Weis posts sales | JD.COM invests $700mn grocery chain China
US: Roundy's supplied by greenhouse with 1M pounds of produce
German retailer Aldi will host a number of hiring events this September throughout the United States, offering 2,500 positions, esmmagazine.com reports. There are currently more than 1,400 Aldi stores across 32 US states, and the retailer intends to open a further 650 stores across the country by 2018. Aldi has a number of roles available including Store Associate, Shift Manager and Manager Trainee, which offer an attractive wage package, higher than the national average. The first of the new Aldi stores is set to open in Southern California next March.
Croatian Mercator Stores see 21% growth after Konzum merger
Croatian retailer Konzum is reporting a 20.9% average growth of sales in Mercator shops in June 2015, one year after the merger with the Slovenian peer, esmmagazine.com reports. Before the takeover, the same stores registered an average drop of 17% compared to the same period a year earlier, according to Konzum president, Darko Knez. He added that Konzum’s first half revenues in Croatia are up by 10% y/y, while regionally revenues should surpass €4bn with a market share of over 30%.
Dia sales in Portugal down 7.8%
Spanish retail group Dia reported a 7.8% drop (year-on-year) in sales in Portugal to €329mn at the end of the first half of 2015, esmmagazine.com reports. In Portugal, where Dia Group owns the network of neighbourhood supermarkets Minipreço supermarkets, sales decreased due to a "highly competitive" market context. However, Dia says that the brand has "adopted relevant measures" on pricing policy to cope with the competition, which had a "negative effect" on the banks of group’s profit margins. Dia Group sales in Portugal represent 7.6% of total company sales. The company has 623 stores in Portugal, of which 269 are franchised and 354 are owned stores. (source: esmmagazine.com)
AU: Aldi and Lidl go head-to-head on brands
The competition between Aldi Süd and Lidl in Germany is likely to intensify in the next few months as Aldi Süd begins to list more branded products, igd.com reports. The move is a great opportunity for branded manufacturers to get listed and drive volume. However, with more brands entering the discount channel, price wars are likely to come.
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JD.com invests $700mn in Chinese supermarket Chain Yonghui
JD.com, China’s second-largest e-commerce site, has agreed to invest 4.3bn yuan ($700mn) for a 10% stake in Chinese supermarket chain Yonghui Superstores, it said today, forbes.com reports. Under terms of the deal, JD.com has the right to nominate two directors, including one independent director, on Yonghui’s board. The two companies will also cooperate in supply chain management through joint procurement and explore opportunities in the so-called “online to offline” commerce, where consumers use their smartphones to order offline services from food takeout to leisure and entertainment deals.
JD.com reports results
JD.com today also reported a 61% year-on-year increase in quarterly revenue. Net revenues for the second quarter were 45.9bn yuan ($7.4bn). The company said net revenues for the third quarter were expected to be between 43.2bn yuan and 44.7bn yuan.
US: Greenhouse to supply Roundy's with 1M pounds of produce
BrightFarms broke ground Thursday on a 160,000-square-foot greenhouse that will exclusively supply Roundy’s stores with 1mn pounds of produce a year, supermarketnews.com reports. Located in the Chicago suburb of Rochelle, Ill., the greenhouse will grow salad greens, herbs and tomatoes. According to BrightFarms, the greenhouse will use 80% less water, 90% less land and 95% less shipping fuel than conventional produce. “We're thrilled that our stores will be able to deliver consumers the freshest, most local greens, herbs and tomatoes possible,” Bob Mariano, CEO and chairman of Roundy's, said in a press release. “BrightFarms is a model for the future of food and we look forward to exemplifying, together with them, what that future should look like.” The greenhouse is expected to be complete in early 2016. BrightFarms currently sells produce from other greenhouses at McCaffrey’s and various A&P banners.
UK: New-look Budgens draws in more trade
Budgens’ new trading style is claimed to have boosted shopper satisfaction levels and attracted more upmarket customers to its recently revamped flagship store, reports today’s Independent Retail News. An exit survey of more than 300 shoppers using the symbol group’s new-look store in Crouch End, north London, reveals that 97% think it is a “pleasure” to shop there – a rise of 12% compared with before the change. The survey also showed the store is proving popular with high-end consumers with more shoppers from local rivals such as Waitrose and M&S Simply Food now using it. The research highlighted that people were visiting the store more frequently and that the average number of items purchased had risen from five to nine per visit, with additional customers using it for small top-up shopping missions. (Independent Retail News / talkingretail.com)
US: Weis Markets reports net income, sales up in second quarter
Weis Markets says its second quarter net income increased nearly 30% over the same period in 2014 reversing a downward trend, pennlive.com reports. For the 13-week period ending June 27, the supermarket chain based in Sunbury reported net income increased 28.4% to $16.4mn and per-share earnings were 61 cents compared to 48 cents the previous year. Second quarter sales increased 3.8% to $718.4mn. The results reflect continuing investments in sales-building strategies and disciplined promotions, said Jonathan Weis, chairman, president and CEO.
AU: Back to the future call for Woolworths
Former chairman John Dahlsen has called on Woolworths to postpone hiring a new CEO and to appoint former boss Roger Corbett as "transitional" executive chairman to oversee an overhaul at Australia's largest retailer, smh.com.au reports. Mr Dahlsen, who was Woolworths chairman from 1997 to 2001, said the retailer needed a circuit-breaker after taking its eye off the ball and Mr Corbett was the best person to deliver it. "If it were my decision, what I'd do is postpone the appointment of a new CEO, I'd bring in Roger Corbett as transitional executive chairman and I'd give him a term of one or two years to make the various changes to help recruit the next CEO," Mr Dahlsen said. "People say that's poor corporate governance; I don't agree with that," he said, pointing to the appointment of former Wesfarmers chief executive Michael Chaney as the conglomerate's incoming chairman. "Corbett could bring all the people who could help; he could stabilise the board and people like [CEO Grant] O'Brien would have a better chance to fix things up as the outgoing CEO," he said. (Please, click here to read the whole article)
US: Lawsuit claims Whole Foods committed securities fraud
A Whole Foods Market shareholder has accused the grocer in a lawsuit of committing securities fraud by concealing its overcharging of New York City customers, leading to bad publicity that hurt sales and drove its share price down. cnbc.com reports.
Supermarkets hit as Britain goes on holiday
The winners and losers of Britain’s economic recovery will become clearer today when figures show that consumers are spending more on holidays, eating out and going to the cinema than on supermarket and clothes shopping, independent.co.uk reports. Hotels, restaurants and bars saw the biggest jump in spending, up 8.6% on the year, while cinema and entertainment trips rose 5.6%, only slightly below record highs in June of 5.7%. By comparison, clothing and footwear sales dropped 0.6% during the month, while food and drink sales at grocers rose just 0.4%.
Looting and violence on the rise in Venezuela supermarkets
Venezuelan supermarkets are increasingly being targeted by looters as swollen lines and prolonged food shortages spark frustration in the OPEC nation struggling with an economic crisis, channelnewsasia.com reports. Shoppers routinely spend hours in lines to buy consumer staples ranging from corn flour to laundry soap, turning lines into venues for shoving matches and now more frequent attempts to plunder shops.
Japan: Aeon doubles down: Plan for second mall unveiled
Japanese retail giant Aeon yesterday unveiled plans for its second mall in Phnom Penh, phnompenhpost.com reports. The new complex will target Cambodia’s higher-end consumer, but will also continue to cater to everyday shoppers, with a variety of international clothing and food and beverage brands, Aeon representatives said.
Interesting articles on retail:
CA: Metro Vancouver food chain thrives alongside Goliath
Choices Markets fends off much larger competition by focusing on customer service and local product
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US: Sprouts expands new deli offerings after successful test
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UAE’s hypermarket operators focus on convenience-store segment to boost revenues
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