Poland: Dino sees sales grow by double digits in first half
Polish retailer Dino Polska has announced a 13.3% increase in like-for-like sales across its store network in the first half of its financial year, as well as EBITDA growth of 36.9%. The group posted revenue for the half-year period of PLN4.7bln (€1.07bln), which is more than a third higher (33.9%) on the corresponding period last year. It opened 84 new stores between January and June, giving it a total of 1,302 outlets as of the end of the half year, which is 246 more than at the same time last year.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Germany: Metro AG CEO Olaf Koch to step down at the end of the year
German wholesaler Metro AG has announced that CEO Olaf Koch will step down from the position at the end of this year. Koch informed the supervisory board of his decision to not renew his contract beyond 31 December 2020. He was to lead the company until at least March 2022. The supervisory board approved the mutual termination of Koch's contract as of 31 December 2020 at an extraordinary meeting.
Source: esmmagazine.com
China's Pinduoduo’s latest aim: Sell $145bln of farm produce in 2025
Still working to turn a profit and shake off its fake-goods reputation, China’s e-commerce upstart Pinduoduo set itself another ambitious goal for 2025: surpass 1tln yuan or $145bln annual gross merchandise volume of agricultural products. The announcement arrived with the company’s Q2 results. For some context, online sales of agricultural goods in China in 2019 neared 400bln yuan or $58bln, a 27% increase from the year before, according to stats from the Ministry of Commerce. Pinduoduo launched in 2015 as a group-buying service for fruits and has since grown into an all-purpose e-commerce service rivalling Alibaba and JD.com. Fruits and vegetables remain a key category, as more than 240mln or 38% of its annual active users bought farm produce via its marketplace in 2019.
Source: techcrunch.com
Carrefour Pakistan eyes local economic revival with new supermarket opening
Carrefour, operated by Majid Al Futtaim in Pakistan, has opened a new store at Lahore’s Amanah Mall, in a move to expand the retail leader’s footprint in the country, while simultaneously supporting the city’s economic revival. The new 2,200 sqm store marks Carrefour’s ninth in Pakistan, and will provide the Lahore community with more than 9,000 products including fresh fruit and vegetables, baked goods, and home products.
Source: nation.com.pk
UK: Tesco to create 16,000 more permanent jobs in online boom
Britain’s largest supermarket Tesco said it will create an additional 16,000 permanent jobs to support the exceptional growth in its online business and may even increase the number of roles as the lockdown boosted its sales. “The supermarket expects the majority of these roles to be filled by colleagues who joined on a temporary basis at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but who now want to stay with the business permanently”, the company said. Tesco said the roles will include 10,000 pickers to assemble customer orders and 3,000 drivers to deliver them, along with a variety of other roles in stores and distribution centres.
Source: reuters.com
Ireland: SuperValu retains top supermarket title for fifth month in a row
The latest figures from Kantar show that SuperValu continues to hold the highest grocery retail market share at 22.3%, during the 12 weeks to 9 August 2020. SuperValu remains the only retailer to attract new shoppers this period, contributing an additional €624,000 to its growth, the research shows. According to the figures, Tesco took second place with a 21.1% market share. Bigger baskets, with volumes up 25%, and higher average prices drove growth for Tesco this month. It was a similar story for Dunnes - the retailer again recorded the highest average spend per trip, while also experiencing an increase in volumes and higher average prices to hold a 20.5% market share, the data shows. Aldi recorded strong growth of 18.4% this month. Meanwhile it has been a busy few weeks for Lidl, which launched its rewards scheme Lidl Plus and achieved the strongest growth rate of all the major retailers this period, helping it to its highest ever market share of 12.8%.
Source: checkout.ie
Israeli supermarket chain monitors unknowing buyers for emotional reactions during shopping
Supermarket chain Victory has launched a pilot in which it uses cameras to track the behavior of clients and their emotional reactions to things they encounter while shopping. The information, which is sold on to suppliers, allows the chain to understand what products clients are selecting and which aisle locations are preferable. Victory’s report for the second quarter of the year showed a dramatic increase of 51.5% in profit to NIS12.7mln (approximately $3.7mln). According to CEO and co-owner Eyal Ravid, the improved sales weren't just because Israelis are spending more time at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but were also the result of Victory's proactive actions. "In January of this year, we began a pilot with neuromarketing company Drill. This is a marketing tool that analyzes the reaction of clients and allows us to identify emotional reactions to products, prices and aisle location", said Ravid.
Source: calcalistech.com
France: Shopping at Carrefour? Reserve your place at the till!
French supermarket chain Carrefour is trialling a check-out process where customers can reserve a certain time slot at the till. The service, called C'Réservé, will be tested in Villiers-en-Bière near Paris starting 25 August. The consumers in Villiers-en-Bière will no longer need to stand in line at the till, as they will be able to reserve a certain time slot. The trial is similar to a test that Carrefour carried out four years ago, but at the time enthusiasm was rather muted. Covid-19, and all current doubts about standing in line close to other people, may change that attitude according to LSA.
Source: retaildetail.eu
US: Kings/Balducci to get new owner
KB US Holdings Inc., the parent company of the Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market banners, has accepted a stalking horse bid from New York-based venture capital firm TLI Bedrock to purchase the company for $75mln in the next 60 days. To facilitate an orderly sale, KB and its subsidiaries have begun voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Giant Co. introduces new brand platform
The Giant Co. has rolled out a new brand platform, For Today’s Table. Building on the new company name, logo and purpose introduced earlier this year, For Today’s Table maps out a course for the company’s ongoing growth, innovation, and investment. “For Today’s Table is grounded in our strong belief that gathering around the table for a meal with your family to make meaningful connections is now more important than ever”, explained Nicholas Bertram, Giant Co. president.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Aldi continues Northeast expansion
Aldi has opened its eighth location on New York’s Long Island. The store in North Babylon is the second new Aldi on Long Island this year and a part of the retailer’s national growth strategy. The fast-growing discount grocer recently surpassed more than 2,000 stores across the country and, in July, announced plans nationally to open about 70 new stores by the end of the year. Aldi’s expansion is propelled by a more than $5bln investment in nationwide growth to update existing Aldi stores and to open hundreds of new locations.
Source: chainstoreage.com