The world's biggest retailer Walmart Stores is exploring an equity partnership with Flipkart to take on common rival Amazon in India, two persons directly aware of the development said. The companies are engaged in early talks and a meeting is scheduled this week that will include discussions on Walmart picking up a minority stake in India's largest ecommerce company, the sources said. (indiatimes.com) UK: Sainsbury's one-hour delivery service takes on Amazon
Sainsbury’s is to fight back against Amazon with a one-hour grocery delivery service in London. The supermarket, which recently bought Argos as part of its efforts to see off the American online retail specialist, has developed an app called Chop Chop, through which shoppers can order up to 20 items to be delivered from a local store within an hour. (theguardian.com)US: FreshDirect to expand one-hour grocery delivery service
FreshDirect, an online grocer that has a large following in the New York metropolitan area, has secured a $189m investment led by JPMorgan Asset Management. The money will be used to launch its grocery delivery service in more cities, and to expand new business units and incubate others. A portion of the investment will also go toward buying shares from some early investors, the company’s CEO, Jason Ackerman, confirmed in an interview, but he declined to provide more details. (recode.net) 'Amazon Fresh would disrupt AU market'
Australia's biggest retailers could take huge hits to sales and profits with online behemoth Amazon tipped to storm into the local market. The expansionist U.S. company could grab as much as $4bn in sales from established players. An even bigger disruption would be if the online retailer bought its Amazon Fresh business to Australia in competition with Coles and Woolworths. 'Amazon Fresh would be a disruptive force on the Australian grocery market, but developing the supply chain and dealing with Australia's lower capital city population density makes entry more challenging,' City analyst Craig Woolford wrote in the 40-page report. Please, click here to read more at dailymail.co.uk. Spain: El Corte Inglés and Repsol to open 20 Supercor Stop & Go stores
El Corte Inglés and Repsol have agreed to extend the network of Supercor Stop & Go forecourt outlets in the near future. As reported by eleconomista.es, there are currently 39 of these shops in operation, with another 20 planned. (esmmagazine.com) Auchan Retail France expands Coeur de Nature store
Auchan Retail France has opened its second Coeur de Nature store, specialising in 100% organic produce, in the heart of Paris. Coeur de Nature offers a range of organic and eco-friendly services and products. (esmmagazine.com)Aldi says it will keep cutting prices
Aldi will keep cutting prices to ensure that it stays the cheapest grocer in Britain, even if that means it makes a loss, the discount chain’s chief executive has promised. Matthew Barnes said that Aldi had made a “contract” with shoppers that it would not break, regardless of investing in price cuts alongside a huge spending programme as it opens hundreds of new stores. (thetimes.co.uk) US: Walmart CEO explains Jet.com acquisition
Walmart announced its plans last month to acquire digital commerce startup Jet.com for around $3.3bn. The deal became official last week and in celebration of the ink drying on the billion dollar transaction, Walmart CEO and president Doug McMillon, penned a blog on Walmart’s website outlining the benefits of the deal and why the Walmart leadership team decided to acquire the still unproven Jet. Click here to read five key reason’s Walmart acquired Jet in McMillon’s own words. (risnews.edgl.com)Verdict Retail: Aldi UK ‘now a mature market player’
Analysts, Verdict Retail, have said that Aldi is now ‘an established and mature market player’ in the UK market, and is no longer the ‘incumbent market disruptor’ of a few years ago. Commenting on the back of results that showed sales of £7.7bn in Aldi UK’s most recent financial year, and an operating profit of £255.6m (a 1.8% decline year on year), Verdict’s Greg Bromley said the discounter is still the envy of its rivals. (esmmagazine.com)Alfamart to double its store number in the Philippines
Indonesia’s leading minimart operator Alfamart aims to scale up its operation in the Philippines, increasing the number of its stores in the country from the current 185 to 400 next year. The retailer also wants to add a distribution point to complement the existing one in Greater Manila. (igd.com)Portuguese leading supermarket promotion hunters
The Portuguese are among those most influenced by supermarket promotions, a study has found. According to the international study by Nielsen, confirmed by local price comparison site KauntoKusta Supermercados, three in four Portuguese seek out the best offers before entering a supermarket. (esmmagazine.com)Aldi launches fresh search for Scotland’s next top food or drink product
Business in the Borders, are being encouraged to submit their popular products to ALDI as a new competition launches. Following it's debut in 2015, the supermarket chain is on the hunt again for Scotland's Next Top Product and searching for a new hit with Scottish Shoppers. The competition launches tomorrow (Tuesday, September 27), and the winning Scottish food or drink product will follow in the footsteps of last year’s winners, Argo’s Orkney Caramel Shortbread and Cobbs Chocolate Brownies, due to launch in all 67 Scottish stores as part of a deal worth more than £175,000. (bordertelegraph.com)Dunnes tied with Tesco as Ireland's second-largest supermarket
Dunnes Stores has increased its share of the Irish grocery market as its sales grew by 6.3% over the 12 weeks to September 11. The supermarket chain is now tied for second position with Tesco, with each retailer having 21.6% of the Irish grocery market, the latest supermarket share figures from Kantar Worldpanel show. SuperValu remains the country's biggest grocer with a 22.4% share of the market. It increased sales by 3.1% in the 12 week period compared to the same time last year. (rte.ie)Philippines: Double Dragon plans 100 CityMalls
Listed Philippine property developer, Double Dragon, plans to build a network of 100 neighbourhood style shopping malls across the Philippines by 2020. The company has already opened eight CityMall centres and secured 53 sites to date. (insideretail.asia) US: Albertsons HQ gets Idaho tax break
The Idaho Department of Commerce has agreed to reimburse 30% of grocery chain Albertsons' state taxes for the next 15 years under a plan intended to promote job growth in Idaho. (djc.com)Russia: Dixy Group to highlight Russian cuisine
Russia’s Dixy Group has launched what it describes as a series of food ‘festivals’, each of which will showcase the cuisine from a different part of Russia. Each week, some twenty products from a particular region will be added to Dixy’s product assortment. The first festival is dedicated to cuisine from the Urals region. (esmmagazine.com)Denmark: REMA 1000 launches Vigo shop and delivery service
Scandinavian discounter REMA 1000 has launched VIGO, a new convenient shopping and delivery solution, in Denmark. The initiative should allow REMA 1000 to reach a wider audience of shoppers who are looking for increasingly convenient delivery solutions, while paying people depending on the volume of goods delivered, helps tie in with the retailer’s low cost operating model. As the collaborative economy develops, leading Scandinavian discounter REMA 1000 has VIGO, a new convenient shopping and delivery solution, in Denmark. (igd.com)
