Northern Ireland excluded from Aldi expansion plans
Irish grocery retail market continues strong growth into 2016
German discounter Aldi yesterday announced plans for 80 new stores in the UK this year - but ruled out expanding to Northern Ireland. The group is experiencing massive growth across Britain and the Republic where it competes directly with Lidl, but has continually passed over the north. A spokesman for the firm told the Irish News yesterday: "Aldi will opening stores throughout the UK however the business does not have any plans to open stores in Northern Ireland." It comes as sales at sales continue to rocket at German rival Lidl across Northern Ireland.
Irish grocery retail market continues strong growth into 2016
The Irish grocery retail market has continued its strong growth into the new year, with shopper spend increasing by 3.8% for the 12 weeks to the end of January. This compares with growth of 3.5% for the sector over the Christmas period. The figures from Kantar Worldpanel show that SuperValu remains Ireland’s number one grocery retailer, with 25% of the market. Impressive sales growth of 4.4% in the last three months has seen the grocer perform ahead of the market, increasing its share from 24.8% last year.
Sobeys appoints company veteran Yves Laverdière as president
Sobeys Inc. today announced the appointment of Yves Laverdière as President of the company's Quebec business unit. Mr. Laverdière served for a 19 years as a senior leader within the Quebec business unit, most recently as the Senior Vice President, Merchandising, for the IGA banner. "Yves is a well respected, experienced food executive who understands all aspects of our business in Quebec," said Marc Poulin, President & CEO, Sobeys Inc. "He is well positioned to continue advancing our Joy of Eating Better strategy and executing our plan to serve the needs of our customers throughout the province. His expertise and insight will also prove of great value for our company as a whole."
Asda the worst online supermarket and Iceland the best
Budget frozen food titan Iceland has been named the best online supermarket chain in UK by the consumer watchdog Which?. In a poll conducted by Which? Iceland came better than bigger rivals Waitrose and Ocado by a fair margin. Interestingly Asda, the Walmart owned supermarket giant was placed in the bottom of the list with a mean 65 points. Others among the big four, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons performed slightly better. (internationalsupermarketnews.com)
Amazon to buy back its shares worth 5 billion
Amazon has announced its decision to buy back its shares worth 5 billion. This would be the first instance where the company will be buying back the shares in six years. (internationalsupermarketnews.com)
