Numerous Icelandic stores and supermarkets seem to be lowering their prices to be able to compete with Costco. Despite opening less than a week ago, Costco, located in Garðabær, a municipality of Reykjavik, has already lowered prices of some of its products. The Managing director of Costco in Iceland says that they have to be on their toes to keep their prices the lowest in Iceland, as promised. "If we need to lower prices to do that, we will," he said speaking to mbl.is. (icelandmonitor.mbl.is) Mercadona's new supermarket to streamline supply chain process
Spanish retailer Mercadona has opened a new efficient supermarket in Madrid, which uses 40% less energy than a traditional store. The new supermarket will have freshly-squeezed orange juice machines and fruit and vegetable aisles have been widened. The new store also features a fully integrated technology system for staff, with aims to streamline the supply chain process by providing real time information on every section of the store. (esmmagazine.com) Ahold Delhaize is to consider main office in the US
According to Ahold Delhaize CEO Dick Boer, it could very well be that the company moves its main office to the United States at some point in the future. The move would make sense, considering how Ahold Delhaize generates two thirds of its turnover in the United States. “We already have several of our main office people in the United States, but we are still a Dutch-Belgian group with a strong foundation in both countries. Looking at our holding structure, it makes sense to reside in the Netherlands”, he said. (retaildetail.eu) Fnac Darty CEO 'likely' to be named new Carrefour boss: reports
The current chief executive of French electronics and media retailer Fnac Darty, Alexandre Bompard, has emerged as the most likely candidate to succeed Georges Plassat as chief executive of Carrefour, according to local media reports. Bompard oversaw the takeover by Fnac of its rival Darty, and has implemented a strict cost-saving initiative at the group, with the aim of achieving €130 million in cost savings by 2018. (esmmagazine.com) Finnish grocery retail sales up 3.8% in April
Finnish grocery retail sales were valued at €1.42 billion in April, which marks a 3.8% increase on the same month last year, according to Päivittäistavarakauppa - the Finnish Grocery Trade Association. Grocery sales saw the greatest increase in hypermarkets, with a 6.4% growth, while large and small supermarkets experienced increases of 4.8% and 4% respectively. Overall, grocery sales have risen year-on-year in 2017, with figures increasing by 1.1% in the period from January to April. (esmmagazine.com)Simply Etruria posts sales of €211 million In 2016
Italian regional retailer Simply Etruria ended 2016 with a turnover of over €211 million, which represents a 1% decrease on the previous year. Net profit for the same period amounted to €3 million. As part of the company's expansion plans, Simply Etruria opened a new distribution centre for fruit and vegetables last year. (esmmagazine.com) Italy: Conad Adriatico reports 4.8% increase in turnover
Italian regional grocery retailer Conad Adriatico has reported that it ended 2016 with a turnover of €1 billion, up 4.8% year-on-year. The company has 377 sales points with a total area of 230,698 square metres. This includes 6 Conad Ipermercato, 4 Conad Superstore, 143 Conad, 119 Conad City, 34 Margherita Conad, 49 Todis, 19 L’Alimentare, one PetStore, and two fuel distributors. Please, click here to read more at esmmagazine.com. Croatia's indebted Agrokor expects fresh loan soon
Croatia's heavily indebted food producer and retailer Agrokor expects to complete talks with creditors on a new loan soon, the company's crisis manager said on Monday. "We're at the end of talks on a new loan for Agrokor. You can soon expect to be given a concrete figure and names of the creditors which include both local and foreign banks," Ante Ramljak, the state-appointed crisis manager, told reporters. (Reuters)Kenya: Study on supermarket pricing due soon
A study commissioned by the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) into supermarkets’ pricing strategies is expected to be unveiled by the end of next month. “We are doing the data cleaning and analysis. We expect to have the report by June 30th,” said CAK director-general Wang’ombe Kariuki on Monday. In January, CAK launched a probe into supermarkets over rising customer complaints of price manipulation, where customers are misled to overpay for goods. (nation.co.ke) 
Singapore: Metro sees jump in Q4 profit Retailer, property and investment group Metro Holdings reported on Tuesday (May 30) fourth-quarter net profit of S$34.2 million compared to S$1.2 million for the year-ago period. (straitstimes.com)
