Lazada ramps up supermarket plans in Southeast Asia
Lazada Group announced it will ramp up its supermarket business in Southeast Asia, as part of plans to accelerate its growth to become the region’s biggest ecommerce ecosystem. The first country to ignite the supermarket transformation is Singapore when homegrown online grocer
RedMart, acquired by Lazada in 2016, moves onto the Lazada platform on March 15. This means that shoppers will be able to buy groceries and fresh produce along with Lazada’s other product categories on one single platform. This will boost Lazada’s grocery and supermarket offering to more than 165,000 products, the largest assortment yet offered by any grocer in Singapore. Elsewhere in the region, Lazada is looking to launch its grocery and supermarket business in at least one other city from the second half of 2019.
Source: lazada.com
Australia: Supermarkets increase dominance in fresh food
Australia’s total fresh food market, comprising meat, bread, deli, fruit + vegetables and seafood, now has an annual retail value of $ 38.8bln. Supermarkets currently hold 71.4% of this market, up from 69.0% 12 months ago and representing a continuation of a long term trend. These are some of the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s ‘Supermarket & Fresh Food Currency Report-September 2018’ which is based on in-depth interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 consumers per annum in their homes, including detailed questionnaires of over 12,000 grocery buyers.
Source: roymorgan.com
Germany: HelloFresh still in the red despite record growth
HelloFresh has announced in a press release that their turnover for the final quarter of last year was between 358 and 362mln euros, according to preliminary, unchecked figures. Last year's profits were between 1.275 and 1.279bln euros, an increase of 41% compared to 2017. A pleasant surprise, as the company had envisioned its growth more along the lines of 32 to 37%. "We're looking back at both a very successful fourth quarter and a successful year overall for 2018, with a high growth rate and considerable improvements to our profitability", said co-founder and chief executive Dominik Richter. He maintains that the international division (outside of the US) has now become profitable.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Holland: Albert Heijn launches Product Pitch 2019 
Dutch retail giant Albert Heijn has announced that its annual product innovation initiative - Product Pitch - is open for application. The programme is aimed to stimulate young entrepreneurs to develop their ideas into innovative products. The best products make it to the shelves of Albert Heijn stores. Brands like Knakwortel, Abel's Deli, and Kaas in 't Bakkie have been a part of the programme and are now available at Albert Heijn outlets. The programme is open for registration until 15 March, and the product pitch will take place on 4 April.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Romania: Metro Cash & Carry posts largest turnover growth in 12 years for 2018
German retailer Metro Cash & Carry, which has been on the Romanian market for more than two decades, recorded a 10% turnover growth in 2018 to EUR 1.08bln - the biggest growth of the past 12 years. The growth was organic, as the company did not open any new own stores in 2018, when private consumption increased by 5% and inflation reached 4% in Romania. Metro has a total of 30 cash & carry stores in Romania and has not announced any new expansion plans. However, it has said that it would focus on supporting small retailers who are Metro clients, without whom the cash & carry model would disappear.
Source: business-review.eu
UAE: Majid Al Futtaim 2018 year-end results
Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, announced its preliminary and unaudited operational and financial results for 2018, with group revenue growing by 8% reaching AED 34.6bln, while EBITDA increased by 9% year-on-year to AED 4.6bln. The company continued to maintain a strong balance sheet with total assets valued at AED 60.4bln and a net debt of around AED 12.6bln.
Source: majidalfuttaim.com
Lithuania: Maxima Grupė names new CEO of International Sourcing arm
Lithuanian retail giant Maxima Grupė has appointed Tomas Palevičius as the chief executive of its new procurement arm - Maxima International Sourcing - which will begin operations from February 2019. The new business will provide agency services to the group’s retail chains in the Baltics, Poland, and Bulgaria, develop private label brands, and engage in wholesale trade. Palevičius said: "The main priority of the newly established company is to effectively consolidate purchasing from our partners and ensure goods are acquired in different markets on the most attractive terms so we can offer good prices to customers. We are also open for cooperation with other trading companies in negotiating with large suppliers.”
Source: esmmagazine.com
Senegal: CFAO opens its first Carrefour Market
CFAO has opened its first Carrefour Market in Dakar, Senegal. The 800 sq m store is in the neighbourhood of Point E. It targets “the 3% of CSP + and the 12% of middle class” shoppers, but promises “the same price level as Auchan”. CFAO hopes to sign contracts with local suppliers in the area and will focus on volumes and low prices. It also said it will “adapt our references as and when we need them, according to our suppliers and demand”.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Romania: Competition Council fines French retailers and their suppliers for price fixing
Romania’s Competition Council sanctioned French retailers Auchan, Carrefour and Cora and four of their suppliers with total fines worth RON 87.7mln (EUR 18.8mln) for price fixing. The competition watchdog found that, between 2010 and 2016, the three retailers negotiated fixed or minimum prices with their suppliers Quadrant-Amroq Beverages (Pepsi), Star Foods, Strauss Romania and Nelson Prod, breaching both national and European competition rules and affecting local consumers. Auchan Romania received the biggest fine, of EUR 7.84mln, followed by Carrefour: EUR 5.79mln and Cora: EUR 2.66mln. The Competition Council mentioned that Carrefour admitted the deeds and received a lower fine. Quadrant Amroq Beverages, the local Pepsi producer, was fined EUR 1.28mln, and Star Foods: 0.84mln. The sanctioned companies can challenge the fines in court within 30 days.
Source: romania-insider.com
Italy to introduce mandatory origin-labelling
The Italian government has proposed a bill to introduce mandatory origin-labelling for all food products. The bill, which is yet to be passed, would require manufactures to list on the product label the geographical origin of ingredients. Ettore Prandini, president of the farmers’ association, Coldiretti, said that the initiative represents “a great victory for farmers and consumers”. It is also said to be supported by 96% of the Italian population. However, Prandini is worried about the “uncertain and contradictory attitude” of the EU “regarding the obligation to indicate the origin on the label for eggs but not for egg products, for fresh meat but not for cold cuts, for fresh fruit but not for juices and jams, for honey but not for sugar”.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Costa Rica: competition regulator rejects Walmex store purchase plan
Costa Rica’s competition regulator has rejected Wal Mart de Mexico’s bid to buy a local supermarket chain, the agency’s president said. The retailer’s plan to buy 52 markets would have increased its store tally in the Central American nation to more than 300. The company known as Walmex, a unit of U.S.-based Walmart Inc, already has 252 stores in Costa Rica, which is one of its worst-performing Central American markets.
Source: reuters.com
US: Supermarkets surpass discounters in shopping experience
When it comes to the customer experience, supermarkets lead discount grocery competitors Aldi and Walmart but trail in perception of value for the money, according to Retail Feedback Group (RFG). In the consumer research firm’s 2019 U.S. Supermarket Experience Study, based on a national sample of 1,200 grocery shoppers, supermarkets had the strongest overall satisfaction, with a score of 4.31 on a 5-point scale. That was just above Aldi at 4.27 but well ahead of Walmart at 3.93. The study gauged consumer feedback in such areas as the quality and freshness of food and groceries, store cleanliness (inside and outside), item variety and selection, value for the money spent, staff friendliness and attitude, checkout speed and efficiency, staff helpfulness and knowledge, and associate availability.
Source: supermarketnews.com
Peapod Digital Labs taps Deliv to expand U.S. same-day delivery options
Peapod Digital Labs, the digital and eCommerce engine for Ahold Delhaize USA, announced that it is partnering with a leading crowdsourced logistics company to help their U.S. brands extend same-day grocery delivery in select markets. The partnership with California-based Deliv will start with supporting the Giant/Martin’s brand in providing same-day delivery solutions in certain markets where only next-day service is currently available. “At Peapod Digital Labs, it is our mission to support each of Ahold Delhaize USA’s local brands in providing an industry leading omnichannel experience for their customers. This means being there for customers, anytime, anywhere - within hours”, said JJ Fleeman, President of Peapod Digital Labs and Chief eCommerce Officer of Ahold Delhaize USA. “Through our relationship with Deliv, we will assist the brands as they continue to conquer the last mile, and rapidly scale same-day delivery to the benefit of millions of local brand shoppers by 2020. Deliv is an example of many partners we will work with to deliver this benefit to customers.”
Source: aholddelhaize.com
US: Grocery Outlet's new platform better connects buyers, suppliers
Extreme-value retailer Grocery Outlet has implemented a new platform to make it easier to find products that appeal to its shopper base. Made possible through a partnership with RangeMe, the Emeryville, California-based grocer's buyers can now search more than 150,000 suppliers and 600,000 products through the platform. Grocery Outlet offers national brand products at discounts of 40 and 70% compared to traditional retailers, which can add difficulty to the sourcing process.
Source: progressivegrocer.com