Whole Foods announces it's to shrink chain
Aldi announces1.6bn investment in US with focus on fresh
AmazonFresh has expanded from 190 Greater London and Surrey postcodes to 260, with the service now available in Hampshire. In November, Ocado opened a new customer fulfilment centre in Andover, Hampshire. With AmazonFresh expanding, competition for online groceries outside of London is increasing. (igd.com)
Aldi announces 1,6bn investment in US
Aldi is to invest $1.6bn in remodelling 1,300 stores in the US by 2020, including expanding and enhancing fresh foods departments. This investment will bring most of Aldi’s stores in line with its latest concept which was initially launched in 2015, and rolled-out more widely last year, offering more space and new fixtures for produce. This investment will take place alongside the retailer’s on-going aggressive expansion plans. The retailer is aiming to have 2,000 stores operational in the US by the end of next year, as part of a five-year plan to add 650 stores. (igd.com)
Whole Foods to shrink store count
Whole Foods Market Inc., facing its worst sales slump in more than a decade, is taking a step that would have been unthinkable in its highflying days: shrinking the size of the chain. Though Whole Foods plans to open six stores during the current quarter, including two relocations, the company said Wednesday that it’s shutting down nine. That kind of retrenchment hasn’t happened since the last recession was underway in 2008. Six straight quarters of declining same-store sales -- a closely watched measure -- have forced the organic-food grocer to tighten its belt. Same-store sales dropped 2.4% last quarter, worse than the 1.7% decrease predicted by analysts. The company now expects sales on that basis to decline by as much as 2.5% this year, compared with an earlier forecast that was closer to break-even. (Bloomberg)
ICA Sweden: +2.0% driven by fresh food
ICA Sweden reported 2016 net sales growth of 2.0% to SEK 74,050m (€7.8bn) and a 4.1% increase in operating profit to 3,604m (€369.5m). Sales growth was driven by higher average basket spend, particularly in fresh categories including vegetables. (igd.com)
ICA's Rimi Baltic sees strong 2016, challenging Q4 in Lithuania
In 2016, sales at ICA's Rimi Baltic fascia increased by 7.4%% to SEK 13,571m (€1.4bn), while operating profit increased by 26% to SEK 526m (€55.5m). All countries reported growth, with the strongest performance in Lithuania which grew at 8.9% to €313m. However, during the fourth quarter, performance in Lithuania dropped, with net sales growth of 0.7%, while like-for-like sales turned negative at -3.4% versus 2015. Rimi Baltic in Lithuania is likely to have been impacted by Lidl, which recently entered the market. (igd.com)
Americas: 52M consumers buy groceries online, report
The internet is quickly becoming the virtual grocery store for many US consumers with 52 million currently grocery shopping online, finds a new study from The NPD Group. The report states that 20 million consumers who are either current, lapsed, or new to online grocery shopping, plan to increase their virtual shopping for foods and beverages over the next six months. (fdfworld.com)
AU: Coles has plan to stop self-serve checkout theft
Coles is restricting the number of items at self-serve check-outs to 12, just months after it ordered a crackdown on theft at self-scanning points. Supermarket theft is compounded by the ease with which self-serve machines allow shoppers to pass off more expensive fruit and vegetables as cheaper products. (chinchillanews.com.au)
Wal-Mart aims to leverage British arm Asda back to health
Wal-Mart is throwing its weight as the world's largest retailer behind its struggling British arm, Asda, after admitting it was too slow to respond effectively to the threat posed by the discount supermarkets. Wal-Mart will provide further firepower by ensuring Asda leverages the parent's purchasing strength in everything from refrigerators to own-brand products and real estate to drive down prices and costs, said Scott Price, CAO of Walmart International. "One thing that maybe we would criticize ourselves for is that we didn't start the repositioning of the business sooner, that we didn't focus more on the leverage opportunities so that Asda was able to invest more aggressively in price," Price told Reuters in an interview. (Reuters)
H-E-B sells 3 former Sun Fresh grocery stores in North Texas
H-E-B has sold three former Sun Fresh Market grocery stores in North Texas it purchased in a buying spree last year to a California grocery chain and a Dallas commercial real estate firm, the company said Wednesday. (expressnews.com)
Big supermarket chains in southern Africa are keeping out small suppliers
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Germany's favourite fresh produce retailers
German consumers have once again voted for the best fresh produce departments among the country’s retailers and the winners were Globus, Edeka and Lidl. Globus was the winner in the hypermarkets category, Edeka in the full range supermarkets category and Lidl in the discount category. The Fruchthandel Magazine retail awards were announced yesterday in Berlin during the Fruitnet World of Fresh Ideas event held on the eve of Fruit Logistica 2017. Please, click here to read more at eurofresh-distribution.com.