Study: One in four retailers feel paralyzed by Amazon
Retailers are eager to combat the force of Amazon, but they lack the strategy, marketing dollars and digital resources to do so. Specifically, 44% of retailers do not know how to respond to the power of Amazon, according to “A New Path for Retail: Co-Existing with the Force of Amazon.” The report is from Bluecore, a commerce decision platform provider. According to the study, 60% of retailers consider Amazon at least somewhat of a competitor. These companies also continue to grapple with free shipping, email communications and better access to customer data to mimic what Amazon does best: provide highly personalized and convenient experiences for customers. (chainstoreage.com)
Retailers are eager to combat the force of Amazon, but they lack the strategy, marketing dollars and digital resources to do so. Specifically, 44% of retailers do not know how to respond to the power of Amazon, according to “A New Path for Retail: Co-Existing with the Force of Amazon.” The report is from Bluecore, a commerce decision platform provider. According to the study, 60% of retailers consider Amazon at least somewhat of a competitor. These companies also continue to grapple with free shipping, email communications and better access to customer data to mimic what Amazon does best: provide highly personalized and convenient experiences for customers. (chainstoreage.com) China's Suning partners with Metcash
China's retail giant Suning Holdings Group ("Suning" or "the Group") has signed a cooperation agreement with Metcash, the leading wholesale distribution and marketing company in Australia, to bring more quality Australian and New Zealand products to Chinese consumers. Steven Zhang, Vice President of Suning International recently visited Australia at the invitation of Metcash. (markets.businessinsider.com)
US: Appeals court upholds $42M decision against Safeway over online pricing
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld the ruling in a $42m class action lawsuit against Safeway that claimed the grocery chain overcharged customers who placed online delivery orders, according to The Recorder. Back in 2010, according to the suit, Safeway increased prices of its online products by about 10% over in-store prices. This was steeper than the delivery fee allowed under the retailer’s customer contract, noted the plaintiffs, and was instituted without informing customers. (fooddive.com)
China's retail giant Suning Holdings Group ("Suning" or "the Group") has signed a cooperation agreement with Metcash, the leading wholesale distribution and marketing company in Australia, to bring more quality Australian and New Zealand products to Chinese consumers. Steven Zhang, Vice President of Suning International recently visited Australia at the invitation of Metcash. (markets.businessinsider.com) US: Appeals court upholds $42M decision against Safeway over online pricing
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld the ruling in a $42m class action lawsuit against Safeway that claimed the grocery chain overcharged customers who placed online delivery orders, according to The Recorder. Back in 2010, according to the suit, Safeway increased prices of its online products by about 10% over in-store prices. This was steeper than the delivery fee allowed under the retailer’s customer contract, noted the plaintiffs, and was instituted without informing customers. (fooddive.com) 
Supermarket group Morrisons has pledged not to sell own-label "fake-farm" food. It defines this as brands that can give a misleading impression that food comes from a British farm, market or farming town which may not even exist. The National Farmers' Union (NFU) is unhappy about fake-brands, particularly when it implies the food is British. The issue came to a head in 2016, when market leader Tesco created a range of brand names for its own produce, including Rosedene Farm and Boswell Farms. (BBC)UK: Fruits sales on the rise at food-to-go
The UK’s food-to-go sector will be worth £23.5bn by 2022, up from £17.4bn in 2017, according to market research group IGD. “Food-to-go specialists are really setting the pace on product innovation and range development, as well as expanding quite rapidly outside London, which is why we’re forecasting them to become the biggest part of the food-to-go market by the end of 2022,” said Gavin Rothwell, senior insight manager at IGD. Sales of fruit have been on the rise over the last year, being purchased by 24% of all customers. (esmmagazine.com)
Coop Danmark CEO: rebranding formats as part of 2018-2020 strategic plan
Coop Danmark, which currently operates a number of grocery formats, may look to streamline its banners under the Coop brand as part of its strategic 2018-2020 plan. In an interview with Økonomisk Ugebrev (Economic Issue), Coop Danmark CEO Peter Høgsted said, 'It would be more relevant to have a common umbrella named Coop for all the shops. This is the natural next step for us'. In neighbouring Sweden, Coop Sverige has also pursued this strategy, streamlining its existing banners under the Stora Coop, Coop and Lilla Coop banners, dependent on their size. (igd.com)
The UK’s food-to-go sector will be worth £23.5bn by 2022, up from £17.4bn in 2017, according to market research group IGD. “Food-to-go specialists are really setting the pace on product innovation and range development, as well as expanding quite rapidly outside London, which is why we’re forecasting them to become the biggest part of the food-to-go market by the end of 2022,” said Gavin Rothwell, senior insight manager at IGD. Sales of fruit have been on the rise over the last year, being purchased by 24% of all customers. (esmmagazine.com) Coop Danmark CEO: rebranding formats as part of 2018-2020 strategic plan
Coop Danmark, which currently operates a number of grocery formats, may look to streamline its banners under the Coop brand as part of its strategic 2018-2020 plan. In an interview with Økonomisk Ugebrev (Economic Issue), Coop Danmark CEO Peter Høgsted said, 'It would be more relevant to have a common umbrella named Coop for all the shops. This is the natural next step for us'. In neighbouring Sweden, Coop Sverige has also pursued this strategy, streamlining its existing banners under the Stora Coop, Coop and Lilla Coop banners, dependent on their size. (igd.com)UK Morrisons continues drive to help farmers
Morrisons is continuing its home produce drive with a Meet the Farmer event. Farmers will be at its store at Enterprise 5 in Idle today, from 2pm to 4pm, to talk to shoppers and hand out information about British produce. It is being held to mark Farm24 (24 Hours In Farming) - a day where farmers can explain how they produce their food. More than 70% of the food which Morrisons sells in its stores this week will be British, according to the Bradford-based chain’s latest figures. (thetelegraphandargus.co.uk) NorgesGruppen increases market share by 3.5% in Norway
Norwegian retail group NorgesGruppen has increased its market share in the country by 3.5% in the last six months, according to data from Nielsen. Overall, however, the Norwegian grocery market posted historically low growth of only 1.2% for the start of 2017. "It's gratifying that we have a positive development in an increasingly tough grocery market," said Runar Hollevik, CEO of NorgesGruppen. The group's Kiwi supermarket chain experienced a 1% increase in market share, growing to 21.1%, while Spar reached 7% (+0.2%), Joker 3.7% (+0.1), and Meny 10.6% (-0.2%). (esmmagazine.com) 
China: Sun Art retail posts 22.7% rise in H1 net profitSun Art Retail Group Ltd, China's second-biggest hypermarket operator, posted a 22.7 percent rise in first-half net profit as gains from unused prepaid cards helped offset growing competition from e-commerce platforms. (Reuters)
Philippines to become fifth-largest grocery retail market in Asia – IGD
The grocery retail market in the Philippines is forecast to become the fifth-largest grocery retail market in Asia in four years, based on expected average growth of 9.3% year-on-year during the 2016-2021 period, according to new data by IGD. The IGD figures, unveiled at the 24th National Retail Conference in the Philippines, forecast the country’s grocery retail sales to grow to 7.08trn pesos ($150bn) by 2021, up from 4.53trn pesos ($96bn) in 2016. The growth will be driven by a growing population, strong domestic consumption and a buoyant economy. (kamcity.com) 
