Oman: SPAR opens 2 supermarkets in capital city
SPAR Oman has recently celebrated 2 store openings in the capital city of Muscat. Both stores are located in a residential area and focus on meeting local customer needs. Store highlights include the extensive fresh food departments and strong value aisles. SPAR CBD reopened on 15 July in Ruwi, a residential area and the main business district of Muscat. The SPAR Supermarket features a modern signage system which divides the store into different areas, including Fruit & Veg, Farm Fresh, Mother & Baby, Frozen Delights, Veggie Delights, Spices, Rice & Flour, etc. The newly opened SPAR Rex Road, also in Ruwi, features an extensive fresh and vegetable department, a premium butchery, and a strong value offer.
Source: spar-international.com
Poland: E-commerce platform Allegro plans IPO in October - sources
Polish e-commerce platform Allegro wants to run an IPO and debut on the WSE in October 2020, according to insider information accessed by PAP. "The public offering and the debut of Allegro on the Warsaw stock exchange are planned for October this year", an individual familiar with the process said, adding that a few percent of shares offered will be offered to retail investors. Shares will reportedly be offered by brokerages BM PKO BP, Santander DM and probably also BM Pekao. Allegro and its owners wouldn't comment on the IPO when asked by PAP.
Source: biznes.pap.pl
HelloFresh to set up second UK facility in Warwickshire
Fast-growing meal kit provider HelloFresh is to set up a base at Nuneaton in Warwickshire. It will be the second UK production facility for the global firm. HelloFresh, which delivers meal-kits with fresh ingredients to homes across the country, has leased 230,384 sq ft of logistics space at Goodman’s Nuneaton 230 development off the A444 at Bermuda Park. The site will receive produce and packaging from local and national suppliers, assembling the fresh ingredients in the meal kits and distributing these to consumers across the country.
Source: business-live.co.uk
UK: A.F. Blakemore acquires online vegan food store
A.F. Blakemore is tapping into the fast-growing plant-based food market by purchasing an online wholesaler and retailer called Vegan Store. The SPAR wholesaler stated that the move will help diversify its portfolio of brands whilst adding a purely online division to the business. A.F. Blakemore Commercial Managing Director Jerry Marwood commented: “The vegan or vegetarian lifestyle is predicted to be the choice of up to 25% of the British population by 2025. By acquiring Vegan Store we are adding a niche brand to our portfolio that we will be able to develop and grow in line with forecast market growth.”
Source: kamcity.com
UK: Bestway to sell 37 company-owned stores
Major national wholesaler, Bestway has put 37 of the stores from its Retail division on the market. The move comes in the wake of an extensive review of its retail assets, undertaken in 2019, to optimize the portfolio of stores it acquired from the collapsed Conviviality business in 2018. The stores being sold include sites from the full range of its formats operating under the Bargain Booze, Wine Rack, Select Convenience and Central Convenience fascias.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
South Africa: Shoprite’s FY results +6.4%
South Africa-based Shoprite saw sales in the 52 weeks to 28 June 2020 rise 6.4% to ZAR156.9bln (US$8.9bln), with like-for-like sales up 4.4%. The retailer’s performance was driven by its home market, where sales were up by 8.7%, aided by a strong second half of the financial year. The impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on its results was underlined by Shoprite reporting that basket sizes grew 18.4%, while the number of shopper visits fell by 7.4%.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Geek+ & Walmart Chile bring AMRs to South America
Geek+, a global AMR leader announces expansion into South America with its first robotics project, providing smart logistics solutions to Walmart Chile, the largest supermarket chain in the country, with 345 stores distributed across the country under banners Liders Hiper, Lider Express, Superbodega Acuenta and Central Mayorista.
Source: prnewswire.com
Canada: Metro reports $263.5mln Q3 profit, sales up more than 10%
Metro Inc. reported a profit of $263.5mln in its latest quarter, up from $222.4mln a year ago, while its sales rose more than 10% as Canadians stayed and cooked at home due to the pandemic. The grocery and pharmacy store retailer, which owns the Jean Coutu Group, says the profit amounted to $1.04 per share for the 16-week period ended July 4, up from 86 cents per share a year ago. Sales totalled $5.84bln, up from $5.23bln. Food same-store sales rose 15.6%, while pharmacy same-store sales edged up 1%.
Source: canadiangrocer.com
US: 2019 Performance enabled independent grocer success amid pandemic
The 2020 edition of the Independent Grocers Financial Survey, a joint study between the National Grocers Association (NGA) and FMS Solutions, labels the fiscal year 2019 as a solid year for independents. "Independent grocers started to see positive trends pre-pandemic, which is a great sign of the strengthening", said Robert Graybill, FMS CEO, and president. "While the overall numbers were up, it was the profit leaders once again driving those increases. Their financial performance and operational execution served as a building block to respond to the extraordinary spikes in traffic, sales, and engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic".
Source: prnewswire.com
US: Shipt celebrates 1 year of same-day delivery with 99 Ranch Market
Leading same-day delivery marketplace Shipt announced that it's celebrating 1 year anniversary of same-day delivery with specialty Asian retailer 99 Ranch Market and their 2 retail banners, 168 Market and Cravings by 99 Ranch Market. The California-based specialty grocery store currently serves customers at more than 50 locations in 7 states including California, Nevada, Texas and Oregon. Shipt customers in more than 8mln households have access to same-day delivery of all their favorite Asian products from 100% of 99 Ranch Market stores.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: SpartanNash sales still benefiting from pandemic
For its 12-week second quarter ended July 11, SpartanNash Co. has reported net sales growth of 9.4% to $2.18bln, from $2bln in the year-ago period, racking up 17 straight quarters of growth. The company also logged Q2 2020 retail comparable-store sales of 17.1% - the fourth consecutive quarter of increases. SpartanNash unsurprisingly attributed these gains to the ongoing increased consumer demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which was first noted in its Q1 financial results. The company also saw earnings per share (EPS) rise to 80 cents from a loss of 19 cents per share last year, and reported adjusted EPS of 73 cents, a 115% increase from the year-ago period. SpartanNash’s adjusted EBITDA increased 33.5% to $59.2mln, from $44.3mln last year.
Source: progressivegrocer.com