Opportunities for offline retailers have arrived in China
Aldi reports record sales but profits drop amid price war
Marks & Spencer has started trials for an online grocery service to find out "what works for [its] customers", amid mounting concern among supermarkets about how Amazon may shake up the market. M&S said it would be running two "small trials" for the service, one in Camden and the other in Woodley near Reading, both of which will be exclusive to "selected Sparks members". The online grocery trial in Camden will offer home delivery and cover a three mile radius, while in Woodley there will be a collection service, with orders ready in two hours.
Aldi reports record sales but profits drop amid price war
The German discounter said sales rose 13.5% to £8.7bn in 2016, but operating profit dropped 17%. The chain blamed the fall on its "continued investment in prices and infrastructure". Aldi chief executive Matthew Barnes said its strategy was to offer "the lowest prices in Britain". "We're doing everything we can to insulate customers from those cost increases, making sure our prices are the lowest in the UK, every day of the year," he said.
Auchan may replace Jumbo hypermarket brand in Portugal
Retail group Auchan is considering discontinuing its Jumbo hypermarket brand in Portugal by the end of 2018, according to Jornal de Negocios. The intention of the French retailer is to adopt the name Auchan in most of the 17 countries where it operates, as part of a new strategy to strengthen its presence. Last year, the company announced plans to gradually make its banners more homogenous, and place greater emphasis on the Auchan brand.
Mercadona reveals locations of new Portuguese stores
Spanish grocery retailer Mercadona has announced the locations of its four new stores that are set to open in Portugal in 2019. Adding to the Matosinhos and Gaia stores that were announced earlier this year, the Valencia-based company confirmed to local daily Expansión the locations of the next two stores - an additional outlet in Gaia, and another in Gondomar. As initially planned by the company, the first store openings in the country will take place in the Greater Porto area, with an investment of €25 million.
Co-op sees underlying profits fall 48% in first half
The UK's Co-operative Group has reported that underlying profits fell 48% in the first half of the year to £14 million, as the group invests in members, and sells its final 1% stake in the Co-op Bank. Operating profit fell from £72 million last year to £51 million in this period, which the company says reflects the continuing rebuild of its businesses, and the £29 million worth of rewards that were given to members. Overall, revenues remained stable at £4.6 billion, with increases in the Co-op's food, funeral care and legal services.
Meijer now offers 'misfit produce' at a discount price
"Meijer offers more than 600 types of produce, so the Misfits program has been an incredible extension to our overall selection," said Peter Vail, Vice President of Produce, Deli and Bakery for Meijer. "There is an inner beauty of this perfectly-imperfect produce. Our customers have responded well to the products made available through the Misfits program."
Retailers are already feeling the Lidl effect
Lidl's high-quality, low-price private label assortment poses a significant threat to grocers, particularly conventional ones. But it's not the discounter's growth alone that's keeping everyone on edge. Chalk it up to an incredibly intense and increasingly crowded marketplace that’s igniting price wars across the grocery sector. A big threat is online giant Amazon, which has pretty clear intentions to disrupt grocery. Lidl’s U.S. entry is just adding fuel to the fire. Many conventional grocers and mass market retailers positioned in the middle — neither at the premium nor at the extremely low end of the pricing spectrum — feel increasingly threatened. Target, whose prices have tended to be in that middle ground, recently promised sweeping price cuts across the grocery department.
Opportunities for offline retailers have arrived in China
When e-commerce first shook up the consumer space, offline businesses became wary of losing customers to online channels. And they did… until increasing online customer acquisition costs put the brakes on e-commerce growth. For the first time in five years, the growth rate of online retail in China dropped below 30%. Jack Ma has responded swiftly by introducing his “new retail” brainchild that will seamlessly integrate the online and offline shopping experience.
Amazon affiliate to buy $27.6 million stake in Indian retailer Shoppers Stop
An affiliate of Amazon.com Inc has agreed to buy a 1.79 billion-rupee ($27.6 million) stake in Indian retailer Shoppers Stop Ltd, the Indian company said in a filing. Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings LLC, a foreign portfolio investor, will subscribe to about 4.4 million shares, equivalent to an about 5 percent stake, in the Indian retailer at 407.78 rupees apiece on a preferential basis, Shoppers Stop told the stock exchanges late on Saturday. On Friday, Shoppers Stop shares had closed 3 percent lower at 418.10 rupees on the National Stock Exchange.
Canada retail sales rise more than expected in July
Canadian retail sales rose more than expected in July as consumers spent more on new cars, as well as food and alcohol, data from Statistics Canada showed on Friday.The 0.4 percent increase topped economists’ expectations for a gain of 0.1 percent, although volumes declined by 0.2 percent. Sales at food and beverage stores rose 0.9 percent, the fourth monthly increase in a row. All types of retailers in this group had higher sales, led by supermarkets and other grocery stores, and beer, wine and liquor stores.
UK Supermarket trials payments based on finger vein recognition
Called FingoPay, the system was first announced by its maker Sthaler in the summer of 2016. It uses Hitachi-developed infrared scanning to identify the unique vein patterns of users fingertips, allowing for a biometric identification process similar to fingerprint scanning, but with a built-in liveness detection component. Users who register for the system have their biometric profiles linked to their payment information, allowing them to make purchases without the need for payment cards or any other payment mechanisms. With many users getting accustomed to authorizing transactions using their fingerprints on mobile payment platforms like Samsung Pay and Apple Pay, this naked payments system may represent the next logical step forward in convenience.
Asda shoppers’ fury as supermarket giant cancels scores of online orders due to ‘technical issues’
Furious Asda customers have hit out after the supermarket giant cancelled countless online food orders today due to "technical issues". People waiting on groceries for Sunday lunch and the week ahead have been left disappointed as they claim their money was taken but their order cancelled.
Analyst predicts Costco will soon build stores in China for the first time
Costco is about to make a big splash into the world's second-largest economy, according to a Wall Street firm. Baird reiterated its outperform rating on Costco shares, predicting the discount retailer will soon build warehouse clubs in China for the first time based on its official opening last week of a store on Tmall, which is run by China's e-commerce giant Alibaba.
Instacart rolls out online grocery delivery locally
Instacart, the technology-driven on-demand grocery delivery service, announced a large expansion which began last month to serve an additional 495,000 households across metro Atlanta, including Douglasville, Lithia Springs and Villa Rica.