Walmart Japan's new CEO: Seiyu 'absolutely' not for sale
The newly appointed chief executive of Walmart Inc’s Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu denied the business was up for sale, following reports last year that the U.S. retail giant was looking for a buyer. “I’m not here to sell a business”, Lionel Desclee told reporters in Tokyo in his first public remarks since his appointment. “Absolutely not at all.” Japanese media reported last year that Walmart considered selling Seiyu, and that a sale could amount to around 300bln to 500bln yen ($2.69bln to $4.48bln).
Source: reuters.com
Spain: Mercadona ‘hive’ for online sale in Malaga
Mercadona plans to build ‘hives’ - sales stores ‘on line’ - in “all the big cities” in Spain, including Seville and Malaga. With this action, the supermarket chain has doubled its orders to increase its online sales by 120% and invoice a total of 2.2mln a month, following the trial that began last May with the ‘Colmena’ - on-line warehouse - in 97 municipalities in the province of Valencia. “We are very happy”, said the president of Mercadona, Juan Roig, who during the presentation of results of the chain of supermarkets for the year 2018 commented that “it has been a great change that has worked very well and we have to improve much”.
Source: internationalsupermarketnews.com
Israel supermarket chain Shufersal Q4 profit down on drugstore launch
Shufersal, Israel’s largest supermarket chain, said its net profit fell in the fourth quarter due to the cost of rebranding and launching a newly purchased drugstore chain.The company posted net profit of 49mln shekels ($13mln) versus 77mln a year earlier, saying the gap stemmed from the drugstore launch. Revenue increased 10.3% to 3.2bln shekels as same store sales rose 3.0%. Shufersal last year agreed to buy New-Pharm Drugstores, which operates dozens of branches in Israel, for 130mln shekels. It rebranded it under the name “Be” and officially launched it in the fourth quarter. Expenses rose to 760mln shekels from 663mln due to the integration of New-Pharm and to costs associated with the launching of a new credit card, as well as a rise in salary expenses.
Source: reuters.com
Croatia: Studenac to take over Istarski Supermarketi
Croatian grocery retail chain Studenac has announced plans to acquire rival Istarski Supermarketi. The company has submitted a request to the Competition Agency (AZTN) to authorise the acquisition, reports Jutarnji List. Provided the deal receives the green light from AZTN and all the agreed conditions between the two parties are fulfilled, Studenac will acquire 100% of the shares of Istarski Supermarketi. This transaction is expected to enable new investments and the transfer of knowledge for both Istarski Supermarketi and Studenac, significantly increasing the volume of operations and creating a market leader on Croatia’s Adriatic coast.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: M&S contacts suppliers to help Ocado partnership flourish
Marks & Spencer has contacted food suppliers to request for help in reducing prices and driving volumes as it anticipates its joint venture with online grocer Ocado. M&S’ food managing director Stuart Machin wrote a letter - as seen by Retail Week - that the deal would be “transformational” but that supplier buy-in will be necessary. Machin also noted that M&S will make more of its full range available to consumers through larger food halls. “To our mutual benefit, we need to improve efficiencies, drive volume and deliver growth. We cannot do this without the full support and backing of our supplier partners”, he wrote. “Like our joint venture with Ocado, we need true partnerships with both sides contributing and both sides benefiting. Now is the time for you to play your part in the transformation of M&S Food.”
Source: retailgazette.co.uk
Australia: Macquarie report says up to 60 Big W stores may need to close
Woolworths Group may need to consider closing up to a third of its Big W locations if the discount offering continues to underperform, a Macquarie Wealth Management report said. According to the report, as first reported by The Australian, Woolworths Group’s review into the Big W store and distribution centre network is likely to end with up to 60 store closures, given the challenging retail environment. A Woolworths spokesperson told IR that the review is still ongoing and that no decisions about the network have been made. “We will update our team members and the market once the review has been completed”, the spokesperson said.
Source: insideretail.com.au
Britain's Ocado to establish U.S. office in Washington D.C. area
British online supermarket Ocado plans to establish an office for its Ocado Solutions technology business in the Washington D.C. area of the United States, it said. Ocado said from April the office will be based in Tyson’s, Virginia, ahead of establishing a permanent location in the Washington D.C. area. Last year Ocado signed major technology partnership deals with Kroger in the U.S. and Sobeys in Canada. The deal with Kroger will see the roll-out of 20 highly automated distribution centers - or Customer Fulfilment Centres (CFCs) as Ocado calls them - across the United States in the coming years.
Source: uk.reuters.com
US: Giant Eagle forms digital media partnership
Giant Eagle and Quotient Technology have launched Giant Eagle Advantage Media, a digital media platform enabling consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands to better connect with the grocer’s customers via more targeted digital ads and promotional offers. Quotient, which powers Giant Eagle Advantage Media, is the exclusive partner for executing shopper media programs on GiantEagle.com and off-platform, leveraging Giant Eagle customer data. The new digital service aims to help shoppers receive more relevant content in the form of digital ad messages and promotional savings. “Giant Eagle Advantage Media will transform CPGs’ and Giant Eagle’s ability to connect Giant Eagle customers with the best available offers, contextually relevant to them, in the channels and times they prefer”, noted Graham Watkins, SVP and general manager, ecommerce at Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle. “Expanding our partnership with Quotient to now offer a digital media platform that includes advertising is a natural extension of years of working together on digital promotions.”
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Ahold Delhaize unit sees edge in ‘Neurodiversity’
Ahold Delhaize’s Retail Business Services group is partnering with IBM on a program that helps individuals with high-functioning autism find jobs that make use of their skills. Retail Business Services, or RBS, provides central services for Ahold Delhaize’s U.S. brands, including IT. As part of IBM’s Ignite ASD program, Dyllan Rafail, a contract worker who self-identifies as having autism spectrum disorder, has worked as part of RBS’s IT quality assurance team and, according to the company, has brought a new and unique perspective to the department. According to IBM, about 44% of people with autism have IQ scores in the average to above average range, but nearly half of 25-year-olds with autism have never held a paying job, in part because of difficulties in traditional recruiting and interview processes. The Ignite program provides special training and support for such workers.
Source: winsightgrocerybusiness.com
Walmart Canada: soon to open coldstore
Surrey council in British Columbia is poised to approve a proposal to build a 296,922 sq-foot Walmart distribution centre in Campbell Heights. Walmart Canada announced last July that it intended to spend $175mln on the refrigerated grocery distribution centre. The site is proposed as a “state-of-the-art automated refrigeration warehouse which will distribute fresh produce to more than 60 markets throughout British Columbia”, a city report notes. The Campbell Heights Business Park site will feature energy-efficient LED lighting and “intelligent” controls that reduce lighting energy consumption by 70%, as well as lithium battery cells to reduce power consumption at the site.
Source: globalcoldchainnews.com
US: California independent Vintage Grocers closes 2 locations
California-based Vintage Grocers abruptly closed two of its three locations last week: a store in Thousand Oaks and its newly opened location in Pacific Palisades. Vintage's original location, which debuted in 2014 in Malibu, remains open. In a statement, the independent grocer noted the closures were a result of a partnership with Erewhon Markets, another independent grocer with four locations in the Los Angeles area and a focus on natural and organic products.
Source: progressivegrocer.com