Metro and Loblaw report record sales and profit growth

Aldi's $300m supermarket sweep in SA starts
Aldi’s sweeping dominance of the Australian supermarket sector has anchored in South Australia with confirmation its first round of stores will open in February. The German supermarket chain announced today Seaford Heights, Parafield Gardens, Hallett Cove and Woodcroft were “on track” to open on February 3 next year as part of its $300m foray into the SA grocery sector. The four stores will be the first of 150 supermarkets planned for suburbs and regional centres around the state. (indaily.com.au)

CA: Loblaw reports increased sales, earnings in 3Q
Loblaw on Wednesday said third-quarter earnings were up by 16.9% on increased sales in its food and drug divisions. Sales for period, which ended Oct. 10, totaled US$10.5bn, an increase of 2.6% from the same period last year. Net earnings totaled US$124.7m. Same store sales in food increased by 3.1% and by 4.5% in drugstores, Loblaw said. (supermarketnews.com)

US: Kroger likely to sell Roundy’s stores, analyst says
Kroger Co. is likely to sell as many as 50 Roundy’s Inc. stores in Wisconsin, according to David Livingston, analyst from the Milwaukee area who closely tracks the supermarket industry. David Livingston runs Waukesha, Wis.-based supermarket research firm DJL Research. (bizjournals.com)

US: Asda promises to fight on price
Asda's CEO Andy Clarke said he would be increasing the £1bn initially earmarked for investing in price cuts over five years, and revealed that he wanted Asda to be no more than 5% more expensive than discount rivals Aldi and Lidl. His comments came as the German rivals took a combined 10% market share for the UK grocery sector for the first time, according to Kantar Worldpanel. (independent.co.uk)

French Leclerc posts noteworthy share gain
Leclerc has seen its market share in France rise by 110 basis points to 20.1%, according to the latest market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel. Leclerc was the big winner in the four week period to 1 November, with Casino Group seeing its share rise 10 basis points to 11.5% and Leader Price seeing its share grow 20 basis points to 2.7%. Lidl also saw its share rise by 10 basis points, boosted by a TV campaign focusing on provenance. (esmmagazine.com)

Retail trade turnover in Ukraine fell by 21.7%
Retail trade turnover in Ukraine (excluding the occupied areas of the Crimea and the conflict zone) in January-October 2015 decreased by 21.7% compared to the same period in 2014 (in comparable prices) to around €33bn, reports business.vesti-ukr.com. Retail trade turnover in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions fell the most- by 78.2% and 67.4%, to €256m and €994m, respectively. The slightest decreases in turnover were recorded in Lviv (12.7% to €1.8bn) and Kiev regions (13%, to €1.7bn). The turnover of retail trade in Ukraine (excluding occupied areas of the Crimea and the conflict zone) in January-September 2015 decreased by 22.3% compared to the same period in 2014 (in comparable prices) - to €29bn. In 2014, retail turnover in Ukraine decreased by 8.6% compared with 2013 to almost €36bn.

Finland: Kesko to acquire Suomen Lähikauppa
Kesko, Finland’s second largest grocery retailer, is set to acquire competitor Suomen Lähikauppa, which operates 643 stores in Finland and had sales in 2014 of €999.2m. The acquisition is still subject to approval from the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority. The transaction is structured as a share purchase for approximately €60m and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2016. (igd.com)

Singapore: NTUC Fairprice names new CEO
The Singapore-based retailer has announced that CEO Tan Kian will step down from his position at the end of the year, with Seah Kian Peng to take over the leadership. (igd.com)

US: H-E-B, Publix and Trader Joe's top consumer loyalty list
Judging from the latest 2015 Temkin Loyalty Index, which measures consumer loyalty to large companies, shoppers are maniacal when it comes to their favorite grocery stores. Based on a study of 10,000 U.S consumers, H-E-B, Publix and Trader Joe's were at the top of the list when it comes to consumer loyalty, bookended on either side by credit card and insurance company USAA. Aldi and Hy-Vee also made the top 10 list of companies to which consumers are most loyal. (drugstorenews.com)

Canada: Metro reports record sales and profit growth
Metro’s fourth quarter sales increased by 4.5% to $2.8bn, with same-store sales growth of 3.4%. Net earnings increased by 13.9% to $131.7m. The final quarter contributed to a strong year overall, with total sales up 5.5% to $12.2bn, and same-store sales up 4.0%. Adjusted net earnings increased by 13.6% to $523.6m. In the year ahead the retailer is expecting to deliver sales growth of 2% to 4%. (igd.com)

CA: Metro aiming at e-commerce offering
Officials of Metro Inc. said Wednesday they expect to begin testing an e-commerce offering in 2016. “When the consumer is ready for that, we’ll be ready,” Eric LaFleche, CEO of the Montreal-based retailer, said in a conference call. (supermarketnews.com)

US: Target boosts its annual earnings forecast as sales climb
Target posted third-quarter results that met analysts’ estimates and raised the low end of its annual profit forecast. Comparable-store sales, rose 1.9%. Analysts had been expecting growth of 1.7%. Q3 sales were up 2.1% to $17.6bn, comp store sales were up 1.9% and net earnings were up 56.0% to $549m. Food continued to improve with comp sales outpacing the business as a whole for the first time. More significant changes to the food offer will be implemented next year, starting with its LA 25 group of test stores and a number of SuperTarget remodels. (esmmagazine.com)

US: Target expanding food tests to Los Angeles.
Target Corp. said Wednesday it plans to begin testing changes in the food shopping environments at 25 stores scheduled for remodeling in the Los Angeles market and also at remodeled SuperTargets. It's CEO said the Minneapolis-based company is “very pleased” with test results of localized assortments of food and beverage offerings in Chicago. “While we’re encouraged with the acceleration in food sales, we are still in the very early stages of our work to provide a unique assortment of fresh, local and healthy items to our guests,” he explained. (igd.com / supermarketnews.com)

Croatian Konzum launches private-label line
Croatian retailer Konzum has launched a new private-label brand for the Bosnian market. The 'Tradicija moga kraja' (Tradition from my Region) brand consists of high-quality healthy products prepared and produced in Bosnia and Herzegovina according to traditional recipes passed down from generation to generation. The brand has been developed in close cooperation with nearly 40 local producers. (esmmagazine.com)

UK: Booths profits take a tumble
Booths declares a "tough retail environment" as the reason its full year pre-tax profits have fallen by 58.6% whilst sales have dropped from £282.2m to £280.7m. The Northwest based retailer said pre-tax profits were a "modest" £1.63m for the year ending March 28, down from £3.94m the year before. The price war within the market and continued food deflation took its toll on the business. Despite the results Booths can point to the five new stores it will have opened by the end of the year. (igd.com)

Romania: Retailer Profi to take €25m loan
The Romanian retailer Profi will take a €25m loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) after the credit transaction was approved by the board. The loan will be used, among other things, to support the company's investment plan to expand Profi's store network, including the Loco format, designed for rural areas, as well as energy efficiency projects in stores. Profit is the retailer with the most dynamic expansion this year, with 83 store openings. The company's target is to reach 100 new stores this year.

If one of our supermarkets has to die, Asda is looking the most vulnerable
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US: Analysts sceptical despite Walmart's improved 3Q
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