Aldi (AU) gives rare glimpse at its profit numbers
Stop & Shop partners with local farms
The CFO at Germany’s Tengelmann Group, Alfried Bührdel, has said that the group’s Kaiser’s Tengelmann GmbH supermarket business “has been a considerable burden on the Tengelmann Group for more than 15 years,” esmmagazine.com reports. Announcing full year results for the Tengelmann Group, Bührdel added that the sale of the Kaiser’s business is “unavoidable”. Kaiser’s Tengelmann GmbH generated a net turnover of €1.86bn (-4.0%) in the 2014 financial year. Tengelmann had hoped to sell the business to Edeka earlier in the year, however the German competition authorities blocked the sale. Tengelmann and Edeka subsequently submitted a request for ministerial approval.
AU: Big three sign supermarket code
Coles, Woolworths and Aldi supermarkets have now signed onto the new Food and Grocery Code of Conduct, but Metcash and others remain uncommitted, theland.com.au reports. Prime Minister Tony Abbott highlighted the new code and its powers to media on Wednesday. Last weekend, Mr Abbott also launched the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper which contained other new initiatives to address long-running concerns about market power abuse in agricultural supply chains. The white paper unveiled $11.4m to increase the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) agricultural expertise by implementing a special unit and commissioner aimed at countering competition, pricing and transparency issues. The code and the ACCC’s new division have evolved from price transparency and market power abuse concerns. The National Farmers' Federation (NFF) withdrew from that process after demanding a mandatory code instead of a voluntary one.
US: Stop & Shop partners with local farms
This summer, Stop & Shop is bringing a variety of local produce from over 50 New England farms to all of our stores, according to a press release. Among the local items currently in season and available at Stop & Shop are tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, beans, peppers and a variety of squash. Stop & Shop New England has been a leader in the Buy Local movement for many years, supporting local farmers and manufacturers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut where they operate stores.
US: Produce bus in food deserts in Chicago
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Friday took another crack at launching a produce bus project that aims to bring fresh fruits and vegetables to parts of Chicago that lack them after a similar city-backed initiative failed two years ago, chicagotribune.com reports.
Aldi gives rivals a rare glimpse at its whopping profit numbers
Aldi has defended its tax record amid a more than doubling of profit over four years, news.com.au reports. The German retailer's submission to a Senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance shows pre-tax profit in its Australian operations soared from $121m in 2010 to $261m in 2013. Income tax also more than doubled in that period, from $37m in 2010 to $82m in 2013. In that four years, Aldi paid a total of $238m in income tax, it said. "This represents an average effective tax rate of 32% (each year), which is above the company tax rate of 30%," the retailer's submission said. Aldi's submission to the inquiry follows criticism from Richard Goyder, the chief executive of Wesfarmers, which owns supermarket giant Coles.
AU: Supermarkets have worst safety record in ASX100
The big three supermarket chains are recording some of the worst injury rates among the country's top 100 listed companies, research shows, smh.com.au reports. A Citi report released on Monday shows Metcash, which supplies and runs IGA supermarkets, has the worst safety record of ASX100 companies based on lost time, injury frequency rate data.
Pingo Doce to boost presence in Central Portugal
Pingo Doce plans to boost its presence in Central Portugal with the acquisition of IG Supermercados in Oliveira do Hospital, esmmagazine.com reports. The store is owned by the Gonçalves brothers and operated by the company Armazéns de Mercearia Oliveirense (AMOL). The deal has also been confirmed by one of the owners of IG Supermercados who, in a statement to Centro TV, admitted to "closing the deal" with Pingo Doce without advancing further details.
Italy's Iperal introduces drive service
Italian supermarket chain Iperal has introduced a new 'Iperal Drive' service, enabling consumers to order online and pick up their goods in store, esmmagazine.com reports. The Drive service offers a product assortment of over 14,000 products, including a wide selection of breads, fruits, vegetables, meats and cheese, meat and fish, as well as a selection of non-food products. A dedicated collection area has been opened in four hypermarkets, at Iperal Fuentes, Castione Andevenno, Civate and Adamello.
UK: Tesco staff promised turnaround bonus if sales and profits rise
Tesco is promising to reward staff with a one-off “turnaround bonus” worth up to 5% of their salary if they hit sales and profit targets this year, theguardian.com reports. The potential payout in shares that staff would be able to cash in immediately is part of chief executive Dave Lewis’s effort to get Britain’s biggest retailer back on track after a slump in profits and sales as well as an accounting scandal which led to a profits mis-statement of more than £263m.
US: Moody's makes a bold prediction for Walmart
Please, click here to read the article.