Carrefour Kenya records a 28% increase in annual sales to US$175.9mln
French retail chain Carrefour has recorded a 28% jump in sales to Ksh18.7bln (US$175.9mln) for the year ended December 2019 from its Kenyan outlets, an increase from Ksh14.6bln (US$137.3mln) recorded in 2018. Majid Al Futtaim, the exclusive holder of Carrefour’s franchise in the region attributes the rise in sales from its aggressive expansion bid across major towns in the country. The retailer said since launching in Kenya four years ago, the franchise of the French hypermarket chain had grown faster than expected; attracting a strong clientele base among the country’s expanding middle class.
Source: foodbusinessafrica.com
Qatar: LuLu Hypermarket opens mobile stores in Industrial Area
A major retailer of the region, LuLu Hypermarket chain has opened temporary supermarkets at various locations in the Industrial area, in co-operation with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs. The mini supermarkets will provide all essential and affordable product lines, groceries, fresh food, instant food, baked food and other daily necessities, according to a statement. Dr Mohamed Althaf, director of LuLu Hypermarkets said: “We are extremely thankful to the governmental authorities for allowing us to become part of the contingency plan rolled out by them to address the crisis head-on by ensuring the supply of essentials to the community”.
Source: gulf-times.com
Australia: Woolworths defers drinks, hotel units spin-off to 2021
Australia’s biggest supermarket chain Woolworths Group Ltd said it will shelve the separation of its drinks and hospitality units until 2021 amid ongoing uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company said it had completed restructuring and merging the businesses in February, but temporary closure of hotels have partly forced it to delay the planned spin-off.
Source: reuters.com
Germany: Edeka branch customers are now served by robots because of coronavirus
At Edeka branch in Ahrensburg near Hamburg there is a new employee: “Pepper” is the name of the special helper. He is supposed to help relieve Edeka employees in this time of crisis and provide advice to customers. But “Pepper” is not a human being, but a robot! With his friendly nature, he should inform customers of the market about coronavirus protection and prevention. In the checkout area of the store, he regulates the process and fascinates many shoppers.
Source: usnewstoday.live
Germany: REWE Group signs €1bln credit line in wake of COVID-19
German retailer REWE Group has announced the signing of a syndicated credit line totalling €1 billion, together with a consortium of banks – Commerzbank, DZ Bank, ING and SEB. The retailer made the move to 'ensure its financial flexibility and independence' in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it said in a statement. "This line supplements an existing credit line of €2 billion, which runs until 2024 as an undrawn reserve line," commented Christian Mielsch, chief financial officer at REWE Group.“REWE Group can use the new credit scope flexibly within the next 15 months.
Source: esmmagazine.com
US: H-E-B and Favor double delivery service area statewide
H-E-B and Favor Delivery have partnered up to expand service to even more Texans during the COVID-19 pandemic. This partnership gives more Texans access to on-demand delivery from restaurants and stores, and support to more seniors via the H-E-B & Favor Senior Support Program. In rapid response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Favor - whose most recent statewide expansion included adding 40 new Texas markets over the course of 12 months - has just launched 75 new Texas markets within an accelerated one-week timeframe, as well as expanded its delivery areas in its existing markets.
Source: news4sanantonio.com
US: Little Rock approves land sale to Amazon in City's Port
Little Rock city leaders unanimously approved the $3.2mln sale of land in the Little Rock Port to an entity backed by Amazon, which plans to put a distribution center there. The project is set for an 80-acre site on Zeuber Road. The Little Rock city board approved the deal at its regular meeting. The Little Rock Port Authority board endorsed the sale earlier in the day.
Source: arkansasbusiness.com
US: Costco Wholesale Corporation reports March sales results
Costco Wholesale Corporation (“Costco” or the “Company”) reported net sales of $15.49bln for the retail month of March, the five weeks ended April 5, 2020, an increase of 11.7% from $13.87bln last year. For the thirty-one weeks ended April 5, 2020, the Company reported net sales of $96.25bln, an increase of 9.0% from $88.29bln during the similar period last year.
Source: globenewswire.com
US: Buehler’s lets customers know ‘best time to shop’
Buehler’s Fresh Foods is giving customers concerned about coming to the grocery store during the coronavirus pandemic a heads-up on the “best time to shop”. Wooster, Ohio-based Buehler’s has launched a new online tool dubbed “Best Time to Shop”, which provides a color-coded indicator of the slowest and busiest store hours. On a weekly basis, Buehler’s will evaluate sales at each store for every hour and project the next week’s customer counts into three-hour time segments. That data then will be translated into color-coded time charts for each store, with red indicating the busiest shopping times, yellow showing average store traffic and green representing the slowest shopping times.
Source: supermarketnews.com
Canada: Loblaw withdraws financial outlook for 2020
Canada’s leading food and drugstore retailer Loblaw has withdrawn its previous guidance for its financial performance in 2020 due to the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. In an update on its response to the pandemic, the retailer outlined how it saw a surge in demand in March as shoppers stocked up on essential items while shifting away from discretionary items. Loblaw’s response has centred on enhancing the customer experience, supporting its colleagues, securing its operations and providing financial support to its communities and customers.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Amazon begins making coronavirus testing lab for workforceAmazon.com Inc. has started building a lab that will enable it to test employees for the Covid-19 virus, the latest step the online retailer is taking to try to protect its warehouse workers and delivery drivers who are getting essential products to customers sheltering at home. Amazon acknowledges its ad-hoc effort may not accomplish much during the current pandemic. Still, it is assigning a team of scientists, software engineers and procurement specialists to build a lab that will let the company “start testing small numbers of our front line employees soon.” Tests are scarce, which has prevented public health officials from assessing the full scope of the outbreak across the U.S.
Source: bloomberg.com