Tesco said in a press release that it has worked with its suppliers to bring customers fresher fruit and reduce food waste at home. To help customers reduce food waste at home, Tesco was said to have improved it's supply chain. "Our clementines now move quicker from tree to table than ever before." Free Apples for shoppers in Hungarian supermarkets
Major Supermarket chains in Hungary are conducting an Apple promotional program in their stores that allow shoppers to test and taste the fruit for free. Seven supermarket chains - Aldi, Lidl, Auchan, CBA, Metro, Spar and Tesco, are taking part in the promotional program, organized by the Agricultural Marketing Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture, joining hands with the FruitVeB Hungarian Fruit and Vegetable Inter professional Organization and Marketing Board; the National Agricultural Association and the National Food Chain Safety Office. The campaign aims to raise consumer awareness of high-quality domestic apples and familiarize the customer with a rich sense of choice. (internationalsupermarketnews.com)US: Publix drives small comp increase in 3Q
Publix Super Markets said Tuesday that sales in its fiscal third quarter increased by 2.4% to $8bn and that comparable-store sales improved by 0.9%. The comparable-store sales gain was Publix's narrowest since posting 0.9% comps in fiscal 2010's first quarter, nearly seven years ago. In that period, as in current times, grocery prices were deflating, though the Lakeland, Fla.-based chain made no mention of deflationary effects in a brief statement on results issued Wednesday. (supermarketnews.com) Whole Foods completes 'Responsibly Grown' rollout
Whole Foods Market has completed the rollout of its simplified “Responsibly Grown” in-store produce labeling, that was initiated last year. The Austin, Texas-based company, with more than 435 stores, earlier this year committed to system-wide streamlining of its earlier three-step, good-better-best, fresh produce labeling, to a one-size-fits-all Responsibly Grown label, said Erik Henderson, produce manager at the Turkey Lake Road Whole Foods in Orlando, Fla. (supermarketnews.com)Aldi invests 1bn for better fruit and vegetables
The German discount chain has revealed record sales of $5.8bn in calendar 2014, an increase of nearly $1bn on the previous year, with pre-tax earnings of $238.5m. Aldi says it is reinvesting all profits in its Australian operations, with the focus on store refurbishments and extensions, new store openings and centralising produce buying. The supermarket says the decision to centralise its produce purchasing, which is currently done state by state, will mean “better quality produce for our customers”. “The new centralised fruit and vegetable purchasing model, which will roll out by mid-2017, will further improve our strategic relationships with suppliers to focus on long-term, flexible contracts that suit the grower, product, season and conditions,” an Aldi spokeswoman said. (news.com.au)US: Wakefern sees record sales
Wakefern Food Corp saw retail sales increase to a record $16bn for the 52 weeks ending October 1st 2016. Wakefern's sales increased by 4.2% from $15.7bn in 2015. Wakefern, which is a cooperative, opened 15 new stores in the last year, 11 of which were under its Shoprite banner; two Fresh Grocer stores, one Price Rite and one new format store, Dearborn Market. These openings include some of the 12 stores acquired from A&P's, after it filed for bankruptcy last year. (igd.com) Billa supermarkets disappear in Romanian market
By the end of 2017, Billa supermarket brand will disappear from the Romanian market. Jean Baptiste Dernoncourt, Executive director of the French group Carrefour in Romania, said that the Billa stores will operate under the Carrefour brand. Carrefour took over the Billa network of 86 supermarkets from its previous owner, German group Rewe, in 2015. Supermarkets Billa Romania has a turnover of €300m and 3,000 employees. (supermarketnews.com)Kenya: Choppies to invest further in loss making Ukwala
Choppies has said that following its acquisition of a 75% stake in Ukwala earlier in 2016, it was set to invest a further KES754.7m (US$7.3m) in the operations. Choppes has said that Ukwala continues to lose money and is expected to remain loss-making in its 2017 full year results. (igd.com)US: Raley's unveils plans for new store concept
Sacramento, Calif.-based grocery store brand Raley’s has announced plans for its new concept, Market 5-One-5, in its hometown. According to CBS Sacramento, the new store will emphasize health with a focus on farm-to-fork offerings and a dine-in service with locally sourced brews. (designretailonline.com)Wal-Mart shakes up e-commerce executive ranks
A management shake-up is hitting Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s e-commerce operations, as Jet.com founder Marc Lore takes the helm, a sign the online entrepreneur is moving swiftly to put his stamp on the giant retailer. Click here to read more at marketwatch.com. Italy’s SUN consortium to invest €94m in 2017
Italian retail consortium Supermercati Uniti Nazionali (SUN) is planning to invest €94m in 2017 to increase its share of the supermarket/hypermarket segment to 3.5%, up from the current 3%. The investment will be used to open 31 stores, taking the group's network to 626 outlets, and also to develop the Consilia private label brand, currently consisting of 1,984 product references. From next year, Consilia will also include veggie and vegan products. (esmmagazine.com)
Al Meera sees revenues rise in Q3Announcing its third quarter results, Al Meera said that group sales rose 7.2% to QAR1.93 bn (US$529.9m) aided by the retailer’s continued expansion. (igd.com)
Lidl prepares to launch online in Spanish market
As reported by efeagro.com, Lidl Spain's managing director, Michael Aranda, has revealed that there is a team working on the online launch. It is expected that the Spanish online service will only sell non-food. Saying this, Lidl has recently announced that it will start to sell fresh products online in Germany, which could be a test for other markets in the future. (igd.com)
UAE: LuLu continues expansion across the regionFollowing the opening of two stores, LuLu has said that it will invest AED2.0 bn (US$544.5m) in the UAE to develop three shopping centres in the UAE Umm Al Quwain, Sharjah and Dubai over the next two years. (igd.com)
Japanese Aeon reports modest H1
Aeon’s convenience store business records that its operating income has increased by 6.1% on operating revenues of JPY190.6bn (US$1.8bn), up 7% year on year for the first six months of the fiscal year. On the other hand, the Supermarket and Discount Store business posted a 7% decline in revenue of JPY1, 448.5bn (US$13.8bn). (igd.com)US: Weis 3Q profits down; investments spark sales
Weis Markets on Monday said net income declined by 16.9% in the fiscal third quarter, as the retailer absorbed costs associated with the acquisitions of Food Lion and Mars Super Market stores, as well as sales-driving initiatives to offset deflation. Sales of $743m in the quarter increased by 4.4%, and comparable-store sales were up by 2.7%. The 13-week period ended Sept. 24. Net income of $10.6m was down from $12.8m in the same period last year. (supermarketnews.com)
German retailer Rewe opens five new Penny Market storesGerman retail group, Rewe Romania, plans to open five new stores under the Penny Market brand in Romania in November. The company will thus reach a network of 193 stores, including the XXL Mega Discount network. (romania-insider.com)
Russia: O'Key posts net revenue increase of 6.3% in Q3
Russia's O'Key Group has seen its net retail revenue rise by 6.3%to RUB 40.6bn in its third quarter of the year. During the period, traffic to the group's stores increased by 11%. The group's total selling space increased by 8.6%, to 621,098 square metres, with its hypermarket selling space increasing by 5.8%. Like-for-like revenue decreased however, by 0.4%, driven by a 1.1% increase in traffic and a 1.4% decline in the average basket value. (esmmagazine.com)Asda home delivery service found to be filthy
A major undercover BBC investigation has revealed shocking levels of hygiene in Asda’s home delivery service. Stringent tests conducted on crates used by the Walmart-owned supermarket found just one out of ten were considered to have satisfactory hygiene. Asda says it has taken immediate action to improve standards across stores. (BBC)
