Survey: Aldi and Lidl beating other chains on quality

Analysis shows scale of discounters' threat to Morrisons -
Supermarket group Morrisons is under most threat from the advance of discount retailers, a new research study has shown, thebusinessdesk.com reports. The Local Data Company, which has completed a comparative study of areas where discounters are in abundance, said 49% of all Morrisons were located in areas with an above average number of discounters. The study concludes that with the discounters set to grow further, then additional contraction by the leading supermarket groups appears inevitable.

Food retail market will reach $8 trillion globally in 2020
The global Food Retail market was valued at USD 5,644bn in 2013 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.1 % from 2014 to 2020, to reach an estimated value of USD 8,542bn in 2020, whatech.com reports. Rise in the global population, changing customer preferences, and emerging economies are making the way for the food retail industry. China and India are among the countries witnessing a fast growth in their middle-class population.

Delhaize Group confirms preliminary discussions with Ahold
Delhaize Group confirmed today that it has entered into preliminary discussions with Royal Ahold N.V. to explore the opportunity of combining the two companies, globenewswire.com reports.

Aldi and Lidl beat biggest supermarkets in quality survey
A survey of 11 supermarkets across Britain has revealed that budget supermarkets are winning both the quality and price war, telegraph.co.uk reports. The annual Grocer Food & Drink Own Label Awards surveyed 1,103 own-label products and found that Aldi and Lidl beat most of Britain's supermarkets when it came to taste. Both Aldi and Lidl took home 13 gold medals at the ceremony, with only Asda matching the feat. Lidl was crowned the overall winner after collecting 23 silver medals in addition to their 13 gold, whilst Aldi was awarded 12 silver medals.

UK: Tesco names new auditor after scandal
Tesco has named Deloitte as its new auditor, ending its 32-year relationship with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) after an accounting scandal, theguardian.com reports. The appointment follows a formal tender process in which PwC did not take part.

Tesco elbows its way back up the Irish grocery charts
Tesco has battled back into joint lead in the supermarket wars. The UK giant and Musgrave Group-owned Supervalu now hold 25pc each of the Irish grocery market, independent.ie reports. "Over the past 12 weeks SuperValu and Tesco have each captured 25pc of the grocery market, with SuperValu battling to hold onto the number one position it claimed last month and Tesco aiming to recover lost ground," according to David Berry, of Kantar Worldpanel."

UK: Tesco wins 24 Grocer Own Label Food and Drink Awards
Tesco scooped an impressive 14 awards for its finest* range at The Grocer’s Own Label Food and Drink Awards. Overall, the retailer picked up 24 gongs including 12 Gold and 12 Silver Awards, internationalsupermarketnews.com reports. Jason Tarry, Head of Product at Tesco said, “We are delighted that once again we have been recognised for the quality of our food.

Lidl Romania invests EUR 5 mln in training
Lidl Romania started “The Future Store Manager” national project through an event held in Poiana Brasov with the participation of over 300 employees, business-review.eu writes. With this project, Lidl aims to train each store manager of the 185 units across the country and to offer them the opportunity to improve their managerial and leadership skills.

Philippines: 7-Eleven to build 120 stores
Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC) opened its first 7-Eleven convenience store here last week, also the first in Mindanao where the listed firm plans to build 120 outlets within the next three years, bworldonline.com reports.

Indonesia March retail sales grow
May 11 Indonesia's annual retail sales in March grew at a faster pace of 19.3%, bolstered by information and communication equipment as well as food, beverages and tobacco, a Bank Indonesia survey showed on Monday, Reuters reports.

UK: Sainsbury's trying to understand 'promiscuous' shoppers
Sainsbury's will hook up one of its stores to a connected kitchen, housed at its new digital lab in London, as tries to get to grip with the modern shopper, marketingmagazine.co.uk reports. The retailer is building a digital lab in Holborn, London and hiring almost 500 specialists to help it understand consumers who no longer have time for ‘the big shop’.

Irish Dunnes strike hasn’t stopped people shopping
Despite recent strikes, Dunnes Stores has grown its sales compared to last year, the42.ie reports. The latest figures from retail industry monitor Kantar Worldpanel show that the value of Dunnes’s quarterly market share was 3.6% more than the same quarter in 2014. By comparison, SuperValu grew its grocery market share by 0.8% while Tesco fell by 3.5%.

US: Ingles Q2 earnings rise
Ingles net income for the second quarter rose 36.8% to $14.3m, while sales, including gasoline, fell 3.4% to $915.3m and comparable store sales, excluding gas, rose 1.2%. For the half net income climbed 46.8% to $29.3m, while total sales fell 0.7% to $1.9bn and comps, excluding gas, rose 1.8%, supermarketnews.com reports.

India: Case filed against Mango Reliance Fresh
East Singhbhum Food Inspector on Monday lodged a case against Reliance Fresh Mango outlet for selling stale fruits and coloured vegetables, avenuemail.in writes. According to reports, officials at the shop accepted that fruits and vegetables were brought three days back from Ranchi and assured to remove the same.

US: Peapod to deliver groceries across NYC
Peapod, the grocery-delivery service owned by Stop & Shop, is going to be delivering to zip codes across all five boroughs of New York City, bizjournals.com reports. That puts the Skokie, Ill.-based delivery service, which leads the U.S. online grocery market, in head-to-head competition with the No. 2 player, Long Island City-based FreshDirect, which is the only delivery service that covers all of New York City currently.

Brazil: GPA develops new hypermarket concept
GPA has doubled the number of Extra and Pão de Açúcar stores with click & collect since the end of 2014, retailanalysis.igd.com reports. Laurent Cadillat, executive director of Extra, said the project was based on"a comprehensive study of consumers and their expectations for the hypermarket model." GPA has created a special team to manage the modernisation project, which covers the stores' physical structure and the way in which they operate.

Greece: Sklavenitis to acquire 60% stake in Veropoulos
Greek retailer Sklavenitis is set to acquire a 60% majority stake in rival retailer Veropoulos, which operates the SPAR franchise in Greece, with both parties having signed a preliminary contract, retailanalysis.igd.com reports. The deal is expected to conclude later this year, following approval from Greece’s competition authorities.