China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said it has formed a strategic partnership with Bailian Group, the largest retailer by store numbers to join the e-commerce giant's drive to use big data to improve and profit from bricks-and-mortar sales. The deal, which does not include any financial investment in Bailian, is the latest in Alibaba's still nascent efforts to capture a bigger share of the retail market as online sales growth slows. (Reuters)DPD Germany enters grocery market
DPD Germany is entering the food delivery market. The German parcel and express service provider will deliver online groceries and other food products. HelloFresh is the first customer to use the service that’s being named DPD Food. Later this year, the service will be available for other customers. The company said it is convinced that online grocery retail has enormous potential. (ecommercenews.eu) Steinhoff’s Shoprite talks collapse
Steinhoff International Holdings NV and Shoprite Holdings Ltd. ended talks to create Africa’s biggest retailer after negotiations with shareholders, including billionaire Christo Wiese, broke down over terms. Wiese, who is the biggest investor in both companies, South Africa’s Public Investment Corp. and Steinhoff were unable to reach agreement on the share-exchange ratio that would have been applied to the proposed deal, the retailers said in a joint statement on Monday. (Bloomberg)German supermarket offers produce at "pay what you want price"
A new supermarket in Germany, called “The Good Food”, only sells food that would be tossed out by most grocery stores. While they are not the first store to sell would-be-garbage goods, they are the first to be a “pay what you want” establishment. The store sells a wide range of products including fruits and vegetables. (modernfarmer.com) Amazon plans 5000 new jobs in UK
Online retail giant Amazon has said it will create 5,000 new full-time jobs in the UK this year. The firm said it was looking for a range of staff including software developers and warehouse staff. There will be jobs at Amazon's head office in London, as well as in the Edinburgh customer service centre and in three new warehouses. (BBC) Israel: Yenot Bitan faces $6.9m antitrust penalty
The Israel Antitrust Authority said Sunday it planned to impose a giant, 25.6-million-shekel ($6.9m) penalty on the grocery chain Yenot Bitan for violating antitrust rules in connection with its takeover of the Mega chain. On top of the fine on the company, the authority said it would fine Nahum Bitan, the controlling shareholder of the closely held supermarket chain, 700,000 shekels. (haaretz.com) Ireland: Quiet aisles in Tesco as striking staff keep their resolve
As the Tesco strike entered its second week there was no sign of staff resolve weakening. While management continued to stress that all stores remained open over the weekend, it was anything but business as usual in shops being picketed, irishtimes.com reports. Click here to read more at irishtimes.com. UK: Supermarket giants attack 'medieval' rates system
The heads of two of the UK’s biggest supermarkets have called the business rates system “medieval” and accused the Government of laziness in tackling reform. The system has come under fresh attack in the run-up to the first rates revaluation in eight years in April, which will mean retailers will have to find an estimated extra £2.25bn over the next five years. Retailers are warning that the property tax will threaten smaller businesses and stall investment. Please, click here to read the article at bbc.com. Russia: Lenta announces its 2017 and long-term goals
Russian supermarket chain Lenta has announced its goals for 2017 and long-term targets for 2020. This year, it plans to open 30 hypermarkets, 50 new supermarkets, and explore new regions, starting with Novosibirsk. It has decided to focus on the supermarket format, as it acquired 11 hypermarkets from Finland's Kesko last year and now is pursuing a 'conservative' fiscal policy. As for its long term goals, it aims to be one of the top three multi-format food retailers and the largest hypermarket chain in Russia by 2020. (esmmagazine.com) Thai Big C FY2016: lower revenue, but better margin
Big C reports a lower total revenue of THB121bn (US$366m) for FY2016, while profit margin increase. Big C’s total revenue from retail sales, rental and service income and other income dropped 9.6% in FY2016, driven by same-stores-sales decline of 12.8%. This is due to a shift in focus from absolute sales growth to quality of sales, by moving away from unprofitable sales practices. Big C’s renewed focus on higher profits has yielded signs of positive results, despite lower net income. Gross profit margin has gained 0.86% to 14.6%. (igd.com) Turkey: Carrefoursa Carrefour 2016 net loss widens
Turkish Carrefoursa Carrefour 2016 net loss widened to 432.2m lira ($118.48m versus loss of 31.7m lira a year ago). The retailer's full year 2016 revenue increased to 4.49bn lira from 3.93bn lira a year ago. (Reuters)NZ: Countdown launches 'ugly produce' brand
In an attempt to cut food waste, Countdown has launched The Odd Bunch. It takes the "ugly" produce that may not have typically made it to supermarket shelves because of imperfections, and lumps it together in identifiable packaging. The first produce to join The Odd Bunch will be hail-damaged stone fruit and carrots, with more fruit and vegetables appearing on shelves in the next few months. (nzherald.co.nz) UK: Waitrose to offer extra large variety of grapes
Waitrose is going to offer a new, extra large variety of grape, called by the supermarket, King Adora. Aptly named because of their size, the giant vine fruits are up to 50% larger than the average black grape. Measuring up to 26mm, they are the largest seedless variety of grape the supermarket has ever sold. Waitrose fruit buyer Tim Stevens says: “These super-sized sweet grapes are just as tasty as their smaller counterparts and have been specially selected for their sweet taste. Grown in South Africa, King Adoras offer a taste of summer sun in the cold winter months,” the company said in a press release.