Poland: Carrefour extends scan and go service
Carrefour Poland introduced scan and go in five stores in Warsaw in 2017. The retailer will now roll it out to over 30 new stores across 28 cities, including Bialystok, Kraków and Lublin, among others. Grzegorz Wazowicz, Carrefour Polska’s financial services and sales director, explained the service “will allow our clients to do even faster, more convenient, and more satisfying shopping in our stores". Carrefour Poland hopes to extend the service to all its hypermarkets and supermarkets.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Portugal: Continente launches 300 new private label products in 2018
Portuguese supermarket and hypermarket chain Continente has launched 300 new SKUs under its various private label brands in 2018. According to Pedro Bruno, Commercial Director for Private Label of Sonae MC, of the 4,000 SKUs sold under its private label brands, more than 60% are produced in Portugal. The remaining 40% are sourced from more than 20 different markets, with Spain being the second-largest source, accounting for 15% to 20% of the total.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Oman: International supermarket chain Spar opens in Jebel Sifah
Jebel Sifah, Muscat's premier getaway destination, recently announced the opening of its first full service supermarket to be operated by world renowned Dutch food retail chain, 'Spar'. The new amenity comes as part of the destination's ongoing commitment to providing exceptional services and bringing quality international brands for homeowners and visitors.
Source: menafn.com
UK regulator to include Aldi, Lidl and Amazon in Sainsbury's-Asda probe
Britain’s competition regulator will include German discounters Aldi and Lidl, and online retailer Amazon, in its probe into Sainsbury’s proposed takeover of Asda, as well as long-standing supermarket rivals like Tesco. “The level and impact of competition presented by newer or growing retailers - including Aldi and Lidl - will be considered,” the Competition and Markets Authority said. Sainsbury’s and Asda have both argued that discounters and online grocery should all be included in the CMA’s probe. The inclusion of Aldi and Lidl could be critical in deciding how many stores Sainsbury’s and Asda may have to dispose of to get the deal through the regulator.
Source: reuters.com
France: Leclerc is negotiating the takeover of Géant Casino hypermarkets
French retailer Leclerc is negotiating with its competitor Casino to take over "certain hypermarkets" of the Géant Casino chain. Casino recently offered up 20 of its 110 hypermarkets for sale. CEO Michel-Edouard Leclerc confirmed the news about the negotiations in an interview with French magazine Challenges. "We are discussing the takeover of the Casino group's Géant hypermarkets," he says, hurrying to add that he means "certain hypermarkets" and certainly not all twenty.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Auchan and Aral launch My Auchan in Luxembourg
Luxembourg’s leading service station operator Aral and Auchan Retail Luxembourg have joined forces to launch the country’s first My Auchan convenience store in Schifflange. Aral’s Schifflange service station is the first in Luxembourg to adopt the My Auchan concept, giving customers the opportunity to combine their visit to the service station with a quick and easy shopping experience including a range of fresh products to eat in or take away. Customers will now be able to purchase everyday groceries and other essentials. “We noticed that our customers’ habits were changing, particularly when it came to what they expected of our stores”, explains Managing Director of Aral Luxembourg Romain Hoffmann.
Source: delano.lu
Greek retailer Jumbo's 12-mth profit up 15%, sales growth to slow
Greece’s biggest listed retailer Jumbo posted a 15% rise in full year net profit, helped by robust growth in Bulgaria and Romania. Net profit for the fiscal year which ended in June was 151mln euros ($174.95mln), up from 131mln euros in the year ago period. It will pay a total dividend of 0.39 euros a share, up from 0.36 euros for the previous 12 months. Despite eight years of austerity and three international bailouts in Greece, which led to a 28% drop in retail sales, Jumbo has fared well thanks to its low-cost products and foreign operations. Its home market, where it operates 51 stores, accounts for less than two-thirds of the group’s sales.
Source: reuters.com
Spanish supermarket chain Dia issues profit warning
Spanish supermarket chain Dia issued a profit warning and suspended 2019 dividend payments on Monday due to a fall in sales, and named an executive from main shareholder LetterOne as provisional chairman. Shares in the budget chain, which faces tough competition in its home market from local heavyweight Mercadona and rivals like Lidl and Aldi, fell sharply after the warning to trade 22% lower at 1.48 euros by 1234 GMT. The company expects to book 2018 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of between 350 and 400mln euros ($463mln), it said in a statement.
Source: uk.reuters.com
Finland: Kesko to report on gender equality on an annual basis
Kesko in Finland has committed to issuing yearly reports on the implementation of gender equality measures across its operations, including the promotion of women to leadership positions. The move follows Kesko's involvement in Plan International’s 'Girls Takeover' event in October, which sought to promote female empowerment in the workplace. “As an employer, we want to offer meaningful and versatile work and growth opportunities to all our employees," commented Matti Mettälä, EVP with responsibility for human resources and responsibility in K Group.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Russian discounter Torgservis enters Germany
Russian discounter Torgservis wants to enter the German market via a Berlin-based subsidiary called TS Markt. Torgservis, founded in Siberia, plans to open "over 100" stores all over Germany. The Russian chain aims to dive into the gap in the market that German discounters Aldi and Lidl left when they opted for a more up-market concept with a wider selection of major A-brands, and wants to do so with stores that look like warehouses: the merchandise is still in boxes and placed on pallets and racks. With up to 95% of its product range (of under 2000 SKU) coming from its own private label, the chain is extremely cost-efficient.
Source: retaildetail.eu
US: Supervalu posts higher sales & bigger loss for Q2
Just days after getting the green light to be acquired by United Natural Foods Inc., Supervalu Inc. reported an uptick in sales and a larger net loss for its fiscal 2019 second quarter. In a 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Supervalu said revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 8 rose 1.9% to $3.51bln from $3.45bln a year earlier. The Minneapolis-based food distributor and retailer attributed the gain mainly to sales from acquisitions by Associated Grocers of Florida and Unified Grocers plus higher sales to new customers. Those increases were partially offset in part by reduced sales due to closed stores and stores no longer operated by customers, lower sales to existing customers, lower transition services agreement (TSA) fees and lower military sales. Wholesale revenue climbed 3.6% to $2.84bln for the second quarter, accounting for nearly 81% of Supervalu’s sales.
Source: supermarketnews.com
Walmart sees U.S. sales growth chugging along next fiscal year
Walmart Inc. expects some of its fastest sales growth this decade as it draws in more digital customers in its turf war against Amazon.com Inc. Same-store sales in the U.S. excluding fuel will grow 2.5 to 3% next fiscal year, the company said. That follows expected growth of about 3% this year, which would be the fastest pace since 2008, according data compiled by Bloomberg. E-commerce sales will expand by about 35%, boosted by more online-grocery pickup locations and new products.
Source: bloomberg.com