UK: Sainsbury's says it's not talking to internal candidates for CEO succession
Sainsbury’s is not talking to internal candidates about succession plans to Chief Executive Officer Mike Coupe and he has the full support of company’s shareholders and the board, a company spokesperson told Reuters. The company’s response comes after the Telegraph newspaper reported earlier that the British supermarket chain was preparing internally for a succession plan. “Every responsible business has potential succession plans for its CEO. This is nothing new”, a Sainsbury’s spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Source: reuters.com
Top ten largest Ukrainian retailers increase tax payment by one-third
The top ten largest retail chains increased tax payment by UAH1.2bln (USD47,7mln) in January-June 2019 or by 29% year-over-year, to UAH5.4bln (USD214,7mln), the Office of Large Taxpayers reported on its website. According to the report, the largest amount of tax was paid by the ATB network - 57.4% of the total tax paid by the top ten largest retail chains, while its share compared to the previous year did not change significantly (57% in the first half of 2018). Fozzy Group supermarket chain reduced its share of tax payments of the total amount paid by of the top ten largest retail chains to 12.6% compared with 11.4% in January-June 2018, Metro C&C (Metro Cash & Carry Ukraine LLC, Kyiv) - 8.3% compared with 10.8%, EKO Market supermarkets chain (EKO LLC) - 1.3% compared with 1.5%, Velyka Kishenya (Fudkom LLC, Retail Group, Kyiv) - 1.2% compared with 1.8%, Billa supermarkets (FDI Billa-Ukraine, Rewe Group, Germany) - 0.9% compared with 1.7%. An increase in the share of tax payments was recorded with Auchan (Auchan Holding, France) - 7.3% from 5.6%, Novus (BT Invest) - 5.2% from 5%, and Fora (Fozzy Group) - 3.6% from 3%. Varus supermarkets (Omega LLC) have not changed their indicator compared to the first half of 2018 - 2.2% of all taxes paid by the top ten retailers.
Source: open4business.com.ua
Kenya: Chandarana Supermarket employees get salary raise
Chandarana Foodplus Supermarket is set to have a higher wage bill following the signing of a fresh two-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) whose first phase will see more than a thousand of its unionisable staff get an eight percent pay increase. The retailer’s about 1,100 unionisable employees will then receive a salary raise of 9% during the second phase that kicks in February 2020.
Source: nation.co.ke
Brasil: Carrefour to double sales of organic products by 2020
Carrefour Brasil aims to double the sales of organic products in its stores by 2020, according to local media reports. Exame reported that to meet this target, the retailer is strengthening partnerships with local suppliers to add more affordable products to its private-label organic assortment. Carrefour forecasts that sales of organic products will reach R$ 500mln (€116mln) by 2022, accounting for 20% of total sales.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Canada: DoorDash launches in Montréal, its first French-speaking market
DoorDash, the largest and fastest-growing on-demand destination for door-to-door delivery in more than 4,000 cities in the United States and Canada, announced its official launch in Montréal, its first predominantly French-speaking market and first market in Quebec. This is the first time that DoorDash has expanded its product to serve customers, merchants, and Dashers in a language beyond English, with each app and service now fully accessible in French. DoorDash is now live in 78 Canadian cities, including recent expansions to Winnipeg, Halifax (its first city in Nova Scotia), and Regina and Saskatoon (its first cities in Saskatchewan), keeping the company on pace to expand to more than 100 Canadian cities by the end of 2019.
Source: newswire.ca
Amazon.com defeats IRS appeal in U.S. tax dispute
Amazon.com Inc defeated an appeal by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in what the online retailer has called a $1.5bln dispute over its tax treatment of transactions with a Luxembourg subsidiary. In a 3-0 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle upheld a 2017 ruling by the U.S. Tax Court related to intangible assets that Amazon.com transferred in 2005 and 2006 to the unit, Amazon Europe Holding Technologies SCS. Intangible assets include such items as customer lists, intellectual property and software. The appeals court rejected a broader definition sought by the IRS that would have boosted Amazon.com’s tax bill.
Source: reuters.com
US: Hy-Vee notifies customers of payment data breach
Supermarket chain Hy-Vee has revealed that the credit card payment information of some of its customers has been exposed in a recent data breach. The exact number of customers and locations has not yet been determined. The West Des Moines, Iowa-based operator of 245 stores says there was a "security incident" involving the payment processing systems at its fuel pumps, drive-through coffee shops and restaurants. The restaurants include its Market Grilles, Market Grille Express and company-owned Wahlburgers locations operating at its stores.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: More Food Lion stores to launch grocery pickup
Food Lion plans to kick off grocery pickup service at 25 more stores in Virginia and North Carolina. The Salisbury, North Carolina-based supermarket chain said that its Food Lion To-Go program will get under way on August 19 at another 22 stores in Virginia and three stores in North Carolina (Elizabeth City, Myrtle Beach and Edenton). Ribbon-cutting ceremonies are planned that day to mark the launch of the service, and the retailer is offering shoppers their first pickup order for free.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Associated Foods Stores adds online shopping at 33 stores
Associated Food Stores (AFS) has expanded its partnership with ecommerce company Rosie to add curbside pickup at 33 corporate stores. The Macey's, Dan's, Dick's Market, Lin's and Fresh Market locations will add the service by October 31. “Rosie’s deep integrations, including with First Data for online payment processing, helped make this expansion an easy decision", said David Rice, AFS' SVP and president of Associated Retail Operations, the company's wholly owned corporate subsidiary. "Rosie has continued to find ways to save money for retailers and expand convenience and usability for our customers.”
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Acme set to close 4 New York, New Jersey stores
Albertsons Cos. banner Acme Markets has revealed that it will shutter four underperforming stores in New York and New Jersey this fall, according to published reports. The affected locations are in Eastchester, New York, which is slated to close November 4, and Elmwood Park, Woodcliff Lake and Weehawken, New Jersey, all scheduled to close October 2. Acme is looking into future store sites, but at the present time has no plans to open more locations in either New York or New Jersey, the representative told the newspaper.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
JD.com JV in talks to raise $500mln in U.S. IPO: The Information
China’s e-commerce company JD.com is in talks with bankers to list shares of its online grocery and delivery joint venture in the United States in May and is seeking to raise $500mln, The Information reported. The joint venture, Dada-JD Daojia, last year raised $500mln from Walmart Inc and JD. The talks are still in early stages, and the amount the company hopes to raise as well as the timing of the stock market offering could change, the report said, citing two people familiar with the matter. JD and Walmart did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Source: reuters.com
US: Kroger partners with TikTok to reach younger shoppers
Kroger is using one of the fastest-growing social media apps to reach younger shoppers with its back-to-school promotion. TikTok has emerged as one of the fastest growing apps in the US, with a new platform launched last year following the merger with musical.ly. As the international version of the Chinese short-form video app, Douyin, it’s similar to Snapchat and Vine in many respects. Users are encouraged to upload short, creative and quirky videos. Over half of the app’s users are in the 16-24 age group and are engaged with the platform, spending around 45 minutes per day in the app. Several brands have collaborated with the platform, often working with influencers, encouraging users to create their own content related to specific hashtags.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
US: Checkout-free or cashierless technologies inch closer to grocery implementation
Grocery has long tried to solve the friction of the checkout experience. From opening more registers to implementing self-service kiosks, no solutions have yet to fully satisfy both the retailer and the customer. “The problem has been known for a while that the checkout experience has been steadily becoming more and more frustrating, starting from the time when barcodes were introduced”, says Krishna Motukuri, CEO of San Francisco-based checkout-free technology company Zippin. “As labor costs go up and retailers face intense pressure on their margins, it’s only gotten worse.” Checkout-free technology could be the answer. In Phononic’s “2019 Store of the Future Report”, nearly nine out of 10 Americans (86%) said that mobile apps will allow people to scan groceries as they shop and then pay through an app in the next five years.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Amazon opens 4-Star store in SeattleAmazon announced it is opening another 4-star store. The store, which is the first of its kind in Seattle but the 4th Amazon has ever opened, features products customers frequently buy online, including electronics, toys, games, books, home, and kitchen items, according to an Amazon blog post. Unlike its Amazon Go stores, the 4-Star store doesn't sell food. The 4,000-square-foot store sells items at the same prices Prime members pay when shopping online, but non-Prime members will have to pay list price for all non-Amazon items, the company said. The e-commerce giant's other 4-Star locations are in New York, California and Colorado. Customers can pay for goods via Amazon Pay on the company's mobile app, Amazon gift cards, Amazon Cash, Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover, per the company post. With digital price tags next to the merchandise, shoppers can view the Prime price and list price, as well as the average star rating and the number of reviews a product has received.
Source: retaildive.com
