Tesco and Morrisons cut fresh produce prices

UK: Sainsbury holds profit steady
J Sainsbury Plc showed it’s coping with a Brexit-fueled squeeze on industry profitability as it reported annual profit that met analyst estimates, Bloomberg reports. Underlying pretax profit fell 1% to £581m ($750m) in the 12 months ended March 11, the London-based company said in a statement Wednesday. That compared with the 580m-pound average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. General-merchandise chain Argos contributed £77m to that figure. (Bloomberg)

Woolworths to push fruit & veg and nut consumption
Woolworths is banking on the global popularity of Marvel superhero characters to promote healthy eating and boost grocery sales. Part of the campaign includes specifically-tailored recipes encouraging children to "eat like a superhero". The recipes are heavily based on fruits, vegetables and nuts. (goodfruitandvegetables.com.au)

UK: Tesco to lower fresh produce prices
Today, Tesco launched the ‘Little Helps to Healthier Living’ campaign. As part of the campaign, Tesco will lower the price of fruit and vegetables; provide ‘Little Swap’ signposts in-store alerting consumers to healthier alternatives; put fresh fruit at checkouts; and launch two new health-minded TV ads as part of its ongoing ‘Food Love Stories’ campaign. (marketingweek.com)

UK: Morrisons slashes prices on 1,000 products, including veg
Morrisons has upped the ante in the price war between the UK’s major supermarket chains by slashing prices on more than 1000 products in-store and online. Food items will see a price drop of about 21%. Items that will become cheaper include iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and PG Tea. (retailgazette.co.uk)

All major UK grocers in growth for first time in over three years
The latest Kantar Worldpanel data for the 12 week period to 23 April has found that all ten major UK grocery retailers are in growth for the first time in three and a half years, boosted by a strong Easter period. Tesco continues to lead the way in UK grocery, posting a 1.9% year-on-year increase in sales, and sitting on 27.5% market share. Sainsbury’s, which posted its preliminary full-year results today, holds 16.1% market share, is second (+1.7% sales growth). It is followed by Asda on 15.6% market share (+0.8% sales growth) and Morrisons on 10.4% share (+2.2% growth). (retailgazette.co.uk)

Russia: O'Key Group Q1 results show strong discounter performance
Russian retailer O'Key Group has announced its unaudited operating results for Q1 2017, with increases from its discounters segment making up for decreases in other areas. The group's net retail revenue increased by 0.5% year-on-year from RUB 42,586m (€683m) to RUB 42,797m (€687m). The group's net retail revenue growth rose to +4.9% in March. (esmmagazine.com)

Auchan Retail to open 'myAuchan' stores in Romania
Auchan Retail Romania and local oil and gas group OMV Petrom are to jointly open small proximity stores at Petrom petrol stations in Romania. These stores will be operated under the brand name myAuchan, a first for the retailer that is already present in the country with its hypermarkets. (esmmagazine.com)

E-Mart China business to close down
South Korean discounter E-Mart is to close down its China business. For 20 years, E-Mart China has battled to be profitable. Now it says the diplomatic dispute over the location of the THADD missile defence system has proven the final straw, leaving “little leeway for a turnaround” the Korean news agency Yonhap reported. (insideretail.asia)

Argentina latest to leverage Alibaba as gateway to China
E-commerce giant Alibaba Group is partnering with the government of Argentina to bring the South American country’s foods and wine to China, as Chinese consumers increasingly look overseas for these goods. (alizila.com)

Shoprite signs investment contract in Angola
South African group Shoprite on Saturday officially signed a contract with Angola’s Technical Unit for Private Investment (UTIP) under which it will invest in US$571.7m, the Angop news agency reported. Angola, said that this investment project aims to expand the retail network, opening shopping centres and a warehouse, as well as improvements in existing structures and acquisition of goods and equipment to supply and equip all current commercial structures. (macauhub.com.mo)

UK: Ocado ties up with garden centre
Garden centre group Dobbies has struck a five-year deal with online grocer Ocado to expand its UK deliveries. The UK's second biggest garden centre chain plans to launch the service early next year to serve the whole of the UK. (BBC)

US: Key Food posts flat annual comps
Key Food Stores Cooperative finished its fiscal year Saturday posting flat comparable-store sales, and record earnings, revenues and store count, said CEO Dean Janeway. The comps came amid deflation and the effect of cycling the New York metro area disruption triggered by the respective bankruptcies and liquidation of A&P and distributor AWI in 2015, Janeway noted. (supermarketnews.com)

US: Publix suffers tough Q1
Publix Super Markets on Monday said its comparable-store sales declined by 2.1% in the fiscal first quarter – marking the retailer’s first quarterly sales decline in seven years. The Lakeland, Fla.-based retailer said comps were negatively impacted by a shift of the Easter holiday from the first quarter last year to the second quarter this year, but also by the effects of its newly built stores on existing ones, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (supermarketnews.com)

Instacart looks to expand reach into 80% of US households by 2018
Instacart has expanded to four new markets this week, moving forward with its goal of reaching 80% of U.S. households by 2018, the company said in a statement. New locations include Las Vegas; Detroit; Columbus, Ohio; and Rio Grande Valley in Texas. Instacart also will enter additional markets in Michigan and Ohio and expand services in Texas, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee and the Carolinas in the coming weeks. (fooddive.com)

Natural Grocers bring healthy brand to Q-C
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China: Lianhua Supermarket says unit entered into acquisition agreement
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