revealed that it plans to open 20 more stores across Ireland over the next three years, creating more than 300 new jobs. Niall O'Connor, Group Buying Director of Aldi Stores (Ireland), said: "Our new multimillion-euro investment underpins our ongoing commitment and support to Ireland, our customers,.....

Casino sales fuelled by Brazil
Casino has reported a 33.7% rise in consolidated sales for the first quarter, driven primarily by the full consolidation of GPA in Brazil. Sales from total continuing operations reached €11,681m, with French sales down 4% and international sales up 73.6%.Source: retailanalysis.igd.com

Lidl to invest €45million in Portugal
Schwarz Group-owned discounter Lidl is to invest some €45 million in its Portuguese business, with the building of a new headquarters and the rejuvenation of a number of stores.The retailer said it has upped its investment spend for the country by 25 per cent on last year's budget as it intends to upgrade,.....

France: Auchan launches drive model of simply market format
Auchan has introduced a Drive service to its Simply Market format, allowing online orders to be loaded into shoppers' cars in five minutes flat.While the France-based retailer has offered a 'walk-in Drive' service at 37 stores in the Ile de France region since 2009, allowing customers to collect orders made.....

Carrefour stops payments to Bulgarian suppliers
The Greek representative of French retail group Carrefour, MarinopoulosGroup, has stopped payments to suppliers in Bulgaria due to temporary financial difficulties.According to reports of Regal, Bulgarian magazine, citing producers speaking on condition of anonymity, overdue payments most probably amount to.....

South Korea: Emart releases innovative discount alert app
Korean supermarket chain Emart has done some innovative stuff before, like its shadowy QR codes. But this time Emart is trying something more substantive – using smartphones and LED lights to guide shoppers around their stores and lead them to discounts.Dubbed ‘Emart Sale Navigation’, the idea is a.....

Tesco earnings hit by US exit
Tesco on Wednesday counted the cost of years of ambitious expansion under former chief Terry Leahy, as the UK supermarket operator's profit for the year was all but wiped out by payments to clean up its domestic business and a charge related to its failed US venture.Full-year net profit fell for the first.....

Wesfarmers says Coles sales up on discounts, fresh produce
Sales at Coles in the three months to March 31. rose to 8.35 billion Australian dollars (US$8.60 billion), from A$7.85 billion the previous year, Wesfarmers said in a statement Thursday. Food and liquor sales at Australia's second-largest supermarket chain behind Woolworths Ltd. (WOW.AU) climbed 6.6% to.....

Ireland: Retailers warned over "copycat" packaging
Shoppers can be misled into buying own-brand products by the use of copycat packaging that looks like the original, a consumer watchdog has warned.Retailers including Aldi, Lidl and Tesco sometimes use packaging that borrows from leading brands, according to 'Which?'It uncovered 150 examples of own-brand.....

Bangkok online service is just the start for Tesco
Leading domestic hypermarket chain Tesco Lotus last week launched online grocery shopping and home delivery services for its customers in Bangkok.Asked if the retail giant had plans to launch such services in Phuket, Ms Salinla Seehaphan, Corporate Affairs Director, revealed that: "Our plan is to offer a.....