Aldi AU to expand in WA; forcing competitors to drop prices

Australian Oz-Town opens flagship store in Shanghai -
Oz-Town launched a flagship store in Shanghai during the recent Australia Week in China. The Shanghai store is part of a chain of stores Oz-Town expects to roll out in conjunction with the Suning retail empire across China over the next 12 months. The new Oz-Town store will offer Chinese consumers Australian products which include fresh produce. (insideretail.com.au)

AU: Aldi reveals WA expansion plans
The discount retailer will open its first Western Australia stores in June, with plans to open four stores all on the same day. The four stores will open on 8 June at Mirrabooka Square, Kwinana, Belmont and Lakeside Joondalup, with a further 16 planned to open later in the year. The new stores will kick off Aldi's long awaited entry to Western Australia and form part of its longer term plan to open 70 stores in the state. The retailer's new distribution centre at Jandakot airport in Perth, will start to receive deliveries in May.

AU: Aldi causes grocery prices to go down in WA
German supermarket giant Aldi plans to open four stores in Perth in the next two months, in a move one analyst says will force down prices in the state. Perth-based retail analyst Barry Urquhart said consumers had been paying far too much for groceries in Western Australia. "Supermarket prices [in Western Australia] have been higher," he said. "Fruit and vegetables offer retails a profit margin of somewhere between 150 and 300%. (abc.net.au)

Alibaba enters agreement with New Zealand to strengthen (fruit) trade with China
Alibaba Group and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, the New Zealand Government’s international business development agency, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize discussions for strengthening trade between China and New Zealand and support the growth of New Zealand brands in China. The cooperation between Alibaba and NZTE will foster greater trade opportunities for New Zealand businesses seeking to enter the vast Chinese consumer market, by leveraging services and platforms offered by Alibaba’s ecosystem. New Zealand businesses are already using Alibaba’s channels to sell a wide range of products including fruit. (streetinsider.com)

US: Moody's assigns first rating to The Fresh Market
Moody’s Investors Service said Friday it has assigned its first ratings to The Fresh Market, Greensboro, N.C., as it completes its acquisition by Apollo Global Management. (supermarketnews.com)

Lidl UK plans to open its 12th DC
Britain’s fastest growing supermarket*, Lidl UK, has revealed plans to open its 12th Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) in East Devon, following the submission of a planning application to build the 50,000 m² warehouse on a site at Clyst Honiton. (internationalsupermarketnews.com)

AU: Target and Kmart merger will lose sales to Big W, Wesfarmers warned
A merger of Target and Kmart will see shoppers abandon both stores in favour of Big W and cost their owner Wesfarmers hundreds of millions of dollars, the conglomerate has been warned. The two discount chains were brought together under Wesfarmers' new department store division in February, with ex-Kmart boss Guy Russo put in charge of running the businesses and turning Target around. Wesfarmers has said it would cut administration and purchasing costs through the restructure and also flagged converting Target stores to Kmarts and vice versa. (smh.com.au)

Delhaize releases 2015 annual report
Delhaize Group announces the publication of its 2015 Annual Report and its 2015 Sustainability Progress Report. The reports are available online at annualreport.delhaizegroup.com and at sustainabilityreport.delhaizegroup.com.

Greenpeace accuses Dutch supermarkets about produce
Supermarkets should put an end to the sale of products that have been grown with bee venom. Greenpeace says this in response to the report 'bee mortality on the shelf'. The environmental group accuses the three biggest supermarkets in the Netherlands, Albert Heijn, Jumbo and Lidl, that they contribute to the decline of bees and other pollinators. (distrifood.nl)

Spar International said to target 24 new stores in Oman
Dutch supermarket chain SPAR International reportedly plans to open 24 outlets in Oman by 2017, as part of significant expansion plans in the Gulf. In an interview with Times of Oman, Tobias Wasmuht, managing director of SPAR International, said: “This year, we plan to open 14 stores. By the end of 2017 we will have 24 outlets across Oman.” (arabianbusiness.com)

Waitrose to sell British food to China including nuts
Waitrose is to export to China for the first time from 18th April after reaching an agreement to sell products online with the retailer predicting it could become its biggest international business in the next three to five years. An initial 30 products will be available from the Waitrose offer, including biscuits, tea, coffee, cereals and nuts as well as beauty, baby and organic ranges with more lines set to be added shortly after the launch. (farminguk.com)

Metro launches c-store in China
Metro Cash & Carry China has revealed that it will accelerate the development of its franchise business and introduce its convenience store brand MyMart to China this year. Metro is planning to open two MyMart stores in Shanghai this year and more store openings are scheduled in other cities across China. Jeroen de Groot, president of Metro China, said, "the convenience store market in China is very attractive but still quite immature. We would like to expedite our franchise businesses by looking at reliable and experienced partners in Shanghai as well as other cities to accelerate the growth." (igd.com)

'Social' supermarkets debut in Italy and Portugal
So-called ‘social’ or ‘solidarity’ supermarkets have opened up in recent days in Italy and Portugal, aimed at providing groceries to the less well off. Purchases are paid for by points allocated to its members. The food supplies are provided by state agencies, as well as donations from individuals and companies. (esmmagazine.com)