Spain: Dia council supports Fridman’s bid
The board of directors of Dia has shown a favourable and unanimous opinion to the Public Offer of Acquisition (OPA) presented by LetterOne, a company controlled by the Russian investor Mikhail Fridman, with more than 29% of the capital of the supermarket chain. Specifically, the highest governance body of the company has informed the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) of its decision one day before the deadline to offer its opinion on the OPA. The board of directors has given this favourable opinion in light of the current circumstances of the company and “there is no other alternative” given the “high risks” that would be entailed for the company, shareholders, creditors, employees, franchisees and suppliers if the Fridman offer did not prosper. Thus, they understand, after hearing the opinions expressed by Bank of America, Merrill Lynch International Limited and Rothschild & Co., that the OPA of the Russian millionaire is the “best existing alternative” for all the aforementioned interest groups.
Source: internationalsupermarketnews.com
France: E. Leclerc going electric with Mobility Green
French supermarket chain E. Leclerc has announced that its central purchasing department has mandated the management of its 74 charging stations (148 charging points) to Mobility Green. This is for its operations in South Western France. These charging points are set to be installed at the company’s premises in Castelnaudary (Aude department) during the second half of this year. This move forms part of E. Leclerc’s decision to move its supply platform to the new site, which will employ some 350 persons. The company wishes to move towards electric mobility, and the charging points will service a fleet of 180 EVs. Mobility Green points out that such a large number of charging points on one site means that it has to monitor electricity usage in order not to perturb the overall electricity supply system, and to ensure that employees’ cars are fully charged before they return home.
Source: fleeteurope.com
China: JD.com targets deep job cuts as morale sags at online shopping firm
JD.com is preparing deep cuts to its workforce and rescinding some job offers as the Chinese e-commerce giant struggles to revive dwindling morale and rein in losses, people familiar with the matter said. Alibaba Group Holding’s closest rival told managers that it is looking to reduce headcount across the company, cutting some teams by as much as half, one of the people said, citing an internal email. JD.com is reneging on some work contracts and offering affected college graduates token compensation of 5,000 yuan (US$745), the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. The Information earlier reported that, all told, JD.com could be slashing its workforce by as much as 8%.
Source: scmp.com
Australia: Woolworths becomes first supermarket globally to issue ‘green bonds’
Woolworths is taking steps to reduce its impact on the environment by becoming the first supermarket globally, and first retailer in Australia to issue Certified Green Bonds. The Bonds, certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), will allow investors to support projects, assets or expenditure committed to helping the environment, such as the installation of solar panels on store roofs or the development of low carbon supermarkets. Woolworths has amped up its sustainability efforts in recent years, with energy saving measures underway including the introduction of the Energy Management Centre, HFC-free refrigeration systems and LED lighting. Woolworths Group chief financial officer David Marr said that the retailer is working hard to minimise its long term impact on the environment and has a responsibility as Australia’s largest retailer to lead in this space.
Source: insideretail.com.au
Carrefour Kenya targets number 2 retail ranking this year, franchisee says
Carrefour aims to become Kenya’s number two retailer this year, adding floorspace and using ultra-competitive pricing to boost sales and increase market share, its franchisee holder in the country said. Majid al Futtaim’s (MAF) Kenya head, Franck Moreau, said that, since launching there three years ago, the franchise of the French hypermarket chain had grown far faster than expected, attracting a strong client base among the country’s expanding middle class. It has seven outlets in the capital Nairobi, with two more planned this year. Currently ranked third with a 22% market share, its revenue jumped 71% last year to 14bln shillings ($140mln). “We should certainly be number two by the end of 2019”, Moreau told Reuters in an interview, adding that MAF also planned to expand Carrefour into Uganda.
Source: reuters.com
Germany's Metro considers paying money to shed hypermarkets: Handelsblatt
German retailer Metro is considering effectively paying more than 200mln euros ($225mln) to divest its loss-making Real hypermarkets, Handelsblatt business paper reported. The Duesseldorf-based company is in talks to sell Real to peer Markant in a deal that would see the properties of the hypermarkets chain go to a different investor, Handelsblatt added. Markant would pay 99mln euros for the business, but Metro would inject 300mln euros of fresh equity into Real ahead of a deal, the paper said.
Source: reuters.com
US: Grocers see a boost in digital engagement with shoppers
More than 63% of shoppers interact with a supermarket digitally, up from 56% in 2017, according to a new study from Retail Feedback Group that polled 1,200 shoppers. About 55% of shoppers report checking a digital circular, while 47% create digital shopping lists and 44% look for special promotions digitally. Other digital activities include hunting down recipes (25%), finding nutritional advice (11%) and perusing blogs (9%). Just 12% of survey respondents are ordering groceries online for either curbside pickup or delivery, but adoption rates fluctuate based on geography and demographics. About 18% of urban dwellers use the services compared to only 7% in small towns and rural regions, and around 18% of millennials engage in online grocery shopping versus just 6% of Baby Boomers.
Source: grocerydive.com
US: Albertsons lays off 10% of Plated staff in New York City
Plated has announced that it will lay off 10% of its New York City based corporate staff, which is about 25 people, according to a report from Bloomberg. The cuts are intended to reduce expenses for Plated and better utilize Albertsons’ existing operations structure. A spokesperson told Grocery Dive in an email that the company has taken steps to better leverage the overall resources of the company, which resulted in the head count reduction at Plated's New York office. "Our team has had several quarters to evaluate Plated’s operation, and we feel there are opportunities to streamline processes and reduce expenses while further exploring additional offerings both for subscribers and in-store kits in the future", the spokesperson said.
Source: grocerydive.com
Amazon Go to accept cash
Amazon Go stores, the cashierless grab-and-go format that has been billed the retail experience of the future, will begin accepting cash payments as a response to various municipalities' bans on cashless stores, according to several media reports. Philadelphia was the first city to enact such a ban, with New York; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; and San Francisco considering similar bans. New Jersey recently enacted a ban statewide, and Massachusetts has had one in place for years.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Walmart invests nearly $1bln dollars in nine U.S. states 
This week, Walmart unleashed a series of investments spanning nine states that equal almost $1bln. The investments will cover the cost of opening new stores and renovating existing locations to further entice consumers with new and improved shopping accoutrements. “Our primary goal is to save time and money for our customers and there is no better place for shopping and convenience than Walmart”, said Uli Correa, Walmart Regional General Manager for Texas, in a statement to Yahoo Finance. “We’re very excited about rolling out improvements and innovations in 2019 that fit into our customers’ busy lifestyles and make shopping even easier.”
Source: delimarketnews.com
US: Giant Eagle piloting in-store robots
Giant Eagle has unveiled a pilot program with Simbe Robotics to deploy Tally, Simbe’s autonomous shelf-auditing and inventory analytics solution, at the grocer’s Giant Eagle and Market District stores in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, and Akron, Ohio. Tally ensures that products are on shelves when and where customers expect them to be, while enabling store associates to focus on customers instead of inventory. In the pilot, Tally sends detailed data reports to store teams every 30 minutes that capture, report, and analyze the state and availability of merchandise. The reports help the teams address controllable out-of-stock and pricing situations while optimizing each store’s product layout. The solution requires no infrastructure changes to the store and operates safely during normal store hours alongside shoppers and employees. Employing Tally’s cloud-powered software platform and API, Giant Eagle aims to streamline store performance, maximize customer satisfaction, boost sales and lower operational expenditures.
Source: progressivegrocer.com