Spar Zimbabwe has announced plans to grow its business further in 2017, having established itself as a new, wholly locally owned company last year. At the start of 2016, Spar International granted Spar Zimbabwe shareholders the licence to operate the Spar brand in the country, and the group has sought to develop its business over the past year. (esmmagazine.com)First West Virginia grocery to offer online ordering -
Online grocery shopping is now available in West Virginia. About 40,000 items are available through Kroger's online shopping program, called ClickList. Pickup is only at the Kroger in Barboursville. (wsaz.com)
Amazon to hire 100,000 more employees
Amazon is making some moves, and is massively expanding its workforce in the online retailer’s latest strategy. “We plan to add another 100,000 new Amazonians across the company over the next 18 months as we open new fulfillment centers, and continue to invent in areas like cloud technology, machine learning, and advanced logistics,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder and CEO, in a statement according to the Dayton Daily News. (delimarketnews.com) Booths lands 'record' Christmas
North-west regional premium supermarket chain Booths has revealed solid growth in the three weeks to 7th January, with total sales up 1.8%. The period included the retailer's biggest ever trading week in the run up to Christmas with over £10m sales in the seven days ending 24 December. (igd.com) Spar Spain launches ‘organic-focused’ store
Local trade publication infoRETAIL reports that SPAR Spain, specifically the Mogán Group that operates the brand on Gran Canaria, has opened an ‘organic-focused’ store, which it says is the first of its type globally under the SPAR fascia. (igd.com)Russian Lenta creating buying alliance
In December 2016, Lenta signed a joint-procurement agreement with the privately-owned Belarusian retailer, Euroopt. This agreement allows both entities to share suppliers and build on their buying power, thus forming a buying alliance. (igd.com)US: 7-Eleven grabs no. 1 spot on entrepreneur's franchise 500
For the first time in nearly 10 years, 7-Eleven has regained the No. 1 slot on the Franchise 500, the annual ranking by Entrepreneur magazine. The chain, which boasts 60,000 units worldwide, with a new store opening every 3.5 hours, received the acclaim because of its attention to detail. (nacsonline.com) UK: Co-op enjoys strong Christmas sales helped by fresh
Reporting strong sales growth over Christmas, the Co-op saw a like-for-like increase of 3.5% in the three weeks ending 31 December. With 300,000 fewer gaps than this period in 2015, product availability helped to increase sales success across all produce, with stand outs including own-brand, frozen and fresh. (igd.com)Canada: New CEO named for Sobeys
The owner of troubled grocer Sobeys Inc. has named former Canadian Tire Corp chief executive, Michael Medline, as its new CEO, effective immediately. Its Sobeys business has been mired in difficulties since its $5.8-billion takeover of Safeway Canada in Western Canada in late 2013. (theglobeandmail.com) Japan: Lawson Q3: building momentum
Lawson, Japan’s leading convenience store operator, has reported a 6.1% increase in consolidated operating revenues, while its operating income has dropped 7% in the third quarter of 2016. For the third quarter of 2016, Lawson has seen net sales of its c-store business grow by 4.4% to JPY 1,617,505m (US$ 14,149m). (igd.com)Italy: Auchan set to invest €250m in relaunch plan
Auchan, through its Immochan-owned subsidiary in the country, Gallerie Commerciali Italia (Gci), has announced plans to invest €250m in its operations in the country as part of a renovation and updating programme. Gci’s CEO, Edoardo Favro, said: “ Food and entertainment will be central, with the catering area as ‘pole of attraction.’ (igd.com)Portugal's Jerónimo Martins sees sales up 6.5% in 2016
Portuguese retail group Jerónimo Martins, which operates the Biedronka, Pingo Doce and Recheio banners, saw its net sales rise 6.5% to €14.6bn in 2016, according to the retailer's preliminary results. At constant exchange rates, the retailer saw a 9.8% increase. Its Polish operation, Biedronka, was the star performer for the group, with sales rising 6.3% to €9.8bn. (esmmagazine.com) Asda titled as the cheapest grocer in UK
Asda has been titled as the cheapest supermarket in the UK in 2016 by Which?, a consumer group. The most expensive among the top UK supermarkets was Waitrose. Which? compared a basket of 80 popular items. The Asda basket cost £154.14, whereas the Waitrose basket priced £18 more than that at Asda. Sainsbury’s was the next cheapest at £162.11, followed by Tesco (£164.37), Ocado (£170.35) and Waitrose (£172.27). (internationalsupermarketnews.com)Vietnam: Saigon Co.op launches a new market format
Vietnam’s largest retailer Saigon Co.op has launched a new retailer format, Sense Market in HCM City, combining a traditional food market with modern retailing. The new Sense Market was developed by Saigon Co.op and the Saigon Co.op Investment-Development Company, and it explores a new way to approach modern retailing in a country, where the majority of the grocery market is dominated by traditional trade. (igd.com) UK: Seville oranges arrive in Waitrose branches
Seville oranges, renowned for their tart taste, arrive in Waitrose branches this week, as the traditional marmalade-making season gets into full swing. Launched earlier than ever before and available until the end of February, Waitrose only stock organic Seville oranges. (internationalsupermarketnews.com) 
UK: Booker Group sees 3% growth in sales
Please, click here to read the article.
Seven & I's share surge ignores some inconvenient truths: GadflyPlease, click here to read the article.