Spain: DIA posts net loss on sliding sales
Sales slid and losses continued at Spain’s DIA in the first three months of the year, the supermarket chain said, as investors awaited the next step in a takeover bid by Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman’s investment fund. Dia posted a net loss of 144.4mln euros ($162.3mln), in line with an estimate in April of 140-150mln euros. Progress in the takeover bid, an agreement with financing banks and a capital hike would stabilise the situation, DIA said in a statement.
Source: reuters.com
Italy: Supermarket chain Alì relies on Fronius
The Italian supermarket chain Alì has plans to expand significantly in the future. For this reason, the company recently opened up a new logistics centre, not far from the company headquarters in Padua. A fleet of more than 350 electric forklift trucks handles the internal transport of goods. Alì chose to power their fleet using innovative battery charging technology from Fronius, which has played a significant role in the success of the project and ensuring a reliable logistics operation. As well as Selectiva devices complete with the energy-efficient and gentle Ri charging process, the centre has also been equipped with the intelligent Cool Battery Guide Easy management system, which Alì uses to optimise the utilisation of its battery pool and maximise the availability of the fleet while keeping the ongoing operating costs as low as possible.
Source: fronius.com
UK's Farmfoods: first turnover growth since 2014
New accounts submitted to Companies House show that Farmfoods has increased its turnover for the 52 weeks ending 29 December 2018. Farmfoods has seen its first increase in turnover since 2014. The Cumberland frozen food specialist, which operates over 300 stores has reported a 2.8% increase in turnover to £660.3mln. Despite the positive performance the retailer has still not reached its 2016 turnover of £669mln. The retailer continues to be impacted by more intense competition from the discount sector and has closed two stores since April 2019. Director Eric Herd has said: "Trading conditions have been and are expected to remain competitive". Profits for the period before taxation reached £12.5mln, up from £11.7mln in 2017 as the retailer continues to work on reducing its cost base.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Germany: Lidl parent Schwarz Group sees sales exceed €100bln for first time
Germany’s Schwarz Group, the owner of discount retailers Lidl and Kaufland, saw its sales grow 7.4% in 2018 and that it planned to keep investing heavily despite a challenging environment. Schwarz Group posted 2018 sales of €104.3bln, exceeding the 100bln euro mark for the first time, as the Lidl chain grew 8.8% and Kaufland hypermarkets expanded 1.6%. After hitting saturation at home, Lidl and rival German discount chain Aldi have been expanding rapidly in other countries, especially in the United States and Britain, where they have been taking market share from major national players.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Sweden: Delivery Hero acquires Hungrig.se
Delivery Hero has bought another competitor in Europe. This time it’s Swedish food delivery service Hungrig.se. As a result, the German company is now active with three different brands in Sweden. Both Delivery Hero and Swedish food delivery service Hungrig.se kept quiet about the amount of money that was involved with the acquisition. Together with Foodora and Online Pizza, Hungrig.se is now the third food delivery platform in Sweden that’s owned by Delivery Hero.
Source: ecommercenews.eu
UK: Tesco, Sainsbury’s & Waitrose pledge to halve food waste by 2030
Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Waitrose are among the supermarkets that have pledged to halve food waste by 2030. Ministers announced that the grocers, as well as Swiss multinational food & drink business Nestlé, will join around 300 businesses and individuals at a symposium to discuss their commitments to help cut down food waste. Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis - who recently called on the government for a 2% online sales tax to combat rising business rates - welcomed the pledge and said UK food companies should publish their food waste data within the next 12 months as part of the deal.
Source: retailgazette.co.uk
Walmart mulls stock market listing for UK arm Asda
Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, said it is considering a stock market listing for its British supermarket arm Asda, whose attempt to combine with rival Sainsbury’s was blocked by the UK regulator last month. Judith McKenna, the Walmart International CEO, told Asda managers at an event in Leeds, northern England: “While we are not rushing into anything, I want you to know that we are seriously considering a path to an IPO - a public listing - to strengthen your long-term success.”
Source: reuters.com
US: ShopRite to open 'state of the art' store in Connecticut
ShopRite announced it will open a “state-of-the-art” full-service store in Cromwell, Connecticut on May 18, according to a press release. The 67,000-square-foot store will include a community room and culinary center for cooking classes, a registered on-site dietitian to provide nutrition counseling, and ShopRite’s grocery pick-up and delivery e-commerce services. The store will house prepared foods like custom salads and other dishes from in-store dining spots the Grill, Sizzling Wok and Sushi, House Smoked BBQ, Go Bowl and Natural Foods. The store will also include ShopRite’s legacy services like a from-scratch bakery, meat department with trained butchers, a full-service seafood department, a floral shop as well as a section dedicated to organic, local and gluten-free foods and fresh produce. In addition, ShopRite is incorporating energy-saving technologies like LED lighting and environmentally friendly refrigerant systems.
Source: grocerydive.com
Canada: Ocado to develop Sobeys Customer Fulfilment Centre in Montreal
Ocado has announced that it plans to develop a second Customer Fulfilment Centre (CFC) for Canadian retailer Sobeys in Pointe-Claire, Montreal. The first CFC for Sobeys is already under construction in Vaughan, Ontario, and will serve the Greater Toronto Area. Ocado and Sobeys commenced their partnership in 2018. The groups are working together to transform the online shopping experience for grocery shoppers in Canada using its 'end-to-end technology and automation solutions', Ocado said in a statement.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Amazon extends lead as top retail brand in Kantar/WPP survey
Amazon has almost doubled its brand value to $316bln as it expands in areas like entertainment and smart speakers, while China's Alibaba is now the world's second most valuable retail brand, the annual BrandZ study has found. The value of the Amazon brand jumped 91%, while Alibaba's rose 48% to $131bln, according to the annual ranking from ad group WPP and its data analytics unit Kantar. The study combines financial performance with consumer surveys in more than 50 countries.
Source: esmmagazine.com
US: Grocery Outlet looks to go public
Extreme-value retailer Grocery Outlet filed for its initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 13. The company has had 15 consecutive years of positive comparable-store sales growth and continues to expand in new markets. Grocery Outlet opened 26 new stores in 2018 and plans to open 32 new stores this year. “We believe there is an opportunity to establish over 400 additional locations in the states in which we currently operate and approximately 1,600 additional locations when neighboring states are included,” the filing noted. “Our goal is to expand our store base by approximately 10% annually by penetrating existing and contiguous regions. Over the long term, we believe the market potential exists to establish 4,800 locations nationally.”
Source: progressivegrocer.com