Grocery wholesaler United Natural Foods reported a strong second quarter of fiscal 2018, which ended Jan. 27, upping its guidance for the year. United Natural Foods Inc.’s (UNFI) net sales for its Q2 of fiscal 2018, ended Jan. 27, increased 10.6% to $2.53bln, compared with $2.29bln for the same period last fiscal year. Source: progressivegrocer.com
Aldi US expanding grocery ecommerce service
Following the
launch of a pilot partnership with Instacart to offer grocery home delivery last year, Aldi is extending the service to additional locations. Last year, Aldi launched the service in Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles, providing shoppers with the opportunity to have their orders delivered in as little as one hour. The service is being expanded to shoppers across Chicagoland, Northwest Indiana and Rockford. This is a major market for Aldi, with almost 200 stores in the area.Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
US: Publix is launching a new banner
Publix Super Markets has announced the next phase of its GreenWise Market expansion plan, and part of the strategy involves taking the name "Publix" off the sign. The company revealed that it will build a third new GreenWise store, this time in Lakeland, Florida and that the store will be called "GreenWise Market." Previous GreenWise stores have the Publix name included.Source: retailleader.com
US: Kroger adds home delivery in North Texas with Instacart
Kroger's Dallas division said it's working with Instacart to handle its online grocery home deliveries. Kroger has offered online shopping and curbside pickup, which it calls ClickList, since 2016. "Having grown our digital sales in 2017 by 90 percent we continue to accelerate our digital roadmap in 2018 to make shopping with Kroger simpler and more personalized," said Dana Zurcher, Kroger Dallas division president. Source: dallasnews.com
Carrefour Brasil plans to expand; considers purchases and partnerships
Carrefour Brasil, one of Brazil’s largest retailers, plans to aggressively expand its store network, and will consider acquisitions and partnerships as part of that drive, executives said. Overall, the company plans to open 20 wholesale stores in 2018, 10 Carrefour Market stores, and 20 Carrefour Express convenience stores. It also plans to convert five to seven hypermarkets into wholesale stores this year and has the potential for a total of 120 to 140 new stores by 2022, the executives said.Source: reuters.com
Singapore: retail sales dropped 8.4% in January
Total retail sales value also dropped 9.3% from $4.3bln to $3.9bln. Retail sales dropped 8.4% in January 2018 compared to January 2017 when Chinese New Year was celebrated, the Department of Statistics revealed. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales declined 8.1%. Due to higher sales recorded a year ago when Chinese New Year fell in January 2017, retail sales of wearing apparel & footwear, food retailers, supermarkets & hypermarkets, department stores and watches & jewellery decreased between 10.5% and 17.7% in January 2018.Source: sbr.com.sg
South Africa: Shoprite gives hundreds of suppliers access to market
The Shoprite Group is giving entrepreneurs and SMMEs (Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises) access to economic opportunities by providing hundreds of suppliers with access to market. Last year the group invested more than R177mln in enterprise and supplier development in line with its continued commitment to giving market access to an increasing supplier base. A large percentage of its fresh produce suppliers are small- to medium-sized businesses, with more than half of them delivering on contracts worth less than R500 000 a year.Source: rnews.co.za
France: Auchan 2017 results
France-based Auchan said turnover rose 0.6% in its 2017 financial year, reaching €53.155bln. Auchan Retail, meanwhile, slightly underperformed, with total turnover rising by 0.5% (or by 0.1% at constant exchange rates) to €52.0bln. However, underlining the challenges the company is facing, operating income fell by 19.3% to €935mln, while its net profit fell by 53.4% to €275mln. Auchan said its net profit had been affected by store closures and write-downs on the value of its assets in Italy.Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Romania: Delhaize opens innovative new store in Bucharest
Romanian supermarket chain Mega Image, part of Belgian-Dutch Ahold Delhaize, has opened a new concept store in the centre of Bucharest, which could set the tone for stores yet to come. The new store offers an interesting blend of bright, spacious interiors and modern features within a historically valuable setting: the building's exterior facade preserves art deco elements which recreate Bucharest's atmosphere during the interbellum era.Source: retaildetail.eu