Germany's Schwarz Group, which operates Lidl and Kaufland, has been named as the leading grocery retailer in Western Europe by market research provider Euromonitor International. The organisation measured retailers' value share from 2007 to 2016, with Schwarz stores coming out on top, followed by Carrefour, Aldi, Edeka, and Tesco. Schwarz Group did not rank first in any single market, however, the group has a presence in almost all Western European markets, with the exception of Norway and Turkey. (esmmagazine.com)UK: Shell to sell fruit through Budgens partnership
The first “Budgens at Shell” site has just opened for business in Farnborough, Hampshire, with the remainder to follow by the end of the year. The stores will sell a wide range including fruit and vegetables. Steven Fox, managing director at Booker Group – Retail, which owns the Budgens chain, said: “We are delighted to be expanding our partnership with Shell in convenience foods after a highly successful trial. The Budgens brand is famous for the quality and freshness of our offer which we hope will drive more footfall to Shell forecourts.” (talkingretail.com)Sainsbury's says Brexit disruption could leave food rotting at border
Britain’s second biggest supermarket group Sainbury’s has warned that food could be left rotting at the border if supply chains are disrupted by customs checks once Britain leaves the EU. Any new controls on imports and exports of food would increase costs and transport times, making it harder to get fresh items to customers, CEO Mike Coupe told Britain’s Press Association. “If you take our fresh produce supply chains, for example, we put things on a lorry in Spain and it will arrive in a distribution center somewhere in England, and it won’t have gone through any border checks,” he said. (Reuters)Auchan pays price for French price war as H1 sales disappoint
France’s Auchan said its retail arm did worse than expected in the first half of the year, with revenues rising 2.1% - or just 0.1% at constant exchange rates - weighed down by a weak performance in its home market. Auchan Retail, whose hypermarkets are caught up in a price war with Carrefour and others in France, reported €25.9bn ($30.81bn) in sales during the period. “The first-half results of Auchan Retail lag behind our expectations. They are mainly impacted by France, Italy, and Russia ... More than ever the transformation of Auchan Retail is the priority,” the unit’s CEO, Wilhelm Hubner, said. In France alone, the source of a third of its retail business, revenue fell 1.8% to € 8.52 bn, dragged down by falling sales in the highly competitive hypermarket arena. (Reuters)European food market experiences strong growth
European consumers spent 3.7 % more on grocery shopping in the second quarter than in the first, the largest increase in three years’ time. The Benelux also bounced back. The growth is a combination of a 2 % price increase and a 1.7 % volume increase, according to Nielsen’s calculations based on food retailers’ data from 21 European countries. Turkey experienced the largest increase in cash register income (+ 14.2 %), but considering the EU, Slovakia (+ 9.3 %) and Austria (+ 6.7 %) were top of the class. Swiss expenses dropped 0.7 % and Denmark (+ 1.2 %) and Greece (+ 1.9 %) only experienced minor growth. (retaildetail.eu) 
Source: Nielsen | Please, click here to enlarge map
Trial of former Tesco executives adjourned
The trial of three former senior executives at Tesco accused of fraud and false accounting was adjourned on Monday until Sept. 25. Christopher Bush, who was managing director of Tesco UK, Carl Rogberg, who was UK finance director, and John Scouler, who was UK food commercial director, are all charged with one count of fraud by abuse of position and one count of false accounting at Britain’s biggest retailer. All three pleaded not guilty at a hearing on Aug. 3. (Reuters)AU: New laws to stop 7-Eleven type scandals
New laws to protect vulnerable workers have cleared the Senate, with tougher penalties for deliberate and systematic underpayment of workers. It follows revelations of exploitation by some 7-Eleven franchisees. (sbs.com.au)Agrokor to recapitalise Konzum in Bosnia & Herzegovina
The temporary creditors' council of Croatian conglomerate Agrokor has decided to recapitalise the Konzum retail chain in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company announced that it will make a payment of €120m to settle old debts to suppliers of Agrokor companies that have registered their claims. Payments will start next week, and a maximum amount of €150m has been allocated for the purpose of debt repayment. The new developments will allow Agrokor to return the Mercator brand to Bosnia and Herzegovina by taking over 83 stores from Konzum, while Konzum will continue to operate the remaining 173 stores. (esmmagazine.com) Steinhoff offers investors up to 23 pct of African unit
South African retailer Steinhoff International is offering investors up to 23.2% of its African arm, Steinhoff Africa Retail (STAR), which it aims to list on the Johannesburg stock market on Sept. 20, the company said on Monday. With STAR, Steinhoff lumps grocery, clothing and furniture chains together to create a listed African retailer, with a controlling stake in grocer Shoprite its most valuable asset. (Reuters)Walmart stores open again after Hurricane Harvey
Walmart stores are once again open and serving customers in the Gulf region following the devastation from Hurricane Harvey. The company has reopened all stores within the Gulf region with the exception of five stores along the coast where the storm made landfall. (businesswire.com)US: Carr-Smith steps down as Peapod president
Jennifer Carr-Smith has resigned as president of online grocer Peapod. Carr-Smith is leaving effective Sept. 15 “for another opportunity,” Peapod parent company Ahold USA said in a statement released late Friday afternoon. Walt Lentz, Peapod’s head of supply chain strategy and operations for Peapod, will oversee operations of Peapod on an interim basis until a permanent successor is named. (progressivegrocer.com)