Singapore: Smaller supermarkets face off with giants for HDB retail spaces
Smaller supermarket players in Singapore are locking horns with supermarket giants for the much coveted Housing and Development Board (HDB) supermarket spaces, reported the Singapore Business Review. This rising trend is expected to continue in the near future considering the vast physical network offered by HDB estates to supermarket operators on the lookout for alternatives to the declining footfall and costly rents at shopping malls. “Typically, it takes about two to three years before enough residents move into these estates and it becomes a bustling community. In the interim period, it is common for minimarkets to open stores. Bigger chains set up only after there are sufficient shoppers to support a supermarket”, said IGD Asia’s senior retail analyst Johann Hall.
Source: commercialguru.com.sg
Plastic-free pilot in Holland: Albert Heijn testing fruits and vegetables without packaging
Albert Heijn, which last September announced a goal to reduce packaging material 25% by 2025, is testing fruits and vegetables without plastic wrapping at a store in Hoofddorp in the Netherlands. The test, beginning yesterday and scheduled through April 28, involves over 100 uncooked organic and non-organic products such as carrots, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, celery, oranges, pears, apples and mango. The aim of the trial - with projected savings of at least 270,000 kilos (about 595,000 pounds) of plastic on an annual basis - is to see how it affects the quality and shelf life of products and how customers react to a fruit and vegetable department where most products do not have plastic packaging. Excluded from the test are potatoes, onions, herbs, convenience items, chilled vegetables and chilled fruit.
Source: aholddelhaize.com
Ireland: SuperValu announces free online delivery for World Autism Awareness Month
SuperValu, in partnership with AsIAm, reaffirms its support of the Autism Community with the roll-out of more activities for 2019. SuperValu has announced it will be offering free online delivery for the autism community in stores across the month of April in support of World Autism Awareness Month. The initiative comes alongside its existing in-store activities, as SuperValu firmly cements its position as number one supporter of the Autism Community.
Source: musgravegroup.com
Spain: El Corte Inglés to develop 'vertical garden' at Valladolid store
Spanish retailer El Corte Inglés has teamed up with the Valladolid city council to develop a 'vertical garden' on the facade of its outlet in the centre of the Spanish city. The group will undertake the project in collaboration with URBAN GreenUp, a European project that seeks to increase the sustainability of cities through the development of nature-based solutions. El Corte Inglés will undertake structural reforms on the facade of its building, an investment of around €60,000 to enable the development of the vertical garden.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Switzerland: Migros sees sales up 1.4% in full-year 2018
Swiss retailer and food producer Migros has posted a 1.4% increase in sales in full-year 2018, to CHF 28.5bln (€25.35bln), the group has announced. Migros invested more than CHF 1.5bln in its operations last year, in boosting its retail operations and online businesses, which helped its cooperative retailing division post a 2.5% increase in sales last year to CHF 16.9bln. The group opened 26 new branches lat year, lifting its store count to a total of 727 outlets, while the business' market share increased from 21.8% to 22.1%. It also posted a 6.9% increase in online sales to CHF 2.1bln, with online sales across the group having more than doubled since 2014.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Lidl gets loan from Credit Agricole for opening 31 new stores in Romania
Retailer Lidl Discount Romania, a subsidiary of German Schwarz group, signed with Credit Agricole CIB, the investment division of the French group Credit Agricole, a loan agreement of EUR 100mln for opening 31 stores in Romania, Profit.ro reported. The new stores will be EDGE certified, meaning that their water and energy consumption will be 20% below those of a standard store. The World Bank's investment division provides EDGE certification. Lidl entered the local market in 2010 by taking over about 100 Plus discount stores from the Tengelmann Group. The retailer is part of the German Schwarz group, which also owns the Kaufland hypermarket network, the leading local retail market in Romania. Lidl in Romania has over 240 stores and 4 logistics centers in Romania.
Source: romania-insider.com
Holland: Albert Heijn tests delivery robotAlbert Heijn showed his latest innovation at a conference: a delivery robot. The aim is to extensively test the robot on the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven. The supermarket chain presented the delivery robot at the Digital Food Conference. The device will be deployed on the High Tech Campus Eindhoven during the coming summer. Visitors can place their orders at the local AH to go via an app. The order is then neatly delivered by the robot, which uses a virtual floor plan. The robot was developed by TeleRetail and its development was partly funded by the ESA space agency. The cost is currently between 50,000 and 100,000 euros, but that could quickly fall to 10,000 to 20,000 euros. The intention is to test the robot for a few weeks. However, Albert Heijn has no plans to use robots effectively on public roads.
Source: retaildetail.eu
US: King Soopers/City Market, union reach tentative deal to avoid grocery workers strike in Colorado
King Soopers and City Market has reached a tentative agreement with the UFCW Local 7R union that represents the store’s employees after nearly 40 hours of contract negotiations over the weekend, the Kroger-owned grocery chain announced. “King Soopers/City Market and UFCW Local 7 have reached a tentative agreement”, King Soopers/City Market spokesperson Adam Williamson said. “This is good news for our associates, customers and communities.” The union posted a message on Facebook saying: “After another 37 hours of bargaining this weekend, we have secured a final offer with King Soopers/City Market. Details and statewide vote dates and locations will be posted soon.”
Source: thedenverchannel.com
US: Pick 'N Save and Metro Market looking to fill over 500 jobs
Pick ‘n Save and Metro Market locations are looking to hire over 500 full and part-time employees across the state of Wisconsin for hourly clerks, department leads and department managers. On Saturday, April 6th from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. all stores will be hosting open interviews for anyone interested in joining the team. Roundy’s offers employee benefits including medical, dental and vision coverage, and a flexible spending account. Benefits for full-time employees also include life insurance, 401 (k) savings plan, education assistance, vacation and time off, and an employee assistance program.
Source: cbs58.com
Canada: Loblaw expands in Winnipeg under No Frills banner
Loblaw has announced further Canadian expansion under its No Frills banner, making the company one of many retailers looking to expand in the Great White North. In the same fashion that Sobeys’ parent, Empire, revealed plans to expand its Farm Boy brand into the Toronto and Ontario area, Loblaw is targeting expansion in its own key regional market: Winnipeg. The company’s No Frills banner has been around since the 1970s, reports The Winnipeg Free Press, but Loblaw has recently found a new home for the chain in Winnipeg, opening its fifth store in the city this week.
Source: delimarketnews.com
US: Hy-Vee expands new HealthMarket banner to new markets
Last year, Hy-Vee introduced its first HealthMarket store, with the retailer’s CEO Randy Edeker noting it planned to open 50 to 60 new locations of this small-format banner. The first, located in West Des Moines, Iowa, will soon have a counterpart in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, according to local news source Madison.com. Edeker articulated that the Hy-Vee HealthMarkets are about twice the size of the health food sections found at traditional Hy-Vees, and offer only 11,000 fresh items, including produce, meal kits, and meat and dairy items.
Source: delimarketnews.com
US: Instacart cutting more than 200 jobs at city Whole Foods stores
The fallout from a breakup between one of the country's largest grocers and a growing online delivery service will soon land in New York. By May, Instacart will lay off 44 part-time employees who shop for the company at the Whole Foods Market on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn. The job cuts mark the first of 237 for part-time Instacart employees in New York City as a result of the company winding down a five-year partnership with Whole Foods. Instacart notified the state Department of Labor of the planned layoffs last week. The notice comes three months after Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta wrote in a Medium post that the company's partnership with the Amazon-owned grocery chain would end.
Source: crainsnewyork.com