US: Piggly Wiggly Midwest joins Healthy Savings network
Piggly Wiggly Midwest has begun accepting the Healthy Savings program, which gives customers discounts on better-for-you foods. The Sheboygan, Wisconsin-based grocer said shoppers can now redeem savings under the program, a service of electronic benefits transfer (EBT) and payment processor Solutran Inc., at any of its 100 Piggly Wiggly stores in Wisconsin and northern Illinois. “Customers were asking our stores if we accepted Healthy Savings, and we felt we had to be a part of this program to meet shoppers’ needs and help them eat healthier,” according to Gary Suokko, chief operating officer at Piggly Wiggly Midwest, which also supplies 14 Butera Market stores in the Chicagoland area.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Meijer opens 3 northeast Ohio supercenters
Meijer Inc. is entering the northeast Ohio market for the first time with the May 14 opening of three 155,000-square-foot supercenters in the communities of Stow, Avon and Mentor, according to a published report. The company first revealed the opening date for the three stores in April. The three new stores bring Meijer’s total retail locations in Ohio to 42, along with a distribution center and dairy processor plant, employing a total of 10,000 associates in the state, the Akron Beacon Journal reported, noting that the Grand Rapids, Michigan-chain will now operate more than 240 supercenters across Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Raley’s to open new Sacramento flagship store
Raley’s recently broke ground on its new flagship store in Sacramento, which is slated to be open in 2020. The new 55,000-square-foot store is a replacement location for a store one block away, which has served the neighborhood for 60 years and will remain open during construction of the new store. The new flagship store will feature specialized culinary offerings, including an enhanced fresh service counter with acai bowls, sushi, a meat carving station, and a gourmet salad and hot food case. The store will include a tasting room that will offer occasional food tastings, along with beer and wine sampling. “Raley’s is proud to expand our long-standing relationship with the Land Park community with a modern shopping experience”, said Kevin Konkel, Raley’s COO. “As our flagship location, this store will offer customers something new, while still paying tribute to our strong past in the community.”
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Walmart announces next-day delivery, firing back at Amazon
The biggest retailer in the world will now offer shoppers the option to have their online orders delivered the next day, following Amazon on April 25 promising one-day delivery for all Amazon Prime members and spending $800mln to improve its delivery infrastructure to make this possible. Walmart is beginning its rollout of next-day delivery, starting in Phoenix and Las Vegas, the company announced in a blog post. The option will be available in Southern California over the next few days. And it will expand to reach roughly 75% of American consumers by the end of 2019, including 40 of the top 50 major metros in the U.S., according to Walmart.
Source: cnbc.com
Canada: Metro expands grocery ecommerce to Ontario
Metro Canada has expanded its grocery ecommerce operation to Ontario, with a small number of pilot stores in the Toronto market. The pilot is running in stores in both suburban and urban locations. These enable the retailer to reach different customer groups in the greater Toronto area. Consumers can choose to pick up their shopping at any of the stores or have it delivered to their home. This approach reflects the initial piloting of the programme in the Quebec market in 2016, before it undertook a wider roll-out. With recognised strengths in fresh foods, this is a key area which Metro will be monitoring as part of the pilot. To guarantee freshness the retailer has developed a training program to support those selecting the products in-store and set up a dedicated ‘Tri-Zones’ area (temperate, refrigerated and frozen zones) to hold the products until they are collected at store or delivered to home using multi-temperature trucks.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Retailer Carrefour's Atacadao arm to book provisions on Brazilian tax dispute
French supermarket retailer Carrefour said that its Brazilian unit Atacadão would book a provision to cover for risks related to a Brazilian tax dispute. Atacadão had been the subject of 240 tax disputes in several Brazilian states for a total amount of 815mln Brazilian Reais, or approximately 183mln euros ($205.5mln), Carrefour said in a statement. “Following an unfavorable decision by the Supreme Court on May 9, 2019, Atacadão decided, as a precautionary step, to record a provision for the entire potential risk”, Carrefour said.
Source: reuters.com
Brasil: Walmart to ditch e-commerce and focus on bricks and mortar
Walmart Brasil will close down its e-commerce operation in Latin America’s biggest retail market to focus on brick and mortar locations, converting underperforming hypermarkets into wholesale stores. Wholesale has become increasingly popular in Brazil as the country slowly exits from a harsh recession. “The company is working in a new omnichannel strategy which will be later announced”, Walmart Brasil said in a statement, without giving details. News of the decision was first reported by newspaper Valor Economico.
Source: reuters.com
Poland: Dino sees 23% growth in revenue in Q1 2019
Polish grocery giant Dino Polska has posted a 23% year-on-year growth in revenue to PLN 1.56bln (€360mln) in the first quarter of its financial year. The group's EBITDA increased by 26.2% to PLN 132.2mln (€30.77mln), with the EBITDA margin growing by 0.3 percentage points. Its like-for-like sales grew by 5% during the quarter when compared with data from the same period in 2018.
Source: esmmagazine.com
New Zealand: Dunedin Countdown supermarkets trial app for dobbing in mobility park thieves
A new app aims to help mobility park permit holders who have been forgoing their weekly shop because their parking spaces have been stolen by drivers who do not need them. Countdown stores across Dunedin are trialling the Access Aware app, designed to report the misuse of mobility car parks. Dozens of people downloaded the app when it was launched.
Source: stuff.co.nz
Auchan to sell 46 Italian stores to Conad: reports
French retailer Auchan is to sell a portfolio of stores in Italy to local cooperative and supermarket chain Conad, according to media reports. Italian daily Milano Finanza reported that the deal should be closed in the coming days and the operation is valued at around €600-700mln. The deal involves the sale of 46 Auchan Retail Italia superstores (hypermarkets). Italian businessman Raffale Mincione is to take over the real estate assets, while Conad will manage the commercial activities, according to the report.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Ireland: Musgrave announces profit of €84.5mln for Financial Year 2018
Musgrave announced results for the financial year ended 29 December 2018, with turnover up 3.8% to €3.9bln and profit before tax of €84.5mln, a 5.6% increase on the previous year. Net assets were €410mln, an increase of €79mln on 2017 and the business ended the year with net cash of €16mln. Commenting, Chris Martin, Musgrave Chief Executive said: “2018 has been another successful year for Musgrave. Despite very competitive markets, for the fourth year in a row we have reported increased profit, with all our brands performing well and growing. Our performance underlines the success of our Growing Good Business strategy, which is on track to deliver long-term growth. Through this strategy, we are successfully evolving our business to provide people with unique food experiences when, where and how they want them. This is being delivered through investment in digital, a focus on innovation and with our retail partners who are responsive to the local needs of shoppers. We are pleased that our recent acquisitions, La Rousse Foods and Donnybrook Fair, which we acquired in 2018, are performing well and we continue to explore further acquisition opportunities.”
Source: musgravegroup.com
Poland: Eurocash sees first quarter revenues up 10%
Polish retailer and wholesaler Eurocash has posted revenues of PLN 5.48bln (€1.28bln) in the first quarter of 2019, a 10% increase on the same period last year. Total EBITDA at the business increased to PLN 121.4mln, compared to PLN 39.6mln, mainly due to the implementation of IFRS 16 accounting standards. Its wholesale business posted a 3.5% increase in revenue to PLN 4.11bln, the group said, despite the shift in Easter, while its retail segment posted a 37% increase year-on-year, helped by acquisitions last year. Retail sales totalled PLN 1.33bln for the period, of which around PLN 342mln was from acquired businesses. In 2018, Eurocash acquired the Mila supermarket chain and 25 Lewiatan stores.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Australia: Woolworths have begun weighing items in the bagging area again at self-service check-outs
Woolworths is returning weigh scales to the self-service check-out area to cut down on the amount of items being stolen. The weighing in the bagging area, paired with the robotic command “unexpected item in the bagging area”, was switched off a number of years ago but the supermarket giant is joining its rival Coles in turning it back on. Woolworths says the change, which will be rolled out to all stores, will also avoid customers being overcharged because of scanning mistakes. “Self-serve check-outs are popular and the vast majority of customers have no trouble scanning the right items”, a spokesperson from the supermarket giant said.
Source: news.com.au