Owners of Italy's Esselunga seek investors to bankroll buyout plan - sources
The majority owners of Italian supermarket chain Esselunga are seeking to team up with long-term investors to take full control of the business and squeeze out two of the family heirs, three sources familiar with the matter said. The retailer, which ranks as Italy’s fourth biggest supermarket chain, has long been locked in a family dispute following the death of founder Bernardo Caprotti in 2016. Based in Milan, Esselunga is 70% owned by Caprotti’s second wife Giuliana Albera and their daughter Marina while the remaining 30% is held by Caprotti’s two children from his first marriage, Giuseppe and Violetta.
Source: uk.reuters.com
Spar Oman launches Min Beiti products by Omani women from Dar Al Atta's
As part of its commitment to empower Omani women and to help them succeed and grow, Spar Oman will house handmade natural products prepared by Omani women, from five of its stores in the sultanate. Spar Oman will showcase and sell handmade natural products by Omani women who are part of Dar al Atta’a’s Min Beiti (From My Home) project for empowering women. The Min Beiti project aims to support Omani women to run their businesses more efficiently while providing them with an enabling environment. Spar Oman has come forward to reach Min Beiti products to the shoppers from their retail outlets.
Source: muscatdaily.com
7-Eleven Thailand launches delivery service
More than 3000 Bangkok 7-Eleven stores are offering a courier service and collection point. The new service promises next-day delivery on parcels or letters dropped off at a participating 7-Eleven store prior to 9pm. Customers using the service must present their ID then buy an envelope or box to send their goods in, with fees ranging from THB 35 to THB 119 (US$1.05 to $3.58). A flat rate applies across the city, depending on the size of the box or envelope. Customers can send goods any hour of the day or night and senders can use 7-Eleven stores as collections points, rather than sending to a street or office address. Called the 24/7 Speed-D express delivery service, it is also available at stores in the neighbouring provinces of greater Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani and Samut Prakan. The service is a joint venture between 7-Eleven’s parent company CP All and delivery company Dynamic Logistics. All deliveries can be tracked by GPS on the Dynamic Logistics website.
Source: retailnews.asia
South Africa: Shoprite reports 0.4% growth in operational update
South Africa-based Shoprite has provided an operational update for the three months ending September 2018. The retailer, which reported its first annual profit decline in 19 years, said that it had enjoyed a small increase in nominal revenue by 0.4% in Q3 2018. The retailer faced multiple challenges which impacted growth, such as currency devaluations, low food inflation and strikes. The retailer explained that ‘sharp’ currency devaluations of Angola and Zambia contributed to an 8.6% decrease in revenue in South African Rand terms. Meanwhile, the retailer’s RSA supermarket sales were impacted by low internal food inflation of -0.1%. Deflation in the business unit meant that ‘more than 11,607 items in September’ were cheaper than they were a year ago. The challenge faced by the unit exacerbated the issues being felt by its core customer base, who ‘remained under pressure from rising transport costs and unemployment’. A six-week service provider strike combined with the roll out of a new warehouse also affected demand and local sales. This also impacted on product availability, especially in the broader Gauteng region. Pieter Engelbrecht, CEO of Shoprite, commented, “We had to deal with three strikes in one year, deflation, new distribution centres and the implementation of a new SAP [systems applications and products] project, which required us to train 147,000 employees”.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Germany: REWE Group wins Econ Award for online sustainability report
REWE Group has been presented with an Econ Award for its online sustainability report, by Econ Verlag and the Handelsblatt Group. The Econ Award jury awarded the retailer's 2015/16 online sustainability report, titled Miteinander, with a silver award in the 'Corporate Reporting' category. "Transparency plays a central role in our sustainability strategy," said Nicola Tanaskovic, head of corporate responsibility at REWE Group. "As REWE Group, we have been reporting to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) since 2009. We moved from a print-online report to a modern online reporting format that has set standards for the industry. We are pleased that the jury recognises our commitment."
Source: esmmagazine.com
Spar opens 100th store in Georgia
Spar Georgia has announced the opening of its 100th store in the country in the capital city of Tbilisi. The retailer entered the Georgian market four years ago, and has been rapidly expanding its network in the country over the past few months. International retail and development director at Spar International, David Moore, said: “It is an incredible achievement to have opened 100 stores in such a short space of time. We’re really pleased with the progress here in Georgia and one of the things we’re most proud of, is that we’ve created 1,800 jobs in this market. Spar Georgia’s ambition is to work towards 200 stores across the country. The future looks bright for Spar in Georgia.”
Source: esmmagazine.com
Walmart India to invest USD 500mln to open 47 more stores by 2022
Walmart India said it would invest about USD 500mln (about Rs 3,200 crore at the current exchange rate) to open another 47 stores by 2022 to take the total number of outlets to 70. Krish Iyer, President and CEO Walmart India, said that out of the 23 B2B Cash and Carry stores, 19 have achieved break even with over a million members. The global retail giant, which opened its 23rd wholesale store in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, is in the process of setting up a second store in Visakhapatnam and discussions are underway for land. "A typical store needs anywhere between USD 9mln to USD 10mln in terms of investment.
Source: timesnownews.com
Mexico: OXXO reports 7.9% revenue growth in Q3
Mexico-based, Femsa-owned OXXO has reported a 7.9% growth in its Q3 2018 revenue versus the same period in 2017. The company attributes the growth to higher traffic at its convenience stores. Femsa generated a revenue of MXN118.4bln (US$6.3bln) in Q3 2018 compared to MXN109bln in Q3 2017. However, the company’s net profit fell by 85% to MXN4.7bln (US$2.4mln) compared with MXN32.4bln (US$1.7bln). This was due to the sale of a 5% stake in Heineken, in September 2017, and exchange-rate losses. OXXO’s like-for-like sales increased by 6.2%, aided by a 2.5% growth in store traffic and a 3.6% rise in average customer ticket. Traffic growth helped increase total revenue by 12.1% in Q3, versus a 12.0% rise in the whole nine-month period. The company said that on an organic basis, total revenues rose by 11.7%, supported by the opening of 182 net new stores in the quarter. At the end of Q3 there were 17,478 OXXO stores.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
US: Shipt and Target expand same-day delivery in Pennsylvania and Maryland
Shipt, a leading same-day delivery marketplace, and Target Corporation announced delivery of more than 55,000 groceries, electronics, toys and other household essentials to select Maryland and Pennsylvania metros. Beginning November 1, residents in the following metros will have access to Target products delivered same-day by Shipt: Maryland: St Mary's Peninsula. Pennsylvania: Chambersburg, Hagerstown, Frederick, State College, Stroudsburg, Sunbury and Williamsport. The launch of these markets gives nearly 600,000 households in Maryland and Pennsylvania access to products delivered by Shipt in as soon as one hour.
Source: nasdaq.com
US: Publix triumphs over hurricanes with Q3 sales rise
Despite adverse weather affecting its market area, Publix Super Markets enjoyed stronger sales during the third quarter of its fiscal 2018. The grocer posted sales for the three months ended September 29 of $8.8bln, a 3.2% increase from the $8.5bln logged in 2017, while comparable-store sales for the three months ended September 29 edged up 0.6%. “In the last six weeks, many of our associates and customers have faced difficult times with Hurricanes Florence and Michael”, noted Publix CEO and President Todd Jones. “I’m proud of our associates for their extra efforts and pleased with our team’s results.”
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Walmart encourages associates to perform tasks with their smartphones for better efficiency
Walmart continues its push to empower its employees through technology, now encouraging store associates to accomplish everyday tasks on the job with their smartphones instead of store-supplied devices, with the intent of improving efficiency via familiarity. On its blog, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based mega-retailer announced its Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program, which it just rolled out to "give associates another option to stay connected - this time from the familiar turf of their own smartphones." Participating associates have the option to download Walmart's app suite directly to their personal devices and, in return, receive a discount on their phone bills. Associates wishing to connect their devices through the program can continue using store-supplied handheld devices - tens of thousands of which will be added in the coming months.
Source: progressivegrocer.com