JD.com pushes further into smart cities, offering social credit and AI-powered tools to local governments in China
JD.com has launched a big data-powered service to give social credit scores to individuals, businesses and potential investors for local governments in China, as the e-commerce company ventures further into the smart cities space. Unveiling a new brand, JD iCity, the Beijing-based company said that it wants to double down on the intelligent city business by providing big data and artificial intelligence-powered tools to local governments. The services can be used to build social credit databases, AI-powered traffic infrastructure and other smart transport services. By gathering, sorting and analysing a vast pool of data, including that generated by the 300 million active JD.com shoppers, the company’s logistic arm and fintech business, JD iCity will be able to improve the daily lives of urban dwellers and improve the efficiency of city governance, said Zheng Yu, vice-president of JD.com in a statement.
Source: scmp.com
Japan: Seven-Eleven starts test for shorter store hours
Seven-Eleven Japan Co. has launched a pilot program to shorten opening hours at some of its directly run outlets across the country in order to consider whether to revise its policy of operating stores 24 hours a day. The major convenience store chain operator, a unit of Seven & i Holdings Co., set three opening hours - from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., 6 a.m. to midnight, and 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. the following day - in the program to be carried out over a few months.
Source: nippon.com
Jersey: Costcutter unveils new-look Mace fascia
A store in St. Brelade in Jersey has become the first site to showcase the new-look, which includes updated Mace fascia board, window graphics and internal highline canopy. Antony Downing, Costcutter head of store development, said: “The new-look Mace fascia and store design has been refreshed to help our stores stand out from the crowd and connect with shoppers. Retailers will have access to a choice of two fixture designs - wood effect or blue vinyl - which match the new window graphics and updated in-store signage. The shopper mission information will further enhance the shopping experience, with key product ranges and in-store services being refreshed to reflect an increase in demand.”
Source: talkingretail.com
Spain: Retailer Covirán sees sales rise 5.6% in full-year 2018
Spanish supermarket group Supermercados Covirán has posted a 5.6% increase in sales in full-year 2018, to €1.37bln. Of this total, some €1.24bln was generated in its domestic Spanish operations, while €134mln was generated in neighbouring Portugal. EBITDA at the business increased by 2.41% to €8.06bln, with cash flow at the end of the year 8% higher than at the same point last year. The group, which operates a cooperative business model, boasts a total of 2,467 members, of which 2,244 are located in Spain and 223 in Portugal. In terms of market share, the group holds a 2.76% market share in Spain, and 0.88% of the market in Portugal.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Nigeria: SPAR Nigeria wins Best Retail and Superstore Brand Award
SPAR Nigeria has been announced as the winner of the 2019 Best Retail and Superstore Brand Award. The announcement was made at the third edition of the West Africa Brands Excellence Awards in Lagos at the end of February. The award presented to SPAR was in recognition of its excellent service to Nigerian consumers and the great value the brand brings to the region. The annual awards ceremony, organised by the Institute of Brand Management of Nigeria (IBMN), is aimed at identifying, recognising, and rewarding companies that are renowned for introducing best brand management practices across West Africa. Chief Executive of IBMN, Desmond Esorougwe, said SPAR was awarded based on a study that placed the brand ahead of its competitors in the country: “SPAR Nigeria is renowned for its positive impacts on the lives of consumers, its philanthropic gestures and the provision of innovative products and services.”
Source: spar-international.com
UK: Co-op Group launches online food delivery service
The Co-op Group is launching a home delivery service for groceries, beginning with a trial in nine London stores. It is the first time the organisation has offered online grocery deliveries via a dedicated website, shop.coop.co.uk, and follows a recent trial of autonomous robot deliveries in Milton Keynes and a free service by taxi for groceries at eight other UK stores. The new service will initially be available to shoppers within a four kilometre radius of a store on the Kings Road in Chelsea, before being rolled out to eight more London stores. Orders will be fulfilled using zero emission electric cargo bikes, from e-cargobikes.com. The trial claims that shoppers will receive their orders within two hours. There is a standard £5 delivery charge and a £15 minimum spend, with all prices the same as they are in stores. A a free click and collect service will also be made available through the website.
Source: thenews.coop
Belgium: Colruyt scraps traditional price labels, aims to save 90 tonnes of paper
By the end of this year, supermarket chain Colruyt aims to replace the paper price labels with new electronic ones in all stores. The labels will also receive a so-called NFC chip that allows the customer to read extra information about the product in question via the smartphone, according to Belgian Media. The new labels will save 75mln paper labels per year - around 90 tonnes of paper - and transport costs, said Colruyt. The company - which swears by the "lowest prices" guarantee - now wants to respond faster to price changes from the competition by using electronic labels. Other supermarket companies have been using electronic labels for some time. "Price adjustments are still done manually today. By digitising it, Colruyt will be able to respond even more quickly to unexpected price adjustments", said sales director Christophe Dehandschutter in a press release.
Source: brusselstimes.com
UK: Sainsbury's-Asda store disposal plan falls short of Watchdog's demands
British supermarkets Sainsbury's and Asda said they were willing to sell 125-150 stores to get their proposed merger past the regulator - a number well short of what the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said it is looking for. The two groups also said the UK competition regulator's provisional view on Sainsbury's agreed £7.3bln (€8.53bln) takeover of Walmart owned Asda amounted to "prohibition in all but name". The companies said the CMA's divestments proposal "appears to have been designed to be impossible to implement."
Source: esmmagazine.com
Lebanon: Spinneys partners with French Casino Group for exclusive import agreement
Spinneys, the premier supermarket retailer in the Middle East, has partnered with Casino Group, major player food and non-food retailer in the French market, to enter into an exclusive import agreement for the Lebanese market. Spinneys will import more than 5000 Casino products for its shoppers in Lebanon, including a full range of chilled, frozen, and grocery products. Casino chilled and frozen range will be on Spinneys shelves starting in March and then the full grocery range by the beginning of April. “Spinneys is the market leader in many ways beyond being the largest chain, we lead in the quality of our products and the services we offer. To further enhance this we have struck a strategic deal with the Casino Group to be the exclusive importer of their Casino branded products to be sold in Spinneys branches across the country.” said Michael Wright, Spinneys CEO. “This is an important collaboration between a leading European and a leading Lebanese company, the professionalism and values of both will complement each other to the benefit of the Lebanese consumer. We look forward to working with Casino Group to deliver the best of France to the best of the Middle East.”
Source: zawya.com
US: Target plans to speed grab-and-go purchases with ‘Snack Bar’
Trying to grab a snack at the grocery store and getting stuck behind someone with a cart at checkout is a frustrating experience that even express lanes rarely alleviate. Now, Target is experimenting with a new section at the front of the store to speed up shopping for grab-and-go snackers. Target will pilot its new “Snack Bar” section in a few locations nationwide, and one is already in operation at a store in Northeast Minneapolis, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. The location features Pizza Hut products, self-serve Icees, popcorn, beef jerky and the like. Customers pay at a self-service kiosk, circumventing the grocery line. The Snack Bar sections are distinct from the Starbucks locations found in some Targets and may replace restaurants like Freshii, which briefly occupied the front of some stores.
Source: retailwire.com
US: Associated Food Stores to use artificial intelligence
Associated Food Stores is partnering with CB4 to use artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the store experience. CB4's patented artificial intelligence technology uses pre-existing POS data to identify when physical issues in a store are holding back sales and hurting the customer experience. These issues include products that aren't easily visible, ticketing issues, and out of stocks. Product selection in typical grocery stores has ballooned to 40,000 SKUs, making this issues associated with proper stocking harder to control. By accurately projecting how much sales will increase after fixing an issue, CB4 helps store managers identify the exact SKUs in their stores that need the most attention and guides them on how to fix potential issues. Because the software requires no in-store hardware or external data sources, implementation and onboarding can be done in a few days.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Kroger’s QFC joins plastic bag ban
QFC has become the first division in The Kroger Co. to eliminate single-use plastic bags in its stores. The move is in keeping with Kroger’s national bid to do away with such bags at all of its banners as part of the grocer's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste initiative. During the month of April, QFC will also donate $1 for every reusable bag sold in its stores to The Nature Conservancy, a global nonprofit committed to protecting the earth's lands and waters. “With Earth Day approaching, we realized this was the perfect opportunity to accelerate the removal of single-use plastic in our stores and take the next bold step in our Zero Hunger | Zero Waste journey”, said Suzy Monford, president of QFC. "We listen closely to our customers and our communities, and we agree with their growing concerns about use-once, throw-it-away plastic bags. This is why we are leading the change and inviting our customers to join us as we help to create zero-waste neighborhoods."
Source: progressivegrocer.com