Lidl Italia has won the 'Chain of the Year' and 'Best Supermarket of the Year' award for the fourth time in a row. The award was established in 2003 and is organised by SEIC-Studio Orlandini and Q&A Research & Consultancy. Lidl Italia won not only in its category (supermarkets), but also garnered the prize for the retail chain that received the best feedback, by number of votes and average of votes. (esmmagazine.com)South African retailer Spar Group pulls out of Zimbabwe
South African retailer and wholesaler Spar Group has closed its distribution centre in Zimbabwe due to weak economic growth and will now supply independent stores from South Africa, the firm's CEO said on Wednesday. (Reuters)
Smart & Final Stores reports Q3 resultsSmart & Final stores on Wednesday reported Q3 earnings of $7 million. Click here to read the article.
Falling food prices hurt Wal-Mart sales
Wal-Mart Stores Inc on Thursday reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales at established US stores, citing declining food prices and warmer-than-usual temperatures that curbed demand for seasonal items. Wal-Mart's sales at US stores open at least a year rose 1.2%, in the third quarter ended on Oct. 31. Comparable food sales fell 1.5%, versus a 1% decrease in the second quarter. US store visits rose 0.7%, slowing from increases of 1.7% a year earlier and 1.2% in the second quarter. Net income attributable to Wal-Mart fell more than 8% to $3.03bn, from $3.3bn, a year earlier. Net sales rose 0.5% to $117.2bn. (Reuters)Tesco tells big suppliers - Don't raise prices
Britain's biggest retailer Tesco has warned its multi-national suppliers against pushing up prices following a drop in the pound just so they can maintain their reported profits. In his first public comments since last month's "Marmitegate" row between Unilever and Tesco over who should take the hit from the weaker pound, the supermarket's CEO Dave Lewis said that when there is a currency devaluation, multi-national businesses present results in both constant and current exchange rates. (Reuters)AU: Grocery Run named favourite online grocer
Online retailer GroceryRun has scored top marks for customer satisfaction, beating out Coles and Woolworths, according to market research firm Canstar. Coles and Woolworths scored four stars for overall satisfaction in the survey of 1500 shoppers, while Aussie Farmers Direct scored three stars. 32% of GroceryRun customers griped about fees, compared with 27% of both Coles and Woolworths customers, and just 12% of Aussie Farmers Direct customers. (news.com.au) Natural Grocers to moderate store growth
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage on Thursday said it expected to build fewer new stores — and post modest same-store sales — in its new fiscal year. That news came as the retailer announced results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended September 30, 2016. The company said that earnings were down by 49.3%. Net sales increased 11.5% to $181.0m in the fourth quarter and increased 12.9%. Comparable store sales increased 0.3% in the fourth quarter and increased 1.7% in the fiscal year. The retailer opened 23 new stores in fiscal 2016, compared to 16 new stores in fiscal 2015. (prnewswire.com/supermarketnews.com) UK: Asda's sales slump again
Asda, the British supermarket arm of US giant Wal-Mart, reported another sharp drop in quarterly underlying sales on Thursday, highlighting the pressure on its new boss to turn around the sector laggard. Asda said underlying sales, excluding fuel, fell 5.8% in the three months to end September, an improvement on the record 7.5% drop recorded in the previous period but still the ninth straight quarter of decline. (Reuters)Wamart International: strength in focus markets
Walmart international continues to deliver solid results, with sales up 2.4% on a constant currency basis. Ten of Walmart’s 11 key markets delivered positive comp store sales, with seven of those growing comps by more than 4%. Growth was led by Brazil, with comp store sales up 8.1%, driven by a 7.6% increase in ticket, Walmex, up 7.0%, and China up 1.6%. Comp store sales increased by 1.1% in Canada. In the UK, net sales declined by 3.8%, with comp store sales down 5.8%. (igd.com)Portuguese organic chain Brio grows 10% in 2016
Portuguese organic supermarket chain Brio should end 2016 with a turnover of €5m, a 10% growth on 2015. The positive trend should continue in 2017, when turnover could reach €5.5m, based on the performance of its eight existing stores. (esmmagazine.com) Croatia to examine quality of local goods
Croatia is launching an investigation to see if there is a difference in the quality of local goods compared to Western Europe. This in-depth study is part of an initiative by MEP Biljana Borzan in cooperation with the Croatian Food Agency (HAH). A survey conducted by GfK revealed that 82.6% of Croatian citizens believe that products intended for the Eastern European market are of lower quality than those for Western Europe. In addition, 73% believe that there is a price difference. (esmmagazine.com)Walmart interested in Peru’s agro-export supply
Peru draws interest from the US largest supermarket chain Walmart, the Andean country's Agriculture and Irrigation Ministry confirmed. The US corporation is interested in assessing mechanisms to increase national agricultural products’ purchase volumes, which currently rely on a great demand not only in the North American country, but also in the rest of the world, Walmart International's Chief Administrative Officer Scott Price explained on Wednesday. Please, click here to read more at andina.com.pe. US: CPI shows 6th straight month of retail deflation
Prices at grocery stores declined on a year-over-year basis for the 11th consecutive month in October, and continued to contrast rising prices for food at restaurants, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday in a monthly update to its Consumer Price Index. The CPI Food At Home index, a proxy for supermarket food sales, was down by 2.3% for the 12 months ended in October. Food Away From Home increased by 2.4% for the same period. (supermarketnews.com)Indian e-grocers extend delivery time as demand for fresh surges
Given the rush for buying fruits and vegetables online through cards and m-wallets, customers may not get deliveries as and when required for at least another 10 days as e-grocers try to deal with the sudden demand surge post-demonetisation. Asked about delays in deliveries, if any, BigBasket replied: “Due to the sudden surge in demand, we are actively building our logistics and manpower to deliver all the orders. Till such time that we complete training etc, customers may not find a convenient slot of their choice.” (thehindu.com) 
Loblaw, Metro talks with suppliers pay offPlease, click here to read the article.
Walmart Canada snatches more gains from traditional grocers
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US: Sanders out as Sprouts chairman
Former CEO of Sprouts Farmers Market Doug Sanders is stepping down as executive chairman of the board to become CEO of a technology company, the retailer announced. Sanders, who first joined Phoenix-based Sprouts in 2002 and ascended to president and CEO in 2012, became executive chairman in August 2015 after a leadership shakeup that promoted Amin Maredia to the CEO role. Sanders’ resignation will become effective at the board’s next scheduled meeting on Feb. 20. (supermarketnews.com)South-African Woolworths benefiting from food sales
Woolworths has published a trading update for the 19 weeks ending 6 November highlighting the benefit it is gaining from food sales, which are helping to offset slower growth in clothing. Group sales increased by 8.9%, while Woolworths Food’s sales rose by 9.1%, albeit it said its price movement was 9.2% for the period, aided by comparable store sales growth of 4.9% and net retail space growth of 8.3%. Woolworths said its internal food inflation was ‘in line with the 7.2% reported by Shoprite’. By comparison, the retailer said that its Clothing and General Merchandise sales increased by 2.0%. (igd.com)Spar Oman opens first 24/7 supermarket
Spar Oman has opened its tenth supermarket in the country, the first to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It features a large range of fresh service departments such as fruit and vegetables, food-to-go, as well as a butcher's counter. (esmmagazine.com) Serbians prefer neighbourhood stores to hypermarkets
The economic crisis has changed the habits of Serbian consumers, who are increasingly shunning hypermarkets in favour of smaller retail formats. A survey by research agency GfK, published in daily Večernje Novosti, reveals that Serbians are increasingly doing their shopping in neighbourhood stores, traditional grocery stores and mini-markets. (esmmagazine.com)