Why Jumbo will leave Belgium in 2023
Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo is struggling in Belgium: the group has had to put another 20mln euros into the loss-making branch. Analysts wonder how long the Dutch retailer will keep up its Belgian plans. This is already the second time shareholders have come to the rescue, Belgian newspaper De Tijd reports: in November 2021, the Belgian branch had already received 25mln euros in support. Last financial year, the chain suffered an operating loss of 5.5mln euros in Belgium, on a turnover of 108.5mln. Before the previous injection of capital, the division had a negative equity of 11mln.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Biggest SEVEN FRESH store in South China opens
SEVEN FRESH opened its largest one-stop shopping experience center in South China; located in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. The innovative integration of JD’s cross-category supply chain capability ensures that products can be stocked within 48 hours, from the origin to the shelves. As a result, consumers are able to purchase fresh ingredients from all over the world in SEVEN FRESH, such as beef from Australia, 4J-grade Chilean cherries, and forearm-length mantis shrimp.
Source: jdcorporateblog.com
Greece’s Veropoulos invests €15mln in Serbian hypermarket
Greek retail group Veropoulos has invested €15mln in its largest outlet in the Balkans, located in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad. The Super Vero assortment consists of over 17,000 food and non-food SKUs, including around 600 Greek products, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, olives, olive oil, confectionery, teas, natural cosmetics and Monoxilitis products from Mount Athos.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: Morrisons kickstarts the year with price cuts on Savers range
Morrisons is cutting 130 prices across its entry level products to help customers’ money go further throughout the January squeeze. Fresh products such as bacon, cooked chicken and cheese which can be used to make hearty meals have had their prices reduced as well as fruit and vegetables including apples, pears and potatoes. Morrisons entry level range has 263 products, 28 of which were new additions within the last six months. This month the range will grow further with the introduction of cherry tomatoes, easy peel oranges, green beans and mixed peppers.
Source: morrisons-corporate.com
Adapta Robotics launches first retail robot on Romanian market
Adapta Robotics, a company specializing in the design and production of non-industrial robots, recently launched ERIS, the first retail robot on the Romanian market, in partnership with Carrefour Romania.
Source: romania-insider.com
BigBasket 2022 recap: The most-ordered vegetable in India was… no, not potato or onion
Online grocery shopping platform BigBasket has released its annual report for the year 2022. The Tata Group’s food and grocery delivery business delivered more than 16 crore orders across 55 cities in the past year. BigBasket’s 2022 recap provides some insights into how Indians shopped for groceries in 2022. The most-ordered vegetable on the BigBasket app was technically not a vegetable at all. BigBasket said that tomato was the most sold vegetable in 2022, overtaking other popular contenders like potato and onion.
Source: moneycontrol.com
UK: Asda shoppers can get vegetables for completely free after Christmas
Asda is offering customers free vegetables in certain stores after Christmas. The supermarket is giving away bags of veg at select supermarkets to reduce food waste. The new scheme is being highlighted on social media by shoppers who have praised the new initiative. Asda customers can get a whole range of veg such as carrots, broccoli, potatoes and more.
Source: birminghammail.co.uk
Spain's biggest retailer Mercadona to raise wages in line with inflation
Privately-owned supermarket chain Mercadona approved wage increases for its entire workforce in Spain and Portugal, saying they would be in line with the official rate of inflation recorded in December. "The aim is to maintain the purchasing power of all people who form part of Mercadona, because they are the customers' best asset", the retailer - Spain's largest by revenue and market share - said in a statement.
Source: reuters.com
Holland: Picnic sees “no problem” in tripled losses
Dutch online supermarket Picnic saw its losses triple in 2021, but co-founder Michiel Muller says that growth remains the first requirement, even as other e-commerce players put on the brakes. Picnic ended 2021 with a loss of 114mln euros, almost three times more than in 2020. Turnover went up by half to 719mln euros. It is already certain that the online supermarket will also remain below zero in 2022, but it is not clear yet what the impact of the purchasing power crisis and cost inflation will be in 2022.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Philippines: Potato Corner lands in London and Dubai, marks the opening of its 1,400th store
Potato Corner (PC), the leader in kiosk-based flavored fries in the Philippines, announced the opening of its first ever store in London, United Kingdom. With its arrival in the British Isles, the homegrown Filipino brand established its global presence in five continents - Asia, North America, South America, Australia, and now, Europe. The new store is located at the Medz Corner Food Court along Kensington High Street, a major shopping district in London. The brand recently opened another new territory, setting foot in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), for the first time. The flavored fries giant likewise marked the opening of its 1,400th store in the world. The milestone store is located in the Philippines, particularly in Zarraga, Iloilo, franchised by serial entrepreneur Jess Garcia.
Source: shakeyspizza.ph
Gruppo VéGé renews partnership with Metro Italia
Northern Italian grocery retail cooperative Gruppo Végé has renewed its existing partnership with wholesaler Metro Italia. Under the terms of the agreement, Gruppo VéGé will be in charge of conducting negotiations with several product suppliers on behalf of Metro Italia, in order to obtain the best possible supply conditions.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Israel's Shufersal to set up supermarkets under SPAR label
Shufersal, Israel's largest supermarket chain, said it signed a deal to set up a network of stores in the country for the Dutch food retail chain SPAR, which should increase competition and may stem soaring food prices. Under a memorandum of understanding, Shufersal said it would invest tens of millions of shekels to open at least 10 SPAR branches over the next three years, while SPAR products will be sold exclusively in other Shufersal-run stores. The agreement is subject to the approval of SPAR and of Israel's competition authority.
Source: reuters.com
Carrefour Brasil closes 2022 with 91 new stores
Carrefour Brasil has completed its last major shop opening of the year, ending 2022 with 91 new outlets in total. Of this figure, 59 are store conversions, which is nine ahead of the retailer's estimate of 50 store conversions that was announced in the third quarter of the year.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Casino's GPA prepares to spin off Colombian supermarket operator Exito
Brazilian retailer GPA said it had taken the first steps towards spinning off its Colombian subsidiary Almacenes Exito SA and plans to distribute its shares to existing shareholders. The deal is still pending necessary approvals, including from GPA's shareholders and regulators, the retailer said.
Source: reuters.com
