Norway: Rema 1000 responds to Kiwi’s discount on fruit and veg - -
Last week, the Norwegian retailer Kiwi, as part of the Kiwi Plus program, started to offer a 7.5% discount on fruit and vegetables, on top of the bonus consumers already receive as members as part of an initiative that has been underway for almost a year. Immediately after the discount was announced, Rema 1000 issued a statement saying it would cut the price of fruit and vegetables by 10%. (kampanje.com)
Walmart comes with affordable organic line in Canada
Walmart is proud to announce the launch of its new Great Value Organic line of groceries. Rolling out in stores and on www.walmart.ca now, the retailer is offering more food choices with the introduction of nearly 50 affordably-priced Canadian certified organic products. "At Walmart, we believe consumers who want to eat organic shouldn't have to pay more for their groceries," said Jennifer Goldspink, vice president, grocery, Walmart Canada. "We're making it easier than ever for customers to have access to quality, organic foods at low prices everyday." The Great Value Organic line includes frozen berries, seeds, beverages, cereal, frozen berries and more. (newschannel10.com)
Supervalu Inc. on Wednesday reported a worse-than-expected 2.6% decline in third-quarter revenue as the supermarket chain continues to face increased competition. Shares of Supervalu lost 15.5% to $5.08 amid a broad market sell-off. "We continue to operate in a challenging environment," CEO Sam Duncan said. "Improving sales is a primary focus as we look to complete the fiscal year." Duncan has said he would retire from the company next month after joining in early 2013. (twincities.com)
Supervalu sets investments to combat deflation
Supervalu expects to invest more in pricing and promotions during its fiscal fourth quarter to try to mitigate the impact of deflation, company executives said Wednesday. The company has seen a 10% swing from inflation to deflation over the past year, Bruce H. Besanko, EVP and COO, told investors during a conference call discussing third quarter financial results. “That means when you open the door, you’re 10% behind before you start, so we’ve got to figure out ways to fight through that.” (supermarketnews.com)
Aldi and Lidl voted UK's favourite brands in 2015
Two German companies are behind Britain’s favourite brands, a recent ranking has revealed. Discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl retained their first and second place positions in YouGov’s BrandIndex Top 10 for 2015, which measures the public’s perception of brands. YouGov said “creative advertising, ambitious expansion and a progressive wage policy” had driven their popularity. (standard.co.uk)
UK supermarket giant Tesco has seen its like-for-like sales slip by 0.5% in Q3, according to a trading statement published this morning. The retailer’s core UK market saw a 1.5% decline, according to the statement, which it said ‘reflects [the] impact of lapping unsustainable couponing in the year prior’. International like-for-like sales were up 2.9%. The results also featured details of Tesco’s Christmas sales performance, which saw a rise in Group sales of 2.1% and UK like-for-like sales growth of 1.3%. (esmmagazine.com)
SA: Woolworths sees profit rising as food sales increase
Woolworths, South Africa’s biggest retailer by market value, said first-half earnings probably climbed as much as 35%, as sales increased in clothes, food and Australian chain David Jones. Earnings excluding one-time items for the six months through 27 December probably increased 25% to 35%, to as much as 2.62 rand a share, the company said Thursday. (esmmagazine.com)
US: Publix names new CEO
Publix CEO Ed Crenshaw is retiring at the end of April. Todd Jones, who worked his way up during a 26-year career from store clerk in New Smyrna Beach to president, will be the new Publix CEO and president when Crenshaw retires April 30. (orlandosentinel.com)
Casino sales meet estimates as French consumption recovers
Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA, the French supermarket operator reported full-year sales near analysts’ estimates, boosted by a recovery in its home market in the fourth quarter. Sales reached €46.1bn, rising 0.3% on an organic basis. Analysts expected €46.5bn, according to the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. In France, fourth-quarter sales increased 1.5% to €4.9bn. (bloomberg.com)
UK: Co-op stores report fruit/veg sales up 10%
Retail co-operatives have reported increases in sales over the Christmas period. Southern Co-operative saw a total sales increase of 5.4% (4.7% like-for-like) across the three weeks to 3 January. CEO Mark Smith said: “These are our best Christmas trading results for some years". The fresh food categories saw the best like-for-like performance with fruit and vegetable sales up 10%, where total volumes rose by 22% year-on-year over the three week period.
US: OGA names new top executive
The Ohio Grocers Association said Wednesday it has named Kristin Mullins as its new president and CEO. Mullins held the titles on an interim basis when Nate Filler left the association after four years. Mullins has been OGA’s EVP and COO for the past 10 years. (supermarketnews.com)
Italy: Selex increases private label turnover
Italy's Gruppo Selex has reported turnover of more than EUR750m for its private label ranges in 2015, up 3% year-on-year. Some of Selex's private label lines achieved growth of over 10%, for example organic and healthy eating ranges. Selex said the segmentation of its offer, along with continuous updating of the basic ranges and keeping close to consumer trends, have contributed to private label's success. (igd.com)
France: Block extends attack on Casino’s accounting with questions
Carson Block stepped up its attack on the accounting of French retailer Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA, saying that Standard & Poor’s understated the company’s net debt. The credit rater included the entire earnings of Casino’s Via Varejo unit even though the retailer owns 43.3%, and it overstated cash by €2.6bn by including cash held at investment partners, Muddy Waters LLC said in a report on its website Wednesday. S&P rates Casino debt BBB-, its lowest investment-grade level. Click here for more at esmmagazine.com.
Romania: Lidl invests €20m in logistics center
German retailer Lidl continues to expand in Romania with a €20m modern and eco-friendly logistics center in Lugoj, western Romania. It is the company’s fourth such center in the country. It will manage and provide goods transport to the Lidl supermarkets located in southwestern Romania. (romania-insider.com)
Australian consumer giant Wesfarmers has set its sights on acquiring home improvement and garden retailer Homebase from British-based Home Retail Group for £340m sterling in cash. (news.xinhuanet.com)
Chileans boycott supermarkets to fight corruption
Chile is commonly rated as a country with low levels of corruption for the region. However, a series of cases of corruption that began to come to light in 2008 have shaken the public’s perception of corruption in Chile. As a response to the latest scandal, on January 10 a boycott against three supermarket companies accused of collusion was called for on social media in Chile. A hashtag on Twitter that mobilized supporters became a national trending topic. Thousands of people joined the campaign and opted instead to shop at their local grocery store. Please, click here to read more. Please, click here to read more at wagingonviolence.org. India: Flipkart gets news CEO
Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal has ventured down as CEO of the Indian e-business organization, the organization announced. He will be supplanted by his co-founder, Binny Bansal. Sachin Bansal will get to be executive chairman and “mentor the senior leadership of the company and look for new investment opportunities,,” the organization said in the declaration. (internationalsupermarketnews.com)