Tesco nearing deal on accounting scandal

US: Marsh to close Indiana stores
Two more Marsh stores will be closing in Indianapolis by the beginning of April. Marsh has already closed stores in Indianapolis since the beginning of the year. (theindychannel.com)

Russia: X5 Retail net profits up 57.3%
Russian food retailer X5 Retail Group's revenues rose by 27.8% to RUB1,033,667m in 2016 - the fastest growth rate since 2011. Adjusted EBITDA rose by 33.8% to RUB79,519m and net profits of RUB22,291m were up 57.3% on last time. Like-for-like sales increased by 7.7% with an improvement across all three of the company's major formats. The company added a record 2,167 new stores in 2016 compared with 1,537 new stores in 2015. (stockmarketwire.com)

India: Walmart to open 50 new stores
Global retail giant Walmart is looking to locate nearly half of its 50 stores in the country in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand as it seeks to ramp up operations in the cash-and-carry segment, while also eyeing food retail if the government eases the norms. Sources told TOI that Walmart, which currently has 20 stores across the country, is planning as many stores in the two northern states, where the BJP recently swept to power. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

Amazon avoids $1.5bn tax bill after judge rules it's legal
Amazon has avoided a $1.5bn (£1.2bn) tax bill in the US after a court ruled that it was legal for the online retailer to have paid tax on its European sales through a Luxembourg sub-company. The lengthy court battle between Amazon and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) came to a conclusion after Judge Albert Lauber ruled in favour of Amazon. (thedrum.com)

Tesco nearing deal on accounting scandal: Sky
Britain's biggest retailer Tesco is in advanced talks with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over a plea deal that would involve it paying a large fine over its 2014 profit overstatement, Sky news said on Saturday. Sky said it had learned that lawyers acting for Tesco are closing in on a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) following months of discussions with the SFO. It cited unnamed sources as saying that a deal could be struck within weeks, although there was no certainty a final agreement would be reached. The amount of any fine would be well over 100m pounds, it added. (Reuters)

New US grocery-giant targets Australia
The Australian reports that just last month the Commonwealth Bank released sobering statistics which revealed only 14% of Aussie retailers are prepared to compete with Amazon, while only 11% consider the US-giant to be a threat on home soil. This is despite 70% of Australian retailers being well aware that it could reach our market as early as September. (tenplay.com.au)

Vietnamese struggle to sell products at foreign-invested supermarkets
Le Thi Thanh Lam, deputy general director of Saigon Food, said many Vietnamese enterprises have met big problems in distribution since the day some supermarket chains were invested in by foreigners. It is now difficult for Vietnamese manufacturers to sell their goods via the chains as the foreign retailers require high discount rates. (english.vietnamnet.vn)

Spain: Coviran sales up 4% to €1.26bn
Spanish co-op, Coviran, has reported a 4% annual growth in gross sales during 2016, to €1.26bn. Of the total, approximately €1.15bn relates to Spanish sales, with €106m corresponding to sales achieved in Portugal. Like-for-like sales grew by 1%. Net profits were up by 13% in the same period to €1.04m. Coviran holds a market share of 2.09% in Spain and 0.84% in Portugal. (esmmagazine.com)

Italy's Esselunga sees 2016 revenues grow by 3.1%
Italian supermarket chain Esselunga has posted a 3.1% growth in revenue to over €7.5bn for full year 2016. The result, which was achieved in the year it lost its founder Bernardo Caprotti, came as the group implemented an average price decrease of 1.1%, which enabled it to attract new customers to its stores (+4.4% compared to 2015). Net profit was down from €291m to €262m, mainly due to some impairments of the group’s real estate activities. (esmmagazine.com)

UK grocery store Booths to sell products in Malaysia
Britain’s upmarket grocery chain Booths will soon be selling its products in Malaysia. UK daily The Telegraph reported yesterday that the chain, which started in Blackpool some 170 years ago, has opted to venture into Malaysia via a joint venture with Hong Kong-listed retailer, Dairy Farm. (themalaymailonline.com)

Wal-Mart is 'best positioned' in online grocery battle against Amazon
Wal-Mart Stores appears "best positioned" among the major food retailers to capitalize on the next phase of growth in online grocery and take on Amazon, according to a new report from Citi Research. Kroger also scored high among the pure-play grocers in terms of its online grocery positioning compared with e-commerce giant Amazon, particularly as it related to pricing. But at the bottom of the list was Whole Foods Market. (cnbc.com)

US: Food Lion store renovations planned
Food Lion is sprucing up many of its local stores as the Richmond grocery market gets ready to see two new grocery chains — Publix Super Markets and Lidl — enter the market. According to county building permit records, several of Food Lion’s local stores are getting face-lifts. (richmond.com)

Finnish grocery sees sales decline 1% in February
Grocery retailers in Finland posted sales of €1.23bn in February 2017, which is 1% down on the same month the previous year, the Finnish Grocery Trade Association (Päivittäistavarakauppa ry) has revealed. (esmmagazine.com)

Amazon challenged by competitor in Middle East
Dubai's Emaar Malls, operator of the Middle East's most glitzy shopping malls, has made an $800m offer for Middle Eastern online retailer Souq.com, potentially setting up a bidding war with Amazon.com Inc. Reuters reported last week that Amazon had agreed in principle to buy Souq.com. (Reuters)

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