DIA plans to boost Portuguese operation
Spanish retailer DIA is working on a new store concept for Portugal, home to its Minipreço banner. The retailer plans to roll out a number of renovations, relocations and new store openings, as part of its strategic plan for the period running to 2023. Speaking to Dinheiro Vivo, DIA Portugal CEO Miguel Guinea said that other priorities include the strengthening of the private label brand; the expansion of e-commerce coverage; the optimisation of the shop assortment to meet the specific needs of customers across the country; and the rollout of a new customer loyalty programme.
Source: esmmagazine.com
India: Amazon pumps money into MORE to take on the heavyweights Reliance Retail and DMart
Amazon and Samara Capital are investing ₹275crore ($37.5mln) into MORE, according to filings sourced by paper.vc. Samara and Amazon had together invested ₹4,050crore ($450mln) in MORE in 2018. The investment into MORE comes at a time when the grocery e-retail space is heating up in India.
Source: businessinsider.in
France: SPAR strengthens brand footprint in the Paris region
SPAR France has strengthened its footprint in the Paris region with the opening of a new SPAR Supermarket in Saint Cyr l’Ecole. With a sales area of 805m2, the new store features various attractive fresh departments, such as fresh produce islands, a corner with freshly squeezed juices, and a premium food-to-go area.
Source: spar-international.com
Philippines: Puregold, Globe tie-up addresses growing needs of home shoppers
Supermarket operator Puregold Price Club Inc. and Globe Telecom have expanded a partnership that allows customers to shop online. They launched a new feature within the Puregold mobile app, which is powered by Globe, to allow users to remotely purchase prepaid credits. This is on top of other Globe products such as SIM cards, calling cards and prepaid home Wi-Fi credits.
Source: business.inquirer.net
Thailand: Foodpanda joins online grocery delivery fray
Competition in the online grocery delivery market is expected to escalate as Germany-based food delivery app Foodpanda becomes the latest player to step into the segment under Pandamart. The move highlights the industry players' focus to capitalise on the "quick commerce" trend, where items are delivered rapidly, rivalling traditional convenience stores and supermarkets. "We are entering the era of quick commerce [q-commerce] where digital customers expect faster delivery within minutes or hours, unlike the 4.0 e-commerce era when users wait for same-day or next-day delivery", said Thomas Buchan, director of new verticals at Foodpanda Thailand.
Source: bangkokpost.com
Australia: Coles to source more than 90% of QLD electricity needs from CleanCo
From July 2022, Coles will source more than 90% of its Queensland electricity requirements from CleanCo, after entering into a landmark 10-year agreement with the state-owned clean energy generator and retailer. Coles will purchase 400 GWh of electricity annually through the agreement. The Western Downs Green Power Hub, set to be Australia’s largest solar farm once built, and the MacIntyre Wind Farm, one of the largest wind farms to be built in the southern hemisphere, will supply three quarters of the Coles’ electricity requirements, with the remainder supported by CleanCo’s low emissions portfolio.
Source: colesgroup.com.au
Italy: Conad rolls out new large store format, Spazio Conad
Italy’s Conad has rolled out a new large format store concept in Milan, featuring a range of additional products and services. The first Spazio Conad has been opened in Vimodrome, in the Milan metropolitan area, on the site of a former Auchan Italia store, and boasts a sales area of 10,000 square metres.
Source: esmmagazine.com
SuperValu named Ireland's top supermarket for sixth month in a row
The latest figures from Kantar show that SuperValu continues to hold the highest grocery retail market share at 22.1%, during the 12 weeks to 6 September 2020. Despite some economic uncertainty, brands have once again proved to be standout performers, growing ahead of the market by 18% and outpacing private label sales year on year as shoppers spent an additional €205mln on branded groceries, the research showed. Among the retailers, Lidl and Aldi both saw strong growth in branded sales, which grew by 48% and 36% respectively. Lidl was also top of the table in terms of overall growth rate in the latest 12 weeks, growing by 21.2% year on year to boost its sales by €63.3mln. Aldi held a 12.6% share of the market during the period, with growth driven by an increase in volume per trip and higher average prices. Tesco registered a 21% market share.
Source: checkout.ie
US: How Wegmans keeps winning
Rochester, New York-based Wegmans Food Markets, which operates 104 stores and is led by the family of Colleen, Danny and Nicole Wegman, has achieved growth over its 104 years in business by opening huge stores in East Coast suburbs. Today, its locations span 80,000 to nearly 150,000 square feet and offer about 52,000 SKUs (4,000 of them organic). Wegmans aims to operate “destination stores” designed to look and feel like a European food hall. This is accomplished through warm and cozy lighting, farmers market-style displays of organic and conventional produce, expansive in-store dining spaces, and whimsical elements (a toy train choo-chooing over the dairy case, a crowing rooster over the coffee bar) that reinforce the fresh market atmosphere.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: New York City partners with Mercato to equip independent grocers with online ordering & delivery capabilities
Mercato has been selected by the City of New York to become the eCommerce marketplace that will connect underserved NYC communities to local grocery stores. Through this partnership, select stores in all five boroughs will begin offering their inventory online and via local delivery - a functionality these stores weren't previously equipped with.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: Walmart on course to become regenerative company
Walmart is reaffirming its commitment to battle climate change with a goal to achieve zero emissions across the company’s worldwide operations by 2040, without the use of carbon offsets. The retailer and the Walmart Foundation are also pledging to help protect, manage or restore a minimum of 50 million acres of land and 1mln square miles of ocean by 2030 to conserve nature under threat.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Zoox gets driverless car test permit in California, a win for Amazon
Zoox Inc on received a permit from California state authorities to test its self-driving vehicles without an in-car backup driver, marking a win for Amazon.com Inc, which acquired the startup in June. The world’s largest online retailer has been aggressively expanding into self-driving technology, with the company also participating in self-driving car startup Aurora Innovation Inc’s $530mln funding round early last year.
Source: reuters.com