Amazon gets green light to sell groceries in India

Carrefour France grows first vertical garden
Carrefour France has announced plans to grow its first 'vertical garden' in an outlet in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois in the Paris region. The garden is cultivated using the aeroponics process, where plants are grown without the use of soil. (esmmagazine.com)

Amazon secures approval to sell groceries in India
Online retail giant Amazon.com Inc has secured approval to stock and sell food and groceries in India, potentially expanding its business in the fast-growing economy where it is in a pitched battle with home-grown rival Flipkart. Amazon confirmed winning government approval for its plan to sell food products, but it declined to provide further details. Separately, a source familiar with the matter said Amazon planned to invest $500 million in the food segment, over and above the $5 billion it had already committed to investing in India. (Reuters)

Walmart brings third dimension to India’s e-grocery war
Please, click here to read the article.

French Cora's results stabilized
Cora’s turnover reached 4.7 billion euro for its full fiscal year, down only 0.4% compared to the year before. Back in 2015, its turnover slumped 3.2%, so it was quite an improvement. Despite the slight drop, the company should not despair, because its competition suffered a lot more. Carrefour’s turnover dropped 2.6% and Auchan also had to deal with a slump that exceeded 2%. (retaildetail.eu)

Aldi creates 4,000 UK jobs in nationwide expansion
German discount supermarket chain Aldi is creating 4,000 new jobs in the UK, a move that will deal a sharp blow to some of the UK’s biggest retailers who have suffered from fierce competition for market share. The company said it was ramping up its staffing to match rising sales, with new jobs including store assistants and deputy store managers. (independent.co.uk)

UK competition watchdog refers Tesco/Booker deal for in-depth probe
Britain's competition regulator has referred supermarket Tesco's proposed 3.7bn pounds ($4.75bn) takeover of wholesaler Booker for a detailed investigation, granting a request from the companies to "fast track" the process. Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, and Booker announced the cash and shares deal in January and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) formally started a phase 1 review in May. Last month, Tesco and Booker asked the CMA to move swiftly to a more in-depth phase 2 examination.The CMA said on Wednesday it believed that in over 350 local areas where there was currently an overlap between Tesco shops and Booker-supplied independent grocery retailers, shoppers could face worse terms when buying products. (Reuters)

Aldi overtakes Waitrose in customer satisfaction
Aldi has overtaken Marks & Spencer and Waitrose as the best-performing supermarket for customer satisfaction in a survey of 10,000 shoppers. The Institute of Customer Service ranked 245. Aldi came seventh overall, up from 34th place last July. Waitrose and Marks & Spencer ranked 13th and 14th, having been the highest-scoring supermarkets last year at joint third place. (BBC)

German Metro to split on Thursday
German retailer Metro will list as two separate companies after a German court gave the green light on Wednesday for the conglomerate to split its food business from its consumer electronics unit. (Reuters)

Russia's O'Key group signs cooperation agreement with Familia
Russian retailer O'Key Group has announced that it has signed a strategic partnership with Familia, a leading 'off-price' retailer. The agreement will see Familia open stores in two of O'Key's hypermarkets, in Ekaterinburg and Tyumen in the second half of this year. In addition, the two groups will engage in joint marketing campaigns. (esmmagazine.com)

Organic Garage president: Customers evolve past what traditional chain stores offer
Toronto-based Organic Garage believes that a substantial organic selection — and not much else — is enough to give the natural food retailer an edge on larger, established competitors. Conventional supermarket chains are “training our future customer,” Matt Lurie, president of Organic Garage told SN. “I do things a chain store can never do.” Please, click here to read the article. (supermarketnews.com)

Driscoll’s mobile application supports supermarket staff
With the launch of the first retailer mobile application in DEMEA markets, the category development team at Driscoll’s found a new and unique way to directly connect with in-store supermarket personnel. This unique Driscoll’s app guides fresh produce staff through a five-step 'Fix the Basics' programme, in which tips and tricks are provided to enable staff to present berries in a successful way, and therefore unlock higher berry sales. (esmmagazine.com)