Indonesia’s retailer, PT Ramayana Lestari Sentosa Tbk has tied up with Dutch retail major SPAR International BV to open 55 stores across the country by 2018, said the company. Ramayana is targeting to open at least 15 “SPAR” food retail stores in Indonesia, this year, it added. The new partnership agreement between Ramayana and SPAR was signed in September 2014 and represents a further development in the growth of SPAR in Asia. SPAR is one of the world’s largest food retail chains, with over 12,000 stores worldwide, and global retail sales of €32.2bn in 2013. (dealstreetasia.com)US: Kroger/Roundy's merger may mean lower prices, anlysts say.
Because Kroger is such an empire, it orders product in much larger quantities than Roundy's, which means Kroger can get it at lower prices. Analysts said that savings will likely be passed on to consumers at all Roundy stores, including Pick 'n Saves and Metro Markets. (tmj4.com)UK: Aldi and Lidl plot to open five times as many stores as 'Big Four'
Aldi and Lidl are plotting to open more than five times as many new supermarkets as their “Big Four” rivals combined, as the budget chains’ rampant UK expansion continues apace. Fresh industry figures show that this year Aldi has filed 93 planning applications to open new stores, while its German low-cost peer Lidl has lodged 78. This is more than double 
the number suggested earlier in the year. In stark comparison, Tesco, Morrison’s, J Sainsbury and Asda have filed a total of just 29 planning applications, according to figures complied by Barbour ABI exclusively for The Sunday Telegraph. (telegraph.co.uk)US: A&P to shutter remaining stores soon
A&P expects to sell its last groceries before the month ends, but the company now has more time to make a last-ditch effort to market its remaining stores. There are 57 other supermarkets and 17 liquor stores still unsold, A&P lawyer Ray Schrock said during a hearing Friday. (lohud.com)US: Albertsons wins bid for Haggen stores
Court documents filed Friday in the Haggen supermarket chain bankruptcy case reveal that Albertsons was the successful bidder for 12 Washington Haggen stores that had gone on the block. The documents also propose that six of the auctioned stores be branded as Albertsons stores and six as Safeway stores. Albertsons owns Safeway, and it was that merger that led the Federal Trade Commission to order the company to divest itself of Albertsons or Safeway stores that were near one another. Haggen acquired 146 West Coast stores that regulators required to be sold. (thenewstribune.com)Russian retailer X5 replaces premium chain Ogni stolitsy with Perekrestok supermarkets
Russian retail giant X5 Retail Group is replacing its premium chain Ogni stolitsy with the supermarket Perekrestok and Perekrestok express, reports the-village.ru. According to a representative of the company, two of the stores have already been replaced with the supermarkets, and another three will be before the end of the year. The company is forced to replace the stores because of the sharp decline in purchasing power of Russian citizens. As has been previously reported here, Russians now opt for cheaper goods and discount retailers.US: Walmart workers go on hunger strike
Workers for the retail giant Walmart began fasting Friday in a protest expected to last until Black Friday to demand higher wages and more benefits. The protest is being led by the opposition OUR Walmart, and will end during the group’s fourth annual Black Friday protest. The protest aims to put pressure on the company during one of its busiest days of year. (dailycaller.com)US: Stop & Shop to complete final conversion of 25 A&P stores
The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC announced it will complete its multi-million dollar conversion of 25 A&P stores in the Greater New York area when it opens the final acquired store on Thursday, November 19th in Mt. Kisco, New York at 195 North Bedford Avenue. "We've nearly completed the conversion process of all 25 acquired A&P stores to Stop & Shop stores. (prnewswire.com)OK Zim revenue declines by 7.9%
OK ZIMBABWE Limited revenue declined by 7.9% to $213.6m for the six months ended September 30, 2015 due to lower consumer spending. Profit after tax tumbled to $1.2m from $4.3m in 2014. Overheads decreased by 5.5% to $34.2m from the comparable period attributed to cost cutting initiatives. (newsday.co.zw)Ahold and Delhaize announce future executive team
Ahold and Delhaize have revealed the composition of the executive team that will oversee the combined group, once the merger of the two retail giants is completed. As announced in 
June, the Executive Committee will comprise of Management Board members CEO Dick Boer, Deputy CEO and Chief Integration Officer Frans Muller, CFO Jeff Carr, COO for Europe Pierre Bouchut, COO for USA Kevin Holt, and COO for USA James McCann. The two sides reiterated their expectations to complete the merger by mid-2016. (kamcity.com)Portugal's Jumbo opens first new store in four years
Auchan Portugal has opened a new Jumbo hypermarket in Sintra, the first new store of this format since 2011. As a result of partnerships with local suppliers, the product offer includes numerous regional products such as fruits and vegetables, nuts, cakes, and wine. (esmmagazine.com)Portugal: Sonae exporting private label to 28 countries
Sonae has announced that its Continente banner is exporting its private label ranges to 28 countries, up from the 10 it exported them to at the end of 2014. The company said that its private label ranges had been enhanced by the acquisition of Makenotes, a Portuguese stationery manufacturer. (igd.com)Aldi Nord will introduce name brands
This summer, Aldi Süd announced it would include more than 50 name brands into its product range, while Aldi Nord has kept the range of name brands rather limited, although it will change that in the future according to German LebensmittelZeitung. Aldi Süd's name brand push has apparently been so successful Aldi Nord could not continue to ignore its positive effects. (retaildetail.eu)Malaysia: 7-Eleven scraps plans for DC
7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd, the country's largest convenience store chain, has scrapped plans to use RM40.79m from its initial public offering (IPO) to build a combined distribution centre. Instead, the money will now be allocated for working capital. (theedgemarkets.com)Philippines: Robinsons Retail profit up 18% at P3.11bn
Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (RRHI) registered P1.16bn in net income during the third quarter of 2015, up 8% from P1.07bn a year earlier. Net sales advanced by 14% to P21.9bn from P19.2bn, and operating income improved by 4.6% to P1.13bn from P1.08bn. A strong turnover from new and existing stores kept the RRHI’s net income afloat by 18% to P3.11bn in January to September from P2.62bn in the same period last year. (manilatimes.net)US: Amazon, Target, Google, big players in online groceries (VIDEO)
Storepower CEO Richard Demb discusses the $600bn a year online grocery business. He speaks on "Bloomberg Markets." (Source: Bloomberg)
US: Walmart gives shoppers taste of grocery pickup
Walmart Stores Inc. is opening up grocery pickup locations in markets across the US. "Customers tell us when they're ready or not," CEO Fernando Madeira said. "Grocery, we've been experimenting with grocery home shopping for a long time. Now we see customers really asking us for more. They want to see these things in their cities. As customers are ready, we can accelerate." (arkansasonline.com)UK: Nisa responds to retailer demands
Nisa retailers who “cherry pick” the best deals and are not pulling their weight with the wholesaler could face future contract problems, reports today’s Independent Retail News. New management at Nisa has set its sights on the small minority of symbol members who are “not contributing to the club”. Nisa CEO Nick Read, a former customer services director at Tesco who joined the wholesaler in February, said there were a few retailers using Nisa to “cherry pick” the best deals. “When you have 1,260 members, everybody needs to contribute and there is a proportion [of retailers] who are not,” he told a briefing of trade press journalists last week. Nisa supplies retailers with annual turnovers ranging from just £0.5m to larger groups with turnovers of more than £20m and Read believes the number of retailers not pulling their weight to be in the “20s”. (talkingretail.com)US: Target pushing ahead with smaller format stores
Next year Target is currently planning on opening eight new stores and three the following year. Ten of these stores are confirmed as smaller formats, with an average store size of 25,200 sq ft. (igd.com)