UK: Tesco sets out store expansion plans in 2026 including five former Amazon Fresh sites
Tesco reported: "The supermarket opened 60 new Express stores in 2025 and is on track to deliver over 70 more Express stores before March 2027. Tesco's growth has been boosted by the acquisition of five former Amazon Fresh stores in London. These sites in Kensington High Street, Hounslow, Moorgate, Aldgate East and Wembley will reopen as Tesco Express stores before the summer".
Source: tescoplc.com
Lazada RedMart Now service makes promise of groceries delivered within 30 minutes
Lazada, an e-commerce platform operating in Southeast Asia, has launched a speedy grocery delivery service within its RedMart supermarket arm. In a LinkedIn post, Craig Massingham, Product Design Leader at Lazada, said: "RedMart Now is live! Groceries in as fast as 30 minutes. Most grocery trips aren't planned. They happen when you realise you're missing snacks before guests arrive, or essentials right before dinner. Those moments are driven by urgency, not weekly planning. That's why we launched RedMart Now".
Source: retailtechinnovationhub.com
France: Casino Group and Spar International commit to a long-term partnership
Casino Group reported: "Casino Group announces a major development in its partnership with SPAR International, marking the transition from an agreement that was historically renewable every ten years to an agreement secured until 2039 and designed to continue beyond".
Source: groupe-casino.fr
Billa Czech Republic targets 15 store openings in 2026
Billa Czech Republic invested CZK 2.5bln (€100mln) in 2025, opening 15 new stores and renovating over 40 others, bringing its total network to 289. For 2026, Billa plans to increase its investments to approximately CZK 2.8bln (€112mln), aiming to open a further 15 stores and continue modernising existing ones.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: Supermarket giant Morrisons explores £1bln property deal
Sky News reported: "Morrisons, the UK's fifth-largest supermarket chain, is exploring a £1bln property deal amid its battle to recapture the ground it has lost to rivals including Sainsbury's and Aldi. Sky News has learnt that Morrisons, which is based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, has engaged the real estate advisory firm CBRE to evaluate options for raising finance secured against part of its large freehold store portfolio".
Source: news.sky.com
Sweden: Strong finish to 2025 for ICA Gruppen
ICA Gruppen reported: "ICA Gruppen's report for the last four months of the year (T3) shows that all Group companies posted a strong finish to the year. Customer visits increased and ICA stores and Apotek Hjärtat both outperformed the market. For the Group as a whole, net sales increased 5.8% in T3 to SEK 48,531mln (45,880). Operating profit excluding items affecting comparability and IFRS 16 Leases increased to SEK 1,614mln (1,555), corresponding to an operating margin of 3.3% (3.4). The operating margin for ICA Sweden was down year-on-year at 3.3% (3.4) and operating profit excl. items affecting comparability amounted to SEK 1,293mln (1,256)".
Source: icagruppen.se
Switzerland: Denner eyes 1,000 stores, 10% market share
Swiss discounter Denner achieved marginal sales growth of 0.13% in its 2025 financial year, reaching CHF 3.9bln (€4.07bln) across its 612 self-owned stores and 260 partner businesses. CEO Torsten Friedrich highlighted the company's ambitions, saying: "Our goal is to expand our branch network to 1,000 locations in the medium term and to solidify a market share of 10%. To achieve this, we are investing long-term in pricing, our branch network, logistics and infrastructure."
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: Waitrose secures future of store with acquisition of shopping centre
Waitrose has acquired the freehold of the Hersham Green Shopping Centre in Surrey to secure the future of its 20-year-old store on the development. As the new owner of the 54,000 sq. ft. centre, Waitrose will also become the landlord for the 16 additional retail units on site.
Source: kamcity.com
Lidl opens its largest global store in France
Lidl inaugurated an extraordinary and record-breaking store in Muret. This new store stands out with a completely redesigned layout. The worlds of fresh, fruit and vegetables, meat and poultry are organized vertically. And this is a first for the brand.
Source: discountretailconsulting.com
Ahold Delhaize initiates arbitration proceedings against Serbian price restrictions
Ahold Delhaize is suffering significant damage as a result of state intervention by the Serbian government, which is restricting margins, among other things. The retailer, which has been forced to close stores and cut jobs, is turning to the World Bank.
Source: retaildetail.eu
UK: Ocado to axe up to 1,000 jobs in cost-cutting drive, Sunday Times reports
Reuters reported: "British technology and online grocery group Ocado plans to cut up to 1,000 jobs, or roughly 5% of its workforce, as part of a renewed cost-cutting drive following a difficult year for its automated warehouse business, the Sunday Times reported".
Source: esmmagazine.com
US: Walmart brings 'next-gen' supercenter to Jacksonville
Walmart is expanding its footprint in Florida - this time in the state's largest city. The retail giant has opened its newest next-generation supercenter in Jacksonville's Oakleaf Plantation master-planned community.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Amazon.com announces fourth quarter results
Amazon.com, Inc. announced financial results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2025. Net sales increased 14% to $213.4bln in the fourth quarter, compared with $187.8bln in fourth quarter 2024. Excluding the $2.8bln favorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales increased 12% compared with fourth quarter 2024. Operating income increased to $25.0bln in the fourth quarter, compared with $21.2bln in fourth quarter 2024. Fourth quarter 2025 operating income includes three special charges - $1.1bln for the resolution of tax disputes associated with our stores business in Italy, and the settlement of a lawsuit, $730mln in estimated severance costs, and $610mln in asset impairments primarily related to physical stores. Without these charges, operating income would have been $27.4bln.
Source: aboutamazon.com
US: NationsBenefits launches fintech integration at Giant Eagle to advance food as medicine access across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic
NationsBenefits® announced a retail technology integration with Giant Eagle, one of the nation's largest food retailers and distributors. Through NationsBenefits real-time Basket Adjudication Service (BAS) and the NationsBenefits Benefits Mastercard® Flex Card, eligible health-plan members can pay for fresh produce, pantry staples, and over-the-counter wellness items at more than 200 Giant Eagle supermarkets, where item-level eligibility is validated at checkout in just milliseconds.
Source: businesswire.com
US: Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage announces first quarter fiscal 2026 results
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. announced results for its first quarter of fiscal 2026 ended December 31, 2025. Highlights for first quarter fiscal 2026 compared to first quarter fiscal 2025: net sales increased 1.6% to $335.6mln; daily average comparable store sales increased 1.7%, and 10.6% on a two-year basis; net income increased 14.0% to $11.3mln, with diluted earnings per share of $0.49; adjusted EBITDA increased 3.1% to $23.5mln.
Source: prnewswire.com
Kroger to name former Walmart exec Greg Foran as next CEO, WSJ reports
Reuters reported: "Grocery giant Kroger plans to hire Greg Foran, who previously headed an airline and Walmart's US unit, as chief executive officer, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter".
Source: esmmagazine.com
