Russia: Magnit sees revenue up 7.7% in first half
Russian retailer Magnit has posted a 7.7% increase in revenue in the first half of its financial year, to RUB822.2bln (€9.48bln), with the group opening a net new 780 stores in the period. The group, which completed the acquisition of Dixy Group last month, reported 4.7% like-for-like sales growth in the period to 30 June, which was entirely driven by increased basket size (+4.7%).
Source: esmmagazine.com
Brexit blamed as Iceland hits pause on Irish growth plans
The Iceland supermarket chain has put its expansion plans for Ireland on hold, for now at least, due to changes to its business caused by Brexit, its directors say. The UK-owned retailer operates 27 stores here and new accounts show that the business benefited from the return to home-cooking during Covid-19 lockdowns as revenues increased by 9% from €60.5mln to €66mln. According to new accounts filed by Iceland Stores Ireland Ltd to the 12 months to the end of March 26 this year, the company reduced pre-tax losses by 27% from €4.47mln to €3.25mln.
Source: independent.ie
Britain's Morrisons agrees to CD&R's $9.54bln takeover offer
British supermarket Morrisons has agreed a takeover offer worth 7.0bln pounds ($9.54bln) from U.S. private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), dropping its recommendation of a lower bid from a consortium led by Fortress Investment Group.
Source: reuters.com
Holland: Just Eat Takeaway.com and Adyen partner to issue cards for corporate expense programs
Adyen, the payments platform of choice for many of the world's leading companies, announced Just Eat Takeaway.com, a leading global online food delivery marketplace, will implement its card issuing solution in the form of Takeaway Pay Card. Adyen's solution enables Just Eat Takeaway.com to issue pre-funded cards to employees for meal expenses.
Source: prnewswire.com
UK: M&S lifts full-year profit forecast to £350mln as sales begin to rebound
British high street staple the Marks & Spencer Group has lifted its profit guidance to around £350m for the year as its sales have begun to recover, inching towards its pre-pandemic recordings. M&S’ food revenue has jumped 9.6% in the 19 weeks to 14 August, in comparison with income seen in 2019.
Source: cityam.com
ICA Sverige adds Veg of Lund’s plant-based drink DUG to its central listing
Sweden’s largest food wholesaler ICA has decided to offer the potato drink DUG® in its national range. At the end of September, DUG will be on store shelves. ICA Sverige has approximately 1,300 stores and is Sweden’s leading grocery player. All ICA stores will be able to order Veg of Lund’s plant-based potato drink DUG® through ICA’s central purchasing function.
Source: news.cision.com
US: BJ’s Wholesale Club builds on prior-year gains in Q2
BJ’s Wholesale Club topped the high end of Wall Street’s earnings forecast for its fiscal 2021 second quarter, as the company added to COVID-19-driven growth from a year ago. Westborough, Massachusetts-based BJ’s said that, for the quarter ended July 31, net sales climbed 5.6% to $4.09bln from $3.87bln in the fiscal 2020 second quarter, when the company posted an 18.4% gain. Membership fee income grew 7.6% to $88.8mln, giving the retailer total quarterly revenue of $4.18bln, up 5.6%.
Source: supermarketnews.com
Plant-based foods are here to stay - and grow
Global retail sales of plant-based food alternatives may reach $162bln by 2030 - up from $29.4bln in 2020, according to a new report from Bloomberg Intelligence, “Plant-Based Foods Poised for Explosive Growth”. With that figure, the projected plant-based food market would comprise 7.7% of the global protein market. The 2 largest subcategories of plant-based alternatives - milk/dairy and meat - will continue to dominate sales in the segment.
Source: supermarketnews.com
OneMart's success leads the Caribbean into a new era of on-demand living
As OM Holdings International is launching its Local On-Demand Technology, or LODETECH, in the Caribbean to digitize the provision of transport, delivery, and services in the region through a single app, investor interest continues to grow at the announcement that OMHI will leverage OneMart’s stores to serve as Amazon-like hubs for the endeavor. OneMart, the second-largest grocery in the British Virgin Islands, enjoys significant public support, and with its 35-year history of strong sales, the company is a boon for OMHI as it works to bring its technology to all 28 countries in the Caribbean.
Source: benzinga.com
US: TXB is "born" with its first new market in Georgetown, Texas, leading industry with trends ahead of its time
TXB, a family of customer-service-oriented food markets and convenience stores, is announcing the opening of its first brick and mortar location in Georgetown, Texas and celebrating with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, August 24, following its rebrand to Texas Born. The new TXB market is far from typical with industry-leading, ahead-of-its-time features, including premium e-vehicle rapid charging stations, an expansive food and beverage line-up, quality, locally sourced products, and more.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: SpartanNash reports continued sales decreases in second quarter
With tough year-over-year comparisons to last year’s pandemic-fueled gains, SpartanNash saw sales decline across its distribution and grocery retail businesses in its fiscal 2021 second quarter. The Grand Rapids, Michigan-based grocery wholesaler and retailer, however, topped Wall Street’s earnings-per-share forecast despite a 26% decrease in adjusted net income. For the 12-week quarter ended July 17, net sales totaled $2.11bln, down 3.6% from $2.18bln a year earlier, SpartanNash reported. That compared with a 9.4% net sales increase in the 2020 second quarter, when consumer demand for groceries and other supplies remained elevated following the early weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: As FDA food traceability mandate looms, retailer/wholesaler group and ReposiTrak launch Traceability Network
With the FDA in the process of finalizing new regulations requiring the food industry to trace thousands of products in the supply chain from beginning to end, the Food Traceability Leadership Consortium (FTLC), is implementing a food traceability solution that will meet or exceed FDA requirements at a cost that will have no material impact on supplier margins or consumer prices. The FTLC, which includes some of the largest retailers and wholesalers in the U.S., was formed to explore potential solutions to address the FDA mandate. The FTLC quickly developed a set of guiding principles for solution evaluation: low cost, easy to implement and meets or exceeds FDA guidelines. Based on these principles, the Consortium is engaging the ReposiTrak global supply chain platform to form a Traceability Network solution for end-to-end traceability.
Source: businesswire.com
Amazon reportedly plans to open department stores
Amazon is planning to open department stores after years of competing against, and in some cases helping to destroy, the very same traditional brick-and-mortar retailers. The company’s latest move to bricks and mortar, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes after Amazon earlier this week eclipsed even Walmart in overall sales to become the world’s largest retail seller outside China.
Source: theguardian.com