Casino Group completed the sale to ALDI France of 545 Leader Price stores, 2 Casino supermarkets and 3 warehouses
Casino group has completed the sale to ALDI France of 545 Leader Price stores, 2 Casino supermarkets and 3 warehouses, for an enterprise value of 717mln euros (including an earn-out of up to €35mln). Casino group may sell additional Leader Price stores in the short term to ALDI, for an amount of up to €11mln.
Source: groupe-casino.fr
Auchan Poland grows omnichannel focus as it expands its cooperation with Glovo
After announcing the extension of its cooperation with Glovo to Poland in July 2020, Auchan has continued to make the service available from more stores in the country. The cooperation enables delivery from 55 Auchan stores, a mix of hypermarkets and supermarkets, throughout Poland. The service enables shoppers who live in 3km of a store that enables it to buy from a range of more than 1,700 SKUs and receive their purchases in an hour. Auchan said since its launch, shoppers have been increasing the size of the baskets they purchase, switching from impulse purchases to bigger shops.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Ireland: SuperValu leeks win National Organic Award 
SuperValu has announced that it has won the Private Label award at the bi-annual National Organic Awards. The grocery retailer scooped the prize for its Irish-grown Begley’s Organic Leeks. The awards, which are organised by Bord Bia and run in association with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, celebrate and recognise the 'very best in Irish organic food' across seven categories. Begley’s Organic Leeks won the Private Label Award for its work with SuperValu to create fully compostable packaging for its organic leeks, which are available in-store in 100% compostable bags and labels, the company said. The award win comes amid growing consumer demand for locally grown fresh produce, which is reflected by the fact that in the past year, SuperValu said that it has sold 94,000 of Begley’s organic leeks.
Source: checkout.ie
Spain: Retailer DIA converts 500mln euro debt into new shares
Spanish supermarket group DIA said it agreed with creditors to convert debts of 500mln euros ($598.30mln) owed to its largest shareholder LetterOne into new shares and to extend the maturities of other debts. The company extended the maturity of a 902mln euro syndicated loan to December 2025 from March 2023 and the maturity of 300mln worth of bonds to June 2026 from April 2023, DIA said.
Source: reuters.com
Meituan’s sales surge alongside China’s appetite for takeout
Meituan reported a 29% rise in quarterly revenue, after China’s economic recovery boosted restaurants and whetted consumers’ appetite for takeout. The world’s largest meal delivery service posted sales of 35.4bln yuan (US$5.4bln) during the July-September period, beating the average estimate of 34bln yuan. It also logged net income of 6.3bln yuan, versus a projected 435mln yuan. Profit was bolstered by 5.8bln yuan in investment gains.
Source: theedgemarkets.com
First vegan supermarket to open in Amsterdam
A survey to gauge customer attitude towards a vegan supermarket revealed that 56.4% said they would definitely shop at the Vegan Fresco. A 100% vegan supermarket will be opening in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in January 2021, according to Het Parool. Vegan Fresco, stocking plant-based products from all over Europe, will open its doors on Jan Evertsenstraat in mid-January. According to founder, James Fresco, ‘it is time’ to have a specialised vegan and plant-based supermarket in Amsterdam since demand for vegan food is rising with more and more consumers adding plant-based protein into their diets for a combination of financial, environmental, humanitarian and health reasons.
Source: totallyveganbuzz.com
China: Dada Group, Lianhua Supermarket expand strategic partnership
Dada Group, China’s leading local on-demand delivery and retail platform, and Lianhua Supermarket Holdings Co., Ltd., the country’s major chain retail operator with a full range of retail segments, announced that they have expanded their strategic partnership, with a focus on omni-channel fulfillment, product management and marketing. To commemorate this milestone, Philip Kuai, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Dada Group; and Tao Xu, General Manager of Lianhua Supermarket; signed a new partnership agreement at a ceremony in Shanghai.
Source: globenewswire.com
Germany: Netto Marken-Discount pays €2.9mln to farmers in fair prices in 2019
German retailer Netto Marken-Discount has paid around €2.9mln to farmers in 2019 as part of its fair prices initiative - 'Ein Herz für Erzeuger' (A Heart for Producers). In 2008, the retailer pledged to pay fair prices to farmers through this initiative in a bid to support German agriculture. Products in the 'Ein Herz für Erzeuger' range are 10 cents dearer and this amount goes to participating farmers, the company stated.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Russia: Magnit launches own delivery from its hypermarkets
Magnit PJSC (the Company), one of Russia’s leading retailers, launches its own delivery service from hypermarkets. The Company is expanding the pilot of its own delivery service, adding new locations and store formats. The service can now deliver products from hypermarkets in Krasnodar. Orders are delivered within 3 hours; customers can also reserve a later delivery time. Magnit began piloting of delivery from big boxes in its home city, Krasnodar. Customers can order 25,000 SKUs from goods categories allowed for sale online: fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy, dry foods, juices and water, tea, coffee, detergents, care products and other.
Source: magnit.com
Stop & Shop local unions ratify previously announced withdrawal agreement on UFCW International Union - Industry Pension Fund
Ahold Delhaize announced that the UFCW Locals of its U.S. brand Stop & Shop have ratified the agreement to terminate participation in the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union - Industry Pension Fund (the “National Plan”). As previously announced, the agreement does not impact the 2020 financial outlook.
Source: aholddelhaize.com
US: Wakefern welcomes Madison Food to retailer co-op
Wakefern Food Corp. has welcomed Madison Food Corp., a third-generation family grocery business, to the retailer cooperative, with plans for Madison to convert its three Save A Lot stores in the Boston area to Price Rite Marketplace locations. Price Rite is a registered trademark and banner of Wakefern.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: DoorDash seeks valuation of up to $32bln in IPO, double what it was in June
Food delivery app DoorDash is looking to raise up to $2.8bln in its IPO, which would value the company at $32bln on a fully diluted basis, the company revealed in a new filing. DoorDash plans to list 33mln shares at a price between $75 and $85. The company will list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DASH.
Source: cnbc.com