UK: Iceland to offer interest-free loans to customers
Iceland will offer customers interest-free loans to help with their food shop amid soaring inflation. The supermarket trialled the scheme in Huddersfield and Rhyl, Denbighshire, before rolling it out across Wales, where more than 500 customers used it. Managing director Richard Walker said loans - provided by charity-owned lender, Fair For You - would only be offered to those who can afford them.
Source: bbc.com
India budget grocery chain eyes fivefold growth in heated market
Indian billionaire Radhakishan Damani’s discount supermarket chain DMart plans to boost its store count fivefold as it seeks to grow market share and hold its own against aggressive expansion from the likes of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail Ltd. Avenue Supermarts Ltd., which currently runs the fourth-largest number of convenience stores in India, could scale up the chain known for its knockdown prices on everything from lentils to laundry powder to 1,500 supermarkets from 284, Chief Executive Officer Neville Noronha said in an interview. He declined to give a timeline or estimate the investment needed.
Source: bnnbloomberg.ca
Desert Green Africa, addressing food insecurity in the agri value chain
Launched in 2016, Desert Green Africa, founded by Tumelo Chiloane, is an agritech startup founded on the core mission of tackling food inefficiency in the informal agri-value chain of Africa. Desert Green Africa helps brings the youth back to farming through the business's connected value-chain products DesertGreen and GreenKart. DesertGreen is a farmer app that provides automated real-time crop nutrition, extension support, machine, and labour sharing for small-scale farmers. GreenKart on the other hand is an informal trader app that connects street vendors directly to Desert Green Africa's network of small-scale farmers for on-demand fresh produce delivery and cold storage, allowing traders to 'Order Just Enough' to match their daily sales.
Source: bizcommunity.com
China: UNFAO representative visits JD.com
JD.com welcomed the representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) to China, Carlos Watson at JD.com’s headquarters and Asia No.1 Intelligent Logistics Park in Beijing, with an aim to initiate cooperative work plans revolving around agricultural produce, products with geographical indications (GIs), rural development, and more.
Source: jdcorporateblog.com
Jumia launches a quick commerce platform in Nigeria with 20 minutes delivery in Lagos
Jumia, Africa’s e-commerce platform has announced the launch of a quick commerce platform in Nigeria dubbed Jumia Food Mart to meet increased consumer demand for rapid delivery. The move will enable consumers to receive their online grocery orders in a record time of under 20 minutes, offering convenience at its best.
Source: techmoran.com
Australia: Supermarkets target plastic bags, but continue over-packaging
Despite supermarkets taking steps to reduce plastic in stores as states and territories target the material in varying bans, Deakin University senior lecturer Trevor Thornton said progress has been slow. "We’re still using far too much plastic in supermarkets, particularly in the fruit and veg department", Dr Thornton said. "There’s a lot of over-packaging of fruit and vegetables that come, funnily enough, with a natural wrapping around them. So we are … using large amounts of plastic, and we do need to decrease it."
Source: thenewdaily.com.au
LuLu launches India Utsav
LuLu Hypermarket launched its colourful "India Utsav" festival to celebrate 76th Indian Independence Day - Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. The festival will see the launch of five new Indian brands in KSA: Vadilal, Lazza, Agro special, Everest, Govind and The Green Snack Co and special promotions on over 7,500 Indian products, ranging from FMCG to health and beauty products, fresh fruit and veg and household and fashion.
Source: saudigazette.com.sa
Israel: Shufersal to trim expenses after profit dip
Retail chain Shufersal has reported a rise in sales in the second quarter of 2022 and a decline in net profit, as business returned to routine after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. Second quarter sales rose 3.3% to NIS3.7bln in the second quarter of 2022 from NIS3.6bln in the corresponding quarter of 2021. The company explains the rise by the return to normal after the pandemic, expansion of its activity in the corporate market, and the timing of the Passover holiday, which fell in the second quarter this year.
Source: en.globes.co.il
China: Tencent plans to divest Meituan stake worth $24bln
Tencent Holdings plans to sell all or a bulk of its $24bln stake in food delivery firm Meituan to placate domestic regulators and monetise an eight-year-old investment, four sources with knowledge of the matter said. Tencent, which owns 17% of Meituan, has been engaging with financial advisers in recent months to work out how to execute a potentially large sale of its Meituan stake, said three of the sources.
Source: reuters.com
Western Australia set to welcome award-winning Coles Local supermarkets
Perth customers will soon be able to enjoy the popular Coles Local supermarket format as Coles prepares to expand the concept into Western Australia by the end of the year. Coles Local, which focuses on bringing quality local produce to customers through partnerships with local suppliers, will open its first West Australian store in South Perth’s Angelo Street in November.
Source: colesgroup.com.au
Brazil's GPA anticipates $387 mln in receivables from Assai deal
Brazilian retailer GPA said it had reached a deal with financial institutions to secure around 2bln reais ($387.15mln) in receivables related to the sale of 70 of its locations to wholesaler Assai. GPA said it will receive the amount in up to three tranches throughout the third quarter of 2022.
Source: reuters.com
US: July retail sales show consumers still shopping despite inflation
Core retail sales as calculated by the National Retail Federation rose in July even as overall sales reported by the Census Bureau remained flat on a monthly basis, and both calculations showed strong year-over-year gains as consumers kept shopping despite high inflation, NRF said.
Source: nrf.com
US: FMI unveils The State of Fresh Foods at Retail
FMI - The Food Industry Association unveiled its inaugural The State of Fresh Foods report, which highlights findings from the-soon-to-be-released The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2022 analysis and substantiates unwavering momentum for fresh foods departments in grocery. Retailers surveyed detail investments for fresh foods departments in-store but also report an increase in the amount of fresh foods sales online. Key insights from the report were shared at a keynote address by FMI President and CEO Leslie Sarasin during FMI’s FreshForward event.
Source: fmi.org
US: Target’s profits take huge hit in Q2
Sharp consumer pullback in the wake of high prices for fuel and consumer goods was evident in Target’s second quarter performance. The Minneapolis retailer reported that while comparable sales were up 2.6% during this three-month period, its profits declined by nearly 90% and its quarterly net income dropped to $183mln from $1.8bln during the second quarter of 2021.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Lower cost trumps speed for grocery delivery customers
Shoppers would rather wait longer for their grocery delivery than pay more for faster service, especially in light of inflation’s impact on household budgets. That’s a principal conclusion of new shopper behavior research from Mercatus, a Toronto-based grocery e-commerce specialist, and Brick Meets Click, a Barrington, Illinois-based strategic advisory firm, which found that many consumers simply avoid grocery delivery services because of higher costs and because they’d rather select their own produce.
Source: supermarketnews.com