'Forget Tesco, suppliers are the real victims in price war'
Southern California to get 10 more Aldi stores
An online shopping guide reveals the retailers who back British farmers – and those who don’t. When it came to selling seasonal British fruit and vegetables, Aldi reported selling 16 lines, including potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, berries and parsnips. This was followed by Waitrose, which reported selling 12 lines, Morrisons with 10, and Tesco and the Co-operative with six. As sourcing policies constantly change, the guide will be updated, although the NFU is calling for retailers to build more transparent and sustainable supply chains. (fwi.co.uk)
Aldi sets 10 more Southern California openings
Aldi said Thursday it plans to open 10 stores in Southern California on April 21 to complement the eight with which it debuted there late last month. The new stores will move the company for the first time into Los Angles County, with six locations, and Orange County , with three, and will add one more store in San Bernardino County. Aldi said it expects to open a total of 45 stores in the region before the end of 2016. “The Southern California store openings play a significant role in the company’s strategic plan to expand to nearly 2,000 stores from coast-to-coast by end the of 2018,” the company said. (Source: supermarketnews.com)
Forget Tesco, suppliers are the real victims in price war: chart
By cutting prices to win back shoppers from Aldi and Lidl, Tesco Plc is expected to report a profit margin of less than 2 percent this week, reports Bloomberg. But the impact on hundreds of U.K. food suppliers has been far greater, with insolvencies more than tripling in five years. Despite regulators giving Tesco a public reprimand for delaying payments, these behaviors remain prevalent in the sector, according to Duncan Swift, head of food advisory at consultants Moore Stephens. “With no end to the price war in sight, food manufacturers are finding themselves less and less able to subsidize the aggressive buying tactics of big retailers,” he said. (Bloomberg)
CEO of Britain's Co-Op takes 60 percent pay cut
The chief executive of Britain's Co-Operative Group will take a 60 percent pay cut as his workload has eased since the supermarkets-to-funerals group overcame a financial crisis two years ago, the mutual said. (Reuters)
France: E.Leclerc’s market share continues to increase
According to lsa-conso.fr, Kantar WorldPanel’s latest figures show that E.Leclerc is still in good stride with a 0.7 point increase in market share in March 2016 (20.3% market share). Kantar reports that the number of clients is stable and loyalty has increased thanks to more purchases per basket. Meanwhile, Lidl’s market share has increased 5.4% (+0.4 points), the highest it has ever been for Lidl in France. Géant’s 2.7% market share has increased by 0.2 points thanks to more spent per basket (+€2.20/basket). Leader Price’s market share has increased by 0.1 points (2.6%) with loyalty increasing by +0.7 points.
Lidl sees net sales of over €3,000mln in Spain
Lidl achieved net sales of €3,048 million in Spain in 2015, representing a growth of 12.5 per cent compared with the previous year. Alimarket.es reports that this growth is due to a consistent effort by the retailer in improving its stores, as well as to its ability to adapt to the Spanish consumers' taste without compromising its core brand values. In 2015, Lidl invested a total of €262 million in Spain. (esmmagazine.com)
China: Walmart to open 60 new stores by 2017
Walmart China is opening 60 new stores in the country by 2017 as part of its efforts to integrate its hypermarkets, membership stores and online platform to offer customers more convenience and quality products in a highly-competitive retail market, the company's opexecutive said. Greg Penner, chairman of the Walmart board of directors, said in an exclusive interview with China Daily in Shanghai on Wednesday that the company has already opened more than 50 new stores since a plan to add 115 stores in three years was announced in 2015. Please, click here to read more at chinadaily.com.cn.
AU: Coles defends selling vegetables at three times the wholesale price
Coles has defended charging Canberra consumers up to three times its wholesale price for many popular fruit and vegetable lines, saying it costs more to bring fresh produce to market than processed and manufactured goods. "The difference between wholesale and retail prices on any one item fluctuates due to a number of factors including seasonality, customer demand and periodic specials," a company spokesman said. (canberratimes.com.au)
ICA Gruppen : Swedish ICA stores - March 2016 sales figures
Sales in the Swedish ICA stores rose by 6.3% in March 2016 compared with the corresponding month last year. Sales in like-for-like stores increased by 6.0%. In March 2016, sales in the Swedish ICA stores totalled SEK 9,390 million excluding VAT, which is an increase of 6.3% compared with the same month in the previous year. Sales in January-March 2016 amounted to SEK 26,396 million, an increase of 5.1% compared with the previous year. (4-traders.com)
Dia reaches 2,000 franchised retail outlets in Spain
Grupo Dia has opened its 2,000th franchised shop in Spain. The new store is located in Madrid, and operates under the Dia Market banner. Between January and March 2016, the company opened a total of 46 outlets, which brought it to reach the milestone figure. (esmmagazine.com)
Japan: Seven & I CEO steps down
Toshifumi Suzuki, the CEO of Seven & I Holdings in Japan, has resigned following not gaining backing from the group's board in regards to a management reshuffle. Sukuki has been at Seven & I since 1965 and has been chairman and CEO of the business since October 1992. (igd.com)
Greece: Seven in 10 supermarket clients only shop for the bare essentials
Seven in 10 consumers only buy absolutely essential items from supermarkets, according to a new survey on consumer behavior by the Athens University of Economics and Business, seen by Kathimerini. This is the highest rate ever recorded in the annual survey and serves to confirm the impoverished state of the majority of Greeks. (ekathimerini.com)
US: Stop & Shop workers' union reaches deal with supermarket chain
Workers for Stop & Shop have reached a tentative contract agreement with the supermarket chain after months of sometimes tense negotiations. Details of the new deal were not immediately released. The proposal will be reviewed by legal counsel and presented to the workers soon. (masslive.com)
UK: Co-op Group drivers’ dispute settled
Co-operative Group drivers have voted to accept proposals to settle a dispute over the outsourcing of jobs to Eddie Stobart Limited (ESL). In January, the Group announced plans to transfer 85 staff at its Coventry national distribution centre to the private haulier. However Unite the Union, representing the drivers, was against the move, saying it could erode pay and threaten jobs – and have negative implications for other drivers in the future. Over 700 drivers based around the UK were then balloted for industrial action, according to a press release.
Spar acquires 12 Alisuper stores in Portugal
Portuguese food retailer Alisuper has sold 12 stores to Spar for €750,000, reports local newspaper Publico. All of the outlets are located in Portugal’s Algarve region, and the deal includes all 78 jobs and goods. Last year, Alisuper sold seven stores to France’s Intermarché and three to local supermarket chain Pingo Doce, after which it entered a Special Revitalization Process (PER) at the end of the year. (esmmagzine.com)
El Corte Inglés joins Spain's Círculo Fortuny group
El Corte Inglés has joined Círculo Fortuny, a non-profit group that has promoted luxury Spanish goods and services since its foundation in 2011. The membership is described as recognition of the company’s leading role in the Spanish retail industry, according to GranConsumo.tv. (esmmagzine.com)
AU: Wesfarmers boss furious over Target scandal
Wesfarmers boss Richard Goyder has blasted the "mind-blowingly stupid" actions of Target employees behind a creative accounting scheme which inflated earnings at the discount retailer. Four people including former Target managing director have left the company before or after the scandal broke last month. Mr Goyder said there would be further actions against others. (au.news.yahoo.com)