Norway: NorgesGruppen announces 2.5% sales growth in H1 2019
Norway-based NorgesGruppen has announced its H1 2019 results, posting a 2.5% increase in sales to €4.37bln (US$4.83bln). Operating profit was €182mln (US$201mln) for the period, compared with €160mln (US$177mln) in H1 2018. The retailer said the sales increase reflects the “good customer growth in [its] grocery chains”. CEO Runar Hollevik commented: “We get good results from the investments that have been made for more efficient operations, and profitability is strengthened while at the same time providing customers with cheaper and better shopping experiences”.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
UK: John Lewis seeks self-supply retail water licence
John Lewis has submitted an application to Ofwat for a self-supply licence that would allow it to provide its own retail water and sewerage services in England. That would include 51 John Lewis and Partners sites as well as Waitrose and Partners, a supermarket chain with 349 stores. When the UK’s water retail market opened in April 2017, business customers were given more choice over where and how they source their water and the opportunity to provide retail services to themselves and people associated with them. John Lewis believes self-supply will allow the company to drive a change in process, influencing its water strategy and targets as well as offering it a customer voice in the market.
Source: energylivenews.com
Vietnam: Vingroup buys out Queenland Mart
Private conglomerate Vingroup has acquired supermarket chain Queenland Mart, as it continues its buying spree since last year to expand. Queenland Mart’s eight stores, mostly in Ho Chi Minh City’s Districts 2 and 7, began operating as Vingroup’s VinMart outlets on Sunday, Vingroup said in a statement without revealing the value of the deal. Queenland Mart membership will be transferred to VinID, the customer care service of conglomerate Vingroup, which owns VinMart supermarkets and VinMart+ convenience stores across the country. The number of VinMart supermarkets increases to 120 after the deal. Combined with VinMart+ convenience stores, Vingroup now has a total of 2,122 retail outlets.
Source: e.vnexpress.net
Sweden: Coop launches same-day grocery delivery in greater Stockholm
Coop Sweden has announced that it has launched a same-day grocery delivery service for online purchases in Greater Stockholm. The retailer has collaborated with logistics company Widrikssons Åkeri for the service. CEO of Widrikssons, Johan Nyblom, said: "Same-day deliveries require smart logistics, the right vehicles and personnel, and close cooperation between us as a carrier and the dealer. We are really proud that we have now come up with a really good solution alongside Coop, for their members and customers." To avail themselves of the service, customers need to place their online orders by 11:30 am on the day they require the service and choose a delivery slot between 18:00 and 20:00, 19:00 and 21:00 or 20:00 and 22:00.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: Retail sales flatline in August 2019: BRC-KPMG
Retail sales in the UK remained flat in the four weeks to 24 August 2019, touching a new 12-month average low of 0.4%, according to the latest BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor. Like-for-like sales declined by 0.5% in the period, compared to data from August 2018. Chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, Helen Dickinson OBE, commented: "Greater economic and political uncertainty has driven down consumer demand. While the summer weather gave a small boost to food sales, this was cancelled out by a drop in non-food sales."
Source: esmmagazine.com
Thailand: First retailer with Farmers Market concept
Central Food Retail’s Farmers Market, called Jingjai Market, is part of a Tops Market in Khon Kaen. Khon Kaen is a rural city in the northern region of Thailand. Jingjai Market is a new social initiative by Central Group to build local communities and improve their quality of life. There are two parts to the market: a section with fresh produce sold directly by farmers and a section with ready-to-eat food. The space is provided for free for a few months, after which a nominal fee is collected as rental. The farmers are invited to sell their produce directly to shoppers, with an emphasis on hygienic and organic fruit and vegetables. Central Food Retail supports the set up with fixtures, helping them with the packaging and merchandising. The retailer does not profit from the sale, but this initiative has helped attract traffic to the store.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
France: Retailer Auchan eyes 1.1bln euros savings by 2022
French retailer Auchan said it was starting to reap the first benefits of its “Renaissance” revival plan, which lifted operating profitability at its core retail arm in the first half of the year, and it vowed to continue cutting costs. Unlisted Auchan Retail said it aimed to achieve an Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) margin of 6% by 2022 and for that it would need to seek additional savings of 1.1bln euros. This came as parent company Auchan Holding, which also includes the Ceetrus property business, suffered an exceptional loss of 1.54bln euros in the first half, mostly tied to losses on the disposal of the loss-making operations of Auchan Retail in Italy and Vietnam.
Source: reuters.com
LatAm delivery app Rappi plans to double footprint by year-end
Latin American delivery app Rappi plans to almost double the number of cities it operates in by year’s end, its co-founder said, following a $1bln injection from Japan’s SoftBank that signals growing foreign interest in the region. The deal in May made SoftBank a majority owner in the five-year-old startup that specializes in on-demand deliveries for restaurants and supermarkets, Rappi co-founder and President Sebastian Mejia told Reuters. “We’re close to 55 cities now, in eight countries,” he said. “We plan to accelerate that.”
Source: reuters.com
Grupo Éxito announces 3.4% sales growth in Colombia in Q2
In Q2 2019 Grupo Éxito has reported net sales of COP2.62tln (US$753.9mln) in Colombia, representing a 3.4% growth. This strong performance was driven by a combination of the success of its latest Éxito WOW and Carulla Fresh Market concepts, the expansion of its Surtimayorista cash and carry banner and advances in omni-channel. Same-store-sales (SSS) grew by 3.6% in the quarter, predominantly driven by strong like-for-likes in its Éxito banner. “In Colombia, sales have grown steadily for the last six quarters, mainly leveraged by value formats (Éxito Wow, Carulla Fresh Market and Surtimayorista) and the omni-channel model, which all together represented nearly 94% of sales growth in the country during the quarter”, said Carlos Mario Giraldo Moreno, CEO of Grupo Éxito.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Mexico: Walmart unit springs into same-day delivery, taking on Amazon
Walmart Inc’s Mexico unit has begun offering delivery within three hours for certain home and tech products ordered online, it said, taking another step to try to best e-commerce rival Amazon.com Inc at speedy shipping. The new service from Walmart de Mexico applies to about 12,000 products within certain dimensions delivered within Mexico, including laptops, cell phones, televisions and clothing irons, the company said in a statement.
Source: reuters.com
US: Consumer spending increases solidly, income tepid
US consumer spending increased solidly in July as households bought a range of goods and services, which could further allay financial market fears of a recession, but the pace of growth in consumption is unlikely to be sustained amid tepid income gains. The Commerce Department said consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, rose 0.6% in July after an unrevised 0.3% gain in June. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending advancing 0.5% in July. The report added to trade and inventory data in suggesting that while the economy was slowing, it was not losing altitude rapidly.
Source: esmmagazine.com
US: Gelson's Markets welcomes product pitches at Gelson's Local Discoveries
Fruit and veg growers, producers, and distributors get another chance to have their products stocked in all 27 of Gelson’s Markets locations. The pitch event, known as “Gelson’s Local Discoveries,” will be held at the Gelson’s distribution center in Santa Fe Springs, California, on September 10, where 70 Center Store and 15 Fresh department product spots will be up for grabs. "We are excited to invite local fresh purveyors and add them to our already popular local day”, Paul Kneeland, Executive Director for Fresh Operations, commented. “Some smaller- and medium-size local companies don't have the resources to come to market and we really love helping them! Looking forward to an exciting day and already have several local vendors signed up!”
Source: delimarketnews.com
US: Kroger eyes a new kind of high-tech shopping experience
One of the South’s largest grocery store chains is eyeing a future that could involve hand-held scanners and fewer cashiers. The new method of shopping has been in place this summer at a Kroger store in Gainesville, Georgia, The Times reported. The system allows shoppers to go around the store and scan items as they put them in their cart, rather than in the checkout line. “It’s just another option”, said Judy Walden, one of the managers at the Gainesville store where the technology is being used. “I think it was created just to give people another option.” About 2% to 2.5% of the daily transactions at the Gainesville Kroger Marketplace on Jesse Jewell Parkway are processed through the new “Scan, Bag, Go” system. Customers bring their own bags or use the store’s, then pick up a scanner from a stand at the front of the store. For typical items on the shelves, they pick up the item, point the scanner at the barcode and press the scan button.
Source: apnews.com