UK: Supermarket group Asda says 5,000 jobs at risk in restructuring
British supermarket group Asda said it has started a consultation with 5,000 workers potentially impacted by operational changes to simplify the business. Asda, now owned by the Issa brothers and private equity group TDR Capital, currently employs 145,000 people.
Source: reuters.com
France: Casino to boost cash, cut more debt after 2020 core profit rise
French retailer Casino vowed to boost its profitability and cash flow further this year and push on with its asset disposal plan to reduce debts after reporting a 25% rise in 2020 operating profit partly helped by cost savings. Casino achieved a 2020 group operating profit of 1.426bln euros ($1.74bln), up 25.2% at constant exchange rates, helped by cost savings and higher sales in top markets France and Brazil. Total sales rose to 31.9bln euros, up 8% on a same-store basis.
Source: reuters.com
Germany: Kaufland officially enters the world of ecommerce
Next month, Kaufland will officially enter the world of ecommerce. For the first time, the German hypermarket chain will be visible as a new operator on the previous online marketplace of Real, the company it acquired in June last year.
Source: ecommercenews.eu
UKL: Lidl hits store hat trick in London
Lidl has opened 3 new supermarkets in Richmond, Putney and Tooting as part of its £500mln expansion programme for London. Lidl GB’s Regional Head of Property, Henry Neel, commented: “It is fantastic that despite the challenging circumstances we have been able to continue our investment in South London and enable even more of the local community access to our high quality and affordable produce”.
Source: kamcity.com
Holland: Supermarket starts petition to lower VAT rate on fruit & veg
Supermarket chain Dirk van den Broek launched a petition to lower the VAT on fruit and vegetables from 9 to 6%. According to the supermarket, the low VAT rate increase of 2019 resulted in healthy eating becoming more expensive than many unhealthy alternatives. "High time for action", Marcel Huizing, general manager of Dirk van den Broek, said to AD.
Source: nltimes.nl
Spain: DIA narrows 2020 loss after reorganisation programme
Spanish grocery retailer DIA said its net loss narrowed in 2020 as a business reorganisation helped offset the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. DIA’s net loss was 364mln euros ($443.2mln) compared to 791mln euros in 2019, the company said. The management attributed the smaller loss to a programme that included closing some stores, focussing on fresh produce and giving more leeway to store managers and franchise holders.
Source: reuters.com
UK: Waitrose helps fight hunger with new trial that delivers surplus food to vulnerable households straight from the farm
Waitrose galvanises its suppliers to help divert over 5mln surplus apples, carrots, mushrooms, sprouts and more from its farms to food charity FareShare.
Source: waitrose.pressarea.com
Luxembourg: Supermarket chain MATCH selects Openbravo to drive its supply chain transformation and improve customer service
The MATCH chain of supermarkets in Luxembourg has implemented Openbravo WMS, a component in the Openbravo Commerce Cloud platform, as a key building block of the transformation of its supply chain. The retailer, part of Louis Delhaize SA food retail group, needed a more sophisticated warehouse management solution to support the modernization of its warehouse operations, which handle 20,000 SKUs and supply 28 stores in Luxembourg.
Source: prnewswire.co.uk
China: Suning.com says shareholders plan to sell up to 25% stake
Chinese retailer Suning.com said shareholders plan to sell 20% to 25% of the company to unnamed buyers which might lead to a change in control as its parent seeks to raise cash. The company said it was notified of the stake sale by its founder Zhang Jindong and its parent Suning Appliance Group, who respectively hold a 20.96% and 19.88% stake in the firm. Suning.com’s other shareholders include e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.
Source: reuters.com
Spanish grocer Mercadona in talks to sell 30 stores to MDSR
Mercadona, Spain’s biggest supermarket chain by market share, is in talks to sell about 30 stores to Israeli fund MDSR Investments. The portfolio is part of a 36-store package of properties Mercadona put on sale last year for 200mln euros ($243mln), a company spokeswoman said. Separately, Mercadona sold a package of 27 stores with a 15-year leaseback to LCN Capital Partners for 180mln euros last year. A spokeswoman for MDSR declined to comment on the talks.
Source: bloombergquint.com
UK: Sainsbury’s unveils new brand slogan as it is named Principal Supermarket Partner of COP26
Sainsbury’s will take a leading role in helping shoppers improve their diets while helping to reduce their impact on the environment one plate at a time. In late spring, the retailer will retire its ‘Live Well for Less’ brand motto and launch its new mission, focusing on ‘Helping Everyone Eat Better’ and will share more with its colleagues and customers on what this means for them in the coming months. The retailer has also been announced as the Principal Supermarket Partner for the United Nation’s international climate change conference, COP26, taking place in Glasgow in November.
Source: about.sainsburys.co.uk
US: SpartanNash announces fourth quarter and fiscal 2020 financial results
SpartanNash Company (the “Company”) reported financial results for its 13-week fourth quarter and 53-week fiscal year ended January 2, 2021. Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2020 Highlights: Net sales growth of 12.5% to $2.25bln for the quarter from $2.00bln in the prior year quarter, and 9.5% to $9.35bln for the fiscal year compared to $8.54bln in the prior fiscal year.
Source: businesswire.com
US: Presidente Supermarkets to open 7 stores in 2021
Presidente Supermarkets has revealed plans to open 7 grocery stores across Florida this year, mainly in the tri-county area (Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties), according to a published report. The Miami-based Hispanic independent grocer already operates 31 stores in the state, the South Florida Business Journal reported, but the new stores are part of its rebooted expansion effort, which includes debuting locations elsewhere in Florida.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Amazon Fresh debuts its 10th store
Amazon Fresh opened its 10th location in Fullerton, California, according to a press release. The 45,000-square-foot store, located at 1100 S. Harbor Blvd., opens with an assortment of mainstream, local and private label grocery items along with prepared foods. Deals include 15-cent bananas, pizza slices for $1.79 and rotisserie chickens for $4.97. This marks Amazon Fresh’s 7th store in California following recent openings in Whittier and North Hollywood. The brand also has 3 locations in the Chicago area.
Source: grocerydive.com
Canada: Pandemic demand lifts comps at Loblaw
The pandemic is driving demand at Canada's Loblaw Companies, as the grocery chain said same-store sales both in-store and online rose impressively during the fourth quarter. For the quarter ended January 2, Loblaw reported revenue of $9.8bln. This represented an increase of $818mln, or 7.1% when compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: The GIANT Company and Rodale Institute announce new partnership
To support ecologically safe farming, sustainable retailing, and efforts to eliminate hunger, The GIANT Company announced a new partnership with Rodale Institute, the leading voice in developing solutions for the regenerative organic movement. Widely recognized as a founder of the modern organic movement, Rodale Institute has been a global leader in regenerative organic agriculture for over 70 years.
Source: globenewswire.com