US: DoorDash secures $600mln in another major funding round
DoorDash has raised $600mln in funding, increasing the food delivery company’s valuation to $12.6bln, according to a company blog post. DoorDash reports that its business has grown more than 60% earlier this year while it also continued its geographic expansion to more than 4,000 cities across the U.S. and Canada. The company is on a fundraising roll, securing $400mln in February, following a $250mln round in August 2018 and a $535mln round in March 2018 that valued DoorDash at $1.4bln, according to the Journal.
Source: grocerydive.com
US: Target to renovate 7 Phoenix-area stores by the end of the year
Target has announced that seven of its Phoenix-area stores are up for renovations that will be completed by the end of the year. New features will include updated order pickup and guest service counters, specialty LED lighting, new decor and fixtures and a nursing space for moms. The remodels are part of the retailer’s plan to renovate more than 1,000 stores by the end of 2020. “These remodeled stores will provide Phoenix-area guests with an even easier and more inspiring shopping experience - whether in-store or online”, Amy Probst, group vice president, said in a press release.
Source: ktar.com
Italy: CIA-Conad to invest €300mln in network by 2021
Italian retail cooperative CIA-Conad is to invest more than €300mln in new store openings and the restructuring of existing stores. The details of the development plan for the period 2019-2020 were released during the company's annual General Assembly in Cesena. New store openings in 2019 include superstores in Pinarella di Cervia (opening on 30 May) and Morciano di Romagna and two Conad City stores in Santa Maria Nuova (FC) and Solarolo (RA).
Source: esmmagazine.com
South Africa: Massmart appoints new chief executive
South Africa-based, Walmart owned Massmart has appointed a new chief executive less than a month after it announced its existing chief executive, Guy Hayward, would step down by the end of 2019. Simultaneously, the retailer has said that it is expecting its operating profit to be flat. Massmart has appointed Mitchell Slape as its new chief executive. Slape was previously interim president and chief executive of Walmart Japan. Massmart said Slape would start ‘from the 1st day of the month following the date of approval and grant of his intra-company transfer permit and visa to work in South Africa’. As part of its AGM, separate from the chief executive appointment, the retailer provided a general trading statement. Massmart reported that for the first 20 weeks total sales rose 6.1% to ZAR33.5bln (US$2.3bln), with comparable sales rising 4.1%. It noted that product inflation, year-to-date, was 2.5%. Massmart said total sales growth was 5.4% at its operations in its home market and 13.9% outside, in Rands.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Germany: Retailer Rewe buys wholesaler Lekkerland
German supermarket chain Rewe is buying wholesaler Lekkerland for an undisclosed sum to help boost sales of on-the-go meals and snacks, the company said. Lekkerland delivers products to petrol stations, bakeries, newspaper stores, takeaway restaurants and other traders in seven European countries. It made an operating profit of 93mln euros ($104mln) on sales of 12.4bln euros in 2018. “On-the-go and consumption outside of the home are among the strongest trends in our industry and will play an even more important role in the future”, Rewe Chief Executive Lionel Souque said in a statement.
Source: reuters.com
Holland: Albert Heijn to introduce Nutri-Score food label
Albert Heijn said it will introduce the Nutri-Score food label in the Netherlands, the latest example of how Ahold Delhaize’s local brands are increasing efforts to make healthier eating an everyday reality for customers. Using colors from green to red, Nutri-Score provides customers with at-a-glance guidance on the nutritional quality of a product. The system is based on international research and uses an algorithm to calculate the nutritional makeup of the product, including fiber, protein, calories, saturated fat, sugar and salt. Albert Heijn selected Nutri-Score following a successful introduction at Delhaize Belgium, which last year became the first Belgian retailer to adopt the food label. After the summer, Albert Heijn will use Nutri-Score on all own-brand products in its online assortment. Shortly afterwards, customers will also find the label on dairy and breakfast products in Albert Heijn stores.
Source: aholddelhaize.com
Australia: Woolworths completes $1.7bln buy-back
Woolworths Group has successfully completed the $1.7bln off-market buy-back announced last month, following the sale of its petrol business. Due to the strong demand for the buy-back, a 84.68% scale back of offers was required, and structured to avoid disadvantaging shareholders with small holdings. “We are pleased with the outcome and the strong level of investor interest. Completion of the off-market buy-back fulfils the Board’s commitment to return the proceeds from the Woolworths Petrol sale to shareholders,” Woolworths Group chairman Gordon Cairns said.
Source: insideretail.com.au
Italy to track jobs impact of Auchan's sale of Italian assets
Italy said it would be tracking the impact on jobs of the planned sale by French supermarket group Auchan Retail of its Italian operations to cooperative retailer Conad. “It is crucial to monitor all the employment aspects, indicate the timing of the deal and its aims”, Industry Ministry official Giorgio Sorial said in a statement. Earlier this month Auchan said it had agreed to sell almost all the activities of its loss-making Auchan Retail Italia arm to Italy’s Conad.
Source: reuters.com
Germany: Aldi wants to conquer organic market
Organic products are becoming increasingly important in Aldi's range, which is upsetting the organic market: the German discounter is worrying other players with its rock-bottom prices. The discounter's total organic range currently consists of some 300 products, and the chain has managed to become market leader in the organic segment in Germany. Recently, Aldi made a deal with Schneekoppe to get brands from that manufacturer of organic products on the discounter's shelves. That move turned out to be a major success, partly due to the personal endorsement of former football player Philipp Lahm. He has always been hugely popular in Germany and he became the owner of Schneekoppe in 2018. "Aldi strikes a double blow", says Martin Fassnacht of the WHU Business School: "The discounter enjoys the positive image of Philipp Lahm, and simultaneously, the chain strengthens its organic range with the Schneekoppe brand."
Source: retaildetail.eu
UK: Waitrose trials technology to reduce energy bills
Waitrose & Partners is to introduce an ‘invisible door’ that has the potential to reduce retailers’ energy bills. AirDoor concept, created by Wirth Research, prevents warm air being lost from the store during colder temperatures and cold air being lost during warmer temperatures as customers enter and leave. The AirDoor provides an archway that sits outside the store, located around the frame of the existing entrance. It incorporates an array of sensors to detect airflow in both directions, which is then counteracted by an opposing, self-generating wind. The result is an invisible, active ‘barrier’, preventing unwanted outside air flowing into the building and inside air escaping. There is minimal disruption to the customer and it negates the need for revolving doors or lobbies. The technology is scheduled to launch at the supermarket’s Berkhamsted store later this year and, if successful, there are plans to roll the AirDoor out to more Waitrose shops.
Source: talkingretail.com
Pam Panorama rolls out urban store format in Italy
Grocery retailer Pam Panorama has rolled out a new urban proximity store format - Pam City - in Italy. The first store opened in Rome’s GranRoma shopping mall and offers customers a welcoming and sustainable space in terms of quality, comfort, and convenience. Open until 22:00 o'clock, Pam City aims to cater to the needs of urban customers offering a wide range of snacks and ready meals available in its Food to Go, Gastronomy and Rosticceria sections. The assortment comprises local products such as fruit, vegetables, meats and cheeses to support small and medium local businesses.
Source: esmmagazine.com
China: Alibaba plans bumper $20bln Hong Kong listing to boost investment war chest
Alibaba is considering raising as much as $20bln through a listing in Hong Kong, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, lining up a second blockbuster deal following its 2014 record $25bln float in New York. The deal, the biggest follow-on share sale in seven years globally, would give Alibaba a war chest to keep investing in technology - a priority for China as growth flags and as the world’s second-largest economy is locked in a mounting trade spat with the United States. The e-commerce giant is working with financial advisers on the offering and is aiming to file an application confidentially in Hong Kong as early as the second half of 2019, three people said on condition of anonymity as the plans are not public yet.
Source: reuters.com
Italy: Despar Centro Sud launches online
Despar Centro Sud has announced it will launch an online grocery service, Despar a Casa. The solution will be added following input from ReStore, a provider of ecommerce services for Italy’s retail industry. Following the launch, Despar Centro Sud said it plans to invest €7mln in expanding its store network. Despar a Casa will enable shoppers to buy from the retailer’s total range, while it is available without having to spend more than a certain amount. Shoppers will be able to have orders delivered to their homes or to collect it from the Interspar store in Corato. Initially the service will be available in the municipality of Corato, near Bari, before it is potentially rolled out to other locations in the Calabria, Puglia, Basilicata, Campania and Abruzzo regions, depending on its success.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com