Amazon Indonesia is about to become a reality, with the US e-commerce giant planning an investment of $600m for its first year in the market. Its move has been revealed by e-commerce Association of Indonesia (Idea) chairman Daniel Tumiwa, who says he does not know when Amazon will launch in Indonesia. (insideretail.asia)Spain: Grupo IFA turnover increases
Last Tuesday, Grupo IFA - the leading food and general merchandise retail group in Spain – has produced the financial results for 2015. The company closed 2015 with a consolidated turnover of € 11,233M, which represents an increase of 4.1% on last year´s performance for constant associates and a 6.9% total growth. Retailers say fresh is Millennial magnet
Retailers vying for Millennial business are shining a brighter spotlight on fresh foods, regardless of store format type. That was the message from a retailer panel at the United Fresh 2016 Conference in Chicago. "Our focus is on Millennials and women," said Andrew Lunt, director of merchandising and sales, Qik-n-EZ Convenience Stores, who discussed his company's "fresh-forward" format, which now includes some 12 locations serving central Illinois. (supermarketnews.com)Scotland: Lidl to invest £50m and create 300 new jobs
Lidl, which has a market share of 5.6% in Scotland, has announced a £50m investment in its property portfolio over the next 12 months and the creation of 300 jobs. Ross Millar, Lidl’s managing director in Scotland, said: “This latest phase in our growth is testament to the continued success of Lidl in Scotland. Our planned investment over the next 12 months signifies our commitment to Scotland and the fact that we are proud to serve Scotland with our best quality for the best price offering.” (thenational.scot)Kenya: Uchumi CEO hints at troubled supermarket receiving bailout
Uchumi Supermarkets Chief Executive Julius Kipng’etich has hinted that the cash-strapped retail store may have received a cash boost from the Government. This comes at a time when the retailer is engaged in what is perhaps its fiercest fight for survival after a High Court ruling that paved way for its liquidation. “The Government is backing us up. And you will see the Government cheque come soon,” a bullish Kipngetich told KTN in an interview yesterday. (standardmedia.co.ke) Auchan expands into Central Asia
French retail group Auchan Holding's first hypermarket in Tajikistan was opened on Tuesday, Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon's office said, following rival Carrefour into Central Asia. The hypermarket in Tajik capital Dushanbe is being operated by Auchan partner Schiever and is part of a $13m shopping mall project. Carrefour opened a store in Kazakhstan this year. (Reuters)Vietnam demands $159m tax on Big C deal: report
More than a month after France's Casino Group completed the US$1.04bn sale of supermarket chain Big C Vietnam to Thailand's Central Group, the Vietnamese tax authority has reportedly grown impatient with the late tax payment on the record deal. In a recent letter to the companies, the General Department of Taxation calculated the capital transfer tax for the deal at VND3.6 trillion ($159m) and threatened to block the transfer if the companies involved refuse to pay up, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported on Tuesday. Under Vietnam's existing laws, businesses have 10 days to pay taxes on the sale of their holdings since their negotiation is completed. Casino and Central have been 40 days overdue. (thanhniennews.com) Colruyt increases Belgium market share as revenue grows
Belgian retailer Colruyt has increased its market share to 31.5%, while also seeing its revenue rise by 2.9% to €9.1bn, according to its full year financial results. In the statement, Colruyt said that its gross profit was up 4.6% (gross profit margin rose to 25.3%), and that it ‘continues to invest in the long term’. Revenue from retail activities grew by 4.0% to €7.062m. Retail accounted for 76.9% of the group’s consolidated revenue. (esmmagazine.com)French competition watchdog to examine extended Carrefour-Provera alliance
France's Competition Authority will conduct a two-month investigation into a proposal by leading supermarket group Carrefour and Cora's Provera to expand a purchasing alliance. The investigation comes as the regulator continues to examine a purchasing and store-swap alliance between French supermarket group Auchan and Super U owner Systeme U to decide whether it would threaten competition in the sector. (Reuters)UK: Ocado reels as Amazon delivers
Shares of the world’s largest dedicated online supermarket Ocado have lost a quarter of their value in the last year, with the bulk of the losses this month, after US behemoth Amazon entered the UK grocery market. And if this wasn’t bad enough, hedge funds smell blood. At least 12 have short positions in Ocado stock, totalling over 19% of the company. (news.markets) India (Tamil Nadu): Online grocery store targets tier-2 cities
Coimbatore-based online grocery store Onlystaples.com, which launched its operations on Monday, is looking at expanding its presence in tier-2 cities across the state. It is planning to enter Madurai, Tiruchi, Salem and Erode within the next six months. "Our prices are competitive as we directly procure vegetables from farmers. We have tied up with nearly 300 farmers in and around Coimbatore," the company's CEO said. While it sources about 25% of its vegetable supplies from farmers, the rest is bought from wholesale suppliers. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) US: Walmart experimenting with robotic shopping cart for stores
Walmart is working with a robotics company to develop a shopping cart that helps customers find items on their lists and saves them from pushing a heavy cart through a sprawling store and parking lot, according to a person familiar with the matter. (Bloomberg)My Local Chain to be placed in administration
The convenience store chain, My Local, is to be placed in administration by its owners just nine months after buying it from Morrisons. The move, which is expected to be completed in the next few weeks, was explained to the company's 1,650 staff at a briefing on Tuesday and followed months of tough trading for the business. (news.sky.com)Default risk for Greece's biggest supermarket chain
The restructuring of Marinopoulos, Greece’s biggest supermarket chain, is under threat, as there appears to be disagreement among creditor banks, while suppliers who are owed a large amount between them are pressing for debt repayments to resume. Sources close to the historic retail group say any decisions will be made within the next couple of weeks – not including the option of Marinopoulos filing for protection from its creditors. (ekathimerini.com) Japanese Ministop pulls out from Indonesia
Japanese convenience store chain Ministop has announced that it will terminate the current franchise agreement with Indonesian retailer Bahagia Niaga Lestari (BNL). The partnership between Ministop and BNL was formed in 2012, yet it has failed to help the brand achieve growth over the past few years. (igd.com)Appleby Westward to buy 63 SPAR stores
Appleby Westward has reportedly agreed a deal to acquire Gillett’s Callington Ltd., one of the largest independent convenience retailers in the UK that operates 63 SPAR outlets throughout Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset. (kamcity.com)Chinese delegation visits leading European retailers
Asda, Spar and other retailers received a visit and gave the Chinese delegation an insight into how European fresh and environmental temperature chains work. "The close collaborations and trade relations between China and Europe are very important to us. the delegation's leader, Gu Xueming, said. “We took this 
opportunity wholeheartedly, because this way we could show how standardized pallets and containers benefit the entire supply chain: from growers, packagers and retailers to consumers of fresh agricultural products." (retaildetail.eu) 
Whole Foods macadamia nuts recalledMarin Foods Specialties Inc. is recalling packaged raw macadamia nuts sold in Whole Foods Market stores because of possible Salmonella contamination. (foodsafetynews.com)
Cora sees sales rise in France
Belgium-based, Louis-Delhaize operated Cora has seen its sales rise in France, by 3.2% to €4.72bn, according to reports in Linéaires. Cora hypermarkets have been struggling in France in recent years, with a 6.3% contraction in sales seen in 2014, and, therefore, 2015’s performance markets a strong turnaround for the retailer. (igd.com) 
As grocers double down on e-commerce, competitive pressure mounts for PublixPlease, click here to read the article.
