Migros introduces 'Little Italy' section in supermarkets
Swiss retailer Migros has introduced a dedicated section for Italian food products in its supermarkets in association with strategic partner, Atlante. The 'Little Italy' section will offer around 45 products made by 12 producers representing the gastronomic specialties of northern, central and southern Italy. The partnership between Atlante and Migros dates back to 2011, when the companies agreed to market Swiss products in Italy and export Italian products to Switzerland.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Belgium: Lidl tests grocery pick-up service
Lidl Belgium has announced that it is testing a grocery pick-up service in its Destelbergen outlet. The service, which Lidl claims is a first in the country, allows customers to pick up orders placed online for a fee of €2.99. Customers register in the store via a barcode sent on email to collect their orders. The retailer plans to extend the trial to its store in St-Denijs-Westrem in November of this year.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Australia: Woolworths bringing back paper bags after shoppers demand change
Woolworths has announced it is trialling paper shopping bags, following growing demand from customers. After phasing out single-use plastic bags last year, the supermarket introduced greener reusable plastic shopping bags. Woolworths, having listened to customer who don't want to have to buy a 15c plastic bag every time they forget, have rolled out 20c paper bags. The new shopping bags are reusable and recyclable, but, at the moment are only being trialled at 21 stores. The bags themselves are also made up of 80% recycled paper. "The vast majority of our customers bring their own bags to shop, but we know there are occasions when they forget or visit our stores unplanned", a Woolworths spokesperson told 7NEWS.com.au.
Source: 7news.com.au
France: Casino sees Q3 sales slow but keep to 2019 targets
French retailer Casino, which is battling investor concerns over its debts, said sales growth slowed in the third quarter, reflecting a weaker performance in France. Casino - which has been selling assets to reduce its debt and which also controls Brazil's Grupo Pao de Acucar - nevertheless kept to its 2019 financial goals for France, namely a 10% rise in current operating profit for the retail arm. Sales reached €9.05bln ($10.07bln) in the third quarter, broadly in line with analyst estimates. On a same-store basis and excluding fuel and calendar effects, group sales rose 1.5% in the third quarter, compared to 2.3% growth in the second quarter.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Lotte Group chairman stays out of jail as South Korea court ruling upheld
South Korea’s Supreme Court upheld a ruling by a lower court that freed Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin from jail after he had served several months for bribery charges involving the country’s former president. The Supreme Court ruling means that Shin will remain out of jail, as it upholds a decision last year to suspend the remainder of his jail sentence, pending good behavior over four years.
Source: reuters.com
Holland: Sligro presents disappointing results
Dutch wholesaler Sligro has released disappointing Q3 results: an organic turnover decrease of 2.5% may lead to a significant full-year profit drop. Sligro's turnover went up 2.3% to 605mln euros, but that was due to a 30mln bonus from taking over wholesaler De Kweker: like-for-like turnover went down as especially the activities on home soil slumped. In neighbouring Belgium autonomous growth was 4.7%. A major part in this turnover decrease is a correction after taking over parts of Heineken: the end of the deal with Heineken's former wine supplier cost Sligro a lot of customers. Moreover, the company so far fails to fulfil its promise of "one order, one delivery, one check". Sligro expects a transition period to influence this year's results - and possibly those of next year's Q1. The group now expects a 2019 profit drop that may be significant - expecting somewhere between 40 and 45mln euros, compared to 2018's 53mln.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Aldi Australia debuts new-look supermarkets that will change the way you shop forever
Aldi’s much anticipated first store with a modern makeover and better food displays will debut next week - and they claim the little tweaks to the layout and signage will improve the shopping experience. The supermarket chain’s first revamped store will open on Thursday, October 24 in Brightwater, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. The renovation follows positive reviews after trials of the features such as new shelving that includes more stylish wood proved a success in South Australia and Western Australia.
Source: newsfeeds.media
France: Supermarkets blasted for binning food on national no-waste day
Two French supermarket chains came under fire after a lawmaker staged raids on Paris trash cans that uncovered packages of food within their use-by dates as France marked its national anti-food waste day. Arash Derambarsh, a city councillor in the Paris suburb of Courbevoie, told AFP he intended to file lawsuits against the Carrefour and Franprix chains for not respecting a 2016 law that prohibits stores throwing away edible food. "Big distributors have to follow the law: Those that do are our allies, those that refuse will be our adversaries, and we will force them to act", said Derambarsh, a lawyer who has long railed against food waste.
Source: france24.com
China: Jack Ma talks about the key to Alibaba’s success
Forbes Media has presented the Malcolm S Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award to Alibaba Group founder and partner Jack Ma, hailing his commitment to small businesses in addition to the impact that Alibaba has achieved since its launch 20 years ago. The annual award celebrates an individual who embodies and exemplifies the ideals of entrepreneurship championed by Forbes, the company said in a release. “Jack Ma not only created one of the most outstanding companies of the world but also a company that nourished the vibrant small-business community in China - and small businesses around the globe”, Forbes Media chairman and editor-in-chief Steve Forbes said. “He is indeed one of the most influential figures of our time”.
Source: insideretail.asia
Russia: X5 Retail Group reports 12.8% net retail sales growth in Q3 2019
X5 Retail Group N.V. reported: Total net retail sales increased by 12.8% y-o-y (13.9% y-o-y, incl. VAT) in roubles (RUB), driven by: 3.9% increase in like-for-like (LFL) sales; and 8.9% sales growth contribution from a 13.9% rise in selling space. Net retail sales for X5’s core formats Pyaterochka and Perekrestok increased by 13.4% and 18.0% y-o-y, respectively. X5’s LFL sales growth remained strong at 3.9% y-o-y in Q3 2019, with an increased contribution from LFL basket. Karusel experienced a 2.6% decline in net retail sales following a 4.1% reduction in selling space due to the transfer of three stores to Perekrestok and the closure of one store as part of the Karusel transformation initiative. X5 added 492 net new stores in Q3 2019.
Source: x5.ru
UK: Asda denies reports of 12,000 staff facing sack for not signing new contract
Asda has hit back at reports that suggest 12,000 Asda staff members could lose their jobs in the coming weeks after declining to sign new contracts. It comes after Sky News reported that staff who do not sign the new contract by the November 3 deadline will allegedly be dismissed - unless the Big 4 grocer changes its position on the matter. Staff who have not supported the new contract are reportedly serving a 12-week notice period, but they can still change their minds before the deadline so as to keep their jobs. Asda told Retail Gazette that there is no evidence to support the 12,000 figure and that they continue to speak to staff members who have chosen not to sign the new contract.
Source: retailgazette.co.uk
Australia: David Jones opens first stand-alone food store in Melbourne
David Jones has launched its first stand-alone food store in Melbourne in a bid to lock down Australia’s gourmet grocery market and take share off Coles and Woolworths by offering fresher and, it argues, tastier prepared food. The 425sqm store, located on the ground level of Capitol Grand, a high-end residential and retail development on Chapel Street in South Yarra, stocks a large range of prepared meals, including a newly launched vegan range, alongside meat, eggs, dairy, fresh produce and other groceries and pantry staples, such as pasta, olive oil, tea and biscuits.
Source: insideretail.com.au
US: Price Chopper hooks up with health information exchange
Golub Corp.’s Price Chopper and Market 32 supermarket pharmacies are the first in New York to connect to the Hixny health information exchange (HIE). Albany, New York-based Hixny said that the grocery retailer’s 82 pharmacies can now securely share prescription and vaccination data from stores in six states. Part of the Statewide Health Information Network for New York (SHIN-NY), Hixny noted that the partnership with Price Chopper/Market 32 also makes it the first HIE in the state to provide access to pharmacy data across multiple state lines.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Ahold Delhaize expands mobile checkout
Ahold Delhaize USA is adding ScanIt Mobile checkout options to nearly 30 grocery stores by the end of 2019. The technology was created in Retail Business Services' innovation lab and tech hub, which opened earlier this year in Quincy, Massachusetts. Currently two banners are using the technology: Stop & Shop and Giant/Martin's at its new Giant Heirloom Markets. Customers have two options with ScanIt Mobile. They can use their mobile device to shop the store, scan product bar codes and exit through a designated checkout lane where they'll get a "payment approved" message. Using personal devices, they can use the wallet and payment option on the app. The other option for customers is to pick up a handheld scanning device at the front of the stores. The order is then transferred to a mobile phone for payment, and they exit the store in the same way as the first option. PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay and Google Pay are all integrated into the wallet.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Hy-Vee hit with lawsuit over data breach
Hy-Vee Inc. is facing a lawsuit after a data breach that took place at some Hy-Vee fuel pumps, drive-thru coffee shops and restaurants in the past year. Pennsylvania law firm Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith (CSK&D) has filed a class action complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois against the grocer. "The data breach was the inevitable result of Hy-Vee’s inadequate data security measures despite the ever-growing threat of security breaches involving payment card systems", CSK&D said when describing the complaint. "Further, the company allegedly failed to take adequate measures to assist affected customers, choosing instead to spread out release of information over the course of a few months and shift the responsibility of dealing with any potential fraud onto its customers."
Source: progressivegrocer.com