US: Walmart eyes more innovation after Q4 sales softness
The ongoing strength of Walmart’s grocery business and a 37% ecommerce growth rate helped the mega-retailer grow U.S. same-store sales 1.9% in the fourth quarter, a figure that was less than analysts' forecasts. Total sales at Walmart’s U.S. stores division increased 1.9% to $92.3bln, and the division’s full-year sales increased 2.8% to $341bln, the company announced ahead of an investor conference in New York. Total company revenues during the fourth quarter increased 2.1% to $141.7bln, and full-year revenues increased 1.9% to a record $524bln. Adding to those figures were Walmart International, where fourth-quarter constant-currency sales increased 2.2% to $33bln and full-year sales increased 2.8% to $124.3bln, and Sam’s Club, where fourth-quarter sales increased 2.6% to $15.3bln and full-year sales increased 1.6% to $58.8bln.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: KeHE Distributors & Northwest Grocers ink deal
KeHE Distributors (KeHE) announced that it has been selected by Washington-based Northwest Grocers (NWG) as their primary distribution partner for natural, organic, and specialty products. More than 90 independent neighborhood grocery retailers across Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Northern California make up the member-owned organization focused on supporting and growing independent grocery retailers. The four-year deal allows NWG members to leverage KeHE's national scale. The group was also highly attracted to KeHE's dedication and leadership for specialty, natural & organic product categories, along with their emerging portfolio of innovative fresh perimeter programs.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: Raley’s marks 85th anniversary with positivity campaign
Raley's is toasting 85 years in business with a unique campaign designed to engage shoppers with the company and with the community. The Sacramento, California-based grocer is launching a promotion called “Good Never Stops”. The campaign is intended to honor the everyday moments when Raley’s team members, customers and partners make a positive impact in their communities. “Good Never Stops” has already launched online with a video highlighting good news in Raley’s communities over a 24-hour period. The video features Raley's community partners such as Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services, California Rangeland Trust, Food Literacy Center, California Farmland Trust and Northern California Construction Training, Inc. Additional online elements include a website featuring articles and videos about Raley’s partners and stories of team members’ personal commitments to their communities on Facebook.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Hy-Vee's Helpful Smile 2020 effort could include staff reductions
Hy-Vee Inc. has unveiled the latest updates to its Helpful Smile 2020 initiative, which was recently rolled out “with the goal of keeping Hy-Vee the best place to work and shop in America”, according to the West Des Moines, Iowa-based grocer. These changes could include possible staff reductions, but the retailer stopped short of calling them layoffs. "Some people will be promoted and others will be sent to other stores to fill voids that are there", Tina Pothoff, Hy-Vee's senior VP of communications, told Progressive Grocer. "Some positions could be reduced".
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Walmart’s grocery business is winning over more affluent shoppersWalmart is reeling in higher-income customers - including some who are new to the retailer - with its online grocery business, company executives told investors at an event in New York. As its online grocery business grows, the company is seeing pricier items like choice cuts of meat and organic fruits and vegetables in customers’ virtual baskets, said John Furner, president and chief executive officer of Walmart U.S. He said the convenience of the service “aligns well with someone who is time-starved and has higher income levels”.
Source: cnbc.com
Spanish supermarket chain Dia appoints new Brazil CEO to lead restructuring
Spanish supermarket chain Dia said it has appointed Marcelo Maia as chief executive of its Brazilian subsidiary to lead a restructuring process in Brazil, and as part of a broader global shakeup. Maia will replace Marin Dokozic, who occupied the CEO position for about a year. It was not immediately clear if Dokozic will remain working for Dia in Brazil or abroad. Dia Brasil has 900 brick-and-mortar stores across Brazil, most of them in rented locations, and closed around 300 underperforming stores last year, most of which were franchises.
Source: reuters.com
UK: Co-op expands same-day delivery service
UK retailer Co-op plans to roll out same-day delivery to more than 650 branches by the end of 2020. This announcement follows on from a successful pilot launched in March 2019, where Co-op used Digital Goodie’s connected commerce platform to provide West London shoppers with same-day delivery. Co-op’s digital team started the design and build of its own storefront on top of the Digital Goodie platform soon after the first online store demonstrated the proof of concept in March. That storefront went live in August and all the traffic had been diverted to Co-op’s own site by November. Co-op plans to add native mobile apps in the near future.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Spanish ecommerce growth fueled by AliExpress
Ecommerce in Spain is ready to grow. And for the next 3 years, it’s predicted to grow faster than other countries in Western Europe. One of the factors responsible for this development is AliExpress. For the Alibaba Group, Spain is the starting point of its growth in Western Europe. Ecommerce in Spain is estimated to increase 12.5% this year, making it worth over 29bln euros. And market research company eMarketer forecasts that the online retail industry in Spain will reach over 37bln euros by 2023. Emarketer says the recent entrance of AliExpress in Spain is ‘certainly’ a key driver of this growth. Especially, because Spanish consumers are more price-conscious and are looking more and more towards online marketplaces for a budget-friendly offering.
Source: ecommercenews.eu
Australia's Coles H1 results: sales up 3.3%
Coles has released its H1 results, with growth in all segments and sales up 3.3% to AU$18,846m (US$12.6bn). Supermarkets sales revenue was AU$16,583m (US$11.1bn) for the half, an increase of 3.3% on the prior corresponding period, with comparable sales growth of 2.0%. For the second quarter, Supermarkets sales revenue increased by 4.8% and comparable sales growth was 3.6%. The latter was driven by increased basket size and transaction growth. Supermarkets recorded a 49th consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth. During the half, 32 renewals, five openings and three closures were completed. At the end of the period there were 823 Supermarkets.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
India: Supermarket chain DMart set to enter Delhi
DMart, one of the country’s largest supermarket chains, is set to enter Delhi, a move that will help billionaire founder Radhakishan Damani widen the brand’s footprint outside of the western and southern Indian markets. The parent company of DMart - Mumbai-based Avenue Supermarts Ltd - has taken about 50,000 sq ft of space in east Delhi’s Karkadrooma court area for its first outlet in the national capital, a person familiar with the development told ET. Another person said: “They are scouting for space for 4-5 stores in Delhi NCR”. Neville Noronha, managing director of Avenue Supermarts, declined to comment.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
Portuguese consumers prefer to shop in multiple supermarkets, study finds
Around 64% of households in Portugal prefer to shop from more than four different supermarkets, making the retail market 'highly competitive', a new study has revealed. The trend to shop in multiple supermarkets has been prevalent in the country since at least 2017, according to Nielsen’s Panorama of Portuguese Retail report. Last year, 11% of Portuguese shoppers chose two stores to fill up their shopping trolleys, while the percentage of those preferring only one store banner was even lower. Among those polled, only 22% of the respondents stated that they preferred a mix of three stores, while 35% opted for four and 29% said they would shop in five stores.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Kaufland asks for help to sell off Australian retail sites
Weeks after sending shockwaves through the Australian retail industry when it announced it would exit the market before it even got started, German hypermarket Kaufland is reportedly preparing to sell some of its prime Australian retail locations. According to The Australian, the retail chain is the process of seeking advice from real estate agencies about selling nine key sites located in Australia’s eastern states. Any potential sale of the large-format retail sites will no doubt affect other retailers in the surrounding areas, including small-to-medium businesses.
Source: smartcompany.com.au
UK: Asda confident about progress despite Q4 sales decline
Asda has revealed that its sales declined in the final quarter of 2019 with results impacted by challenging market conditions, particularly in clothing. Grocery sales were however reported to be 'more stable' at Walmart's UK business. Like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, fell by 1.3% in the 3 months to December 31st. The result makes Q4 Asda most negative quarter since Q1 2017 and represents a significant deterioration on Q3's -0.5%. While market tough market conditions impacted headline performance, Asda said the core food business had been more stable as it focused on improving its price position, delivering an easy shopping experience and developing growth opportunities. Total sales for the period, including fuel also fell by 1.3% according to separate figures released by Walmart. Transactions numbers fell by 1.5% but average transaction value rose by 0.2%.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com