All major UK supermarkets continue to post growth: Kantar Worldpanel
All major UK supermarkets posted growth in the 12-week period to 16 July, according to the latest market-share data from Kantar Worldpanel. Of the UK's Big Four supermarkets, Tesco posted the strongest level of growth compared to last year, rising by 2.3%, to sit on 27.8% market share. Sainsbury's saw sales rise 2.2%, to sit on 16.0% share; Asda, which, at the weekend, was linked to a purchase of discounter B&M, rose 1.0%, to sit on 15.1% share; and Morrisons rose 2.1%, to sit on 10.5% share. (esmmagazine.com)
Loblaw plans steeper discounts amid Canadian food price war
Canada’s food price war shows no sign of abating.The nation’s largest grocer, Loblaw, said Wednesday it plans steeper discounts, seeking to lure shoppers as profits are under threat from health-care reforms and a minimum-wage hike in some provinces. “We plan to intensify our focus on cost reductions in this highly competitive market given incremental external pressures on our industry,” Loblaw CEO Galen Weston said in a statement. (esmmagazine.com)
Lidl Ireland targets €700 million expansion project
Discount retailer Lidl could be expanding its network in Ireland to as many as 200 stores, according to the Irish Independent. The retailer is already set to invest €400 million in the country between 2016 and 2018, but further expansion could involve an additional €300 million. Lidl Ireland managing director John Paul Scally told the publication that the company is "not going to stop until we have a Lidl store in close proximity to everyone in the country." (esmmagazine.com)
WWF and Walmart team up with producers
World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), and the Walmart Foundation today announced a research program to maximize crop utilization and edible food recovery. With two grants from FFAR and the Walmart Foundation totaling $1.3 million, WWF will work with research teams across the country including the University of California, Davis and the Global Cold Chain Alliance to identify practical opportunities for producers to increase the proportion of crops that are harvested and delivered to the highest value destinations. (worldwildlife.org)
Asda profits fall by 19% as competition grows
UK retailer Asda has reported a pre-tax profit of £791.7 million for 2016, which represents a decrease of 19% year-on-year. The supermarket chain posted the worst annual figures since being taken over by retail giant Walmart, reports The Guardian, with sales falling from £22.3 billion to £21.6 billion. However, the company also reported an operating cash-flow of £1.41 billion, an increase of 8%, and said a dividend of £450 million was paid to Walmart. (esmmagazine.com)
Costco records 9% sales growth in July
US wholesale corporation Costco has reported that sales increased by 8.8% year-on-year to $9.41 billion for the month of July. For the forty-eight weeks ending 30 July 2017, the company reported net sales of $113.7 billion, an increase of 6.1% compared to the same period last year.(esmmagazine.com)
X5 Retail Group posts 27.5% revenue growth for Q2
Russia's X5 Retail Group has posted a 27.5% increase in revenue for the second quarter of the year, with sales tolling RUB 320,801 million. This brings the retailer's total sales for the first half of the year to RUB 613,879 million, which represents a 27% increase compared to the same period in 2016.(esmmagazine.com)
Jerónimo Martins and Sonae top retailers for reputation in Portugal
Retailers Jerónimo Martins and Sonae are among the most reputable organisations in Portugal based on enterprise value, a recent study has found. According to the OnStrategy RepRisk Value Pulse study, which measures the reputational economics of particular companies, Jerónimo Martins scored 73% in the study, while Sonae scored 71%, putting both retailers at the upper end of the scale, HiperSuper reported. (esmmagazine.com)
Convenience group McColl's signs agreement with Morrisons
UK convenience group McColl's has announced an agreement with Morrisons that will see the retailer supply selected products to McColl's estate of 1,300 convenience stores and 350 newsagents. The deal will see Morrisons supply products from the relaunched Safeway brand and its own branded products to McColl's, with a phased roll-out programme set to commence in January 2018. (esmmagazine.com)
SuperValu remains top supermarket in Ireland: Kantar Worldpanel
Irish retailer SuperValu has retained its position as the top supermarket in the country, according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel. The figures for the 12 weeks ending 16 July 2017 also show that the Irish market continues to grow, despite deepening price deflation.Tesco retained its second-place position with 21.9% market share and a 2% increase in value sales, followed by Dunnes Stores.(esmmagazine.com)
Edeka Südbayern to rename acquired Tengelmann outlets
German retailer Edeka has announced it will commence renaming some 170 Kaiser’s Tengelmann outlets in southern Bavaria (Südbayern) between now and the end of September 2017. Edeka acquired the supermarkets at the beginning of this year. The company will commence renaming the Tengelmann stores to Edeka outlets in the cities of Augsburg, Rosenheim and in the greater area of Munich, with around 14 supermarkets to be converted each week.The former Tengelmann supermarkets already featured the Edeka product range. (esmmagzine.com)
O'Key Group Q2 performance boosted by discounter segment
Russian retailer O'Key Group has reported that, year on year, net retail revenue increased by 4.9%, to RUB 41,793 million, in the second quarter of the year. Net revenue from the group's hypermarket and supermarket segment grew by 2%, to RUB 39,313 million, while revenue from the discounter segment experienced an increase of 95.3%, to RUB 2,473 million. Like-for-like group net retail revenue was almost flat year on year, as negative hypermarket and supermarket performance was largely offset by solid growth in the discounter segment. (esmmagazine.com)
Edeka launches 'Xpress' convenience store concept
German retailer Edeka Südbayern is launching a new convenience store format, Edeka Xpress. Around 50 stores, which will all be under 600 square metres in size, will be converted to the new format by the end of September from the smaller Tengelmann sites that Edeka is taking over. The new format will feature fresh produce, convenience foods, and Edeka's own brand ranges. (esmmagazine.com)
Whole Foods' sales slump eases ahead of takeover by Amazon
Amazon’s challenge of turning around Whole Foods Market looks like it won’t be quite so difficult. The organic-food grocer, which agreed to be acquired by the e-commerce giant in June, posted quarterly results that exceeded analysts’ estimates. While same-store sales still declined in the period, the drop was less severe than projected. (esmmagazine.com)
Aldi Nord to expand range of fresh produce
Discount retailer Aldi Nord has launched a new project to modernise its 2,300 stores across Germany. The project, called ANIKo (Aldi Nord in-store concept), will be completed over the next few years, with an investment of €5.2 million. ANIKo aims to refurbish Aldi outlets to make them brighter and more welcoming, as well as expanding the range of products on offer, particularly fresh produce. (esmmagazine.com)
Finland: Kesko sees 'significant' sales increase in first half of year
Finnish retail group Kesko has announced that its sales increased by 17% to €5.41 billion, at a local currency level, in the first half of the year. Net sales 'increased significantly' due to the acquisitions completed during 2016, meaning that sales growth, excluding acquisitions and divestments, was only 1.2%. Kesko's grocery business experienced a 5% growth in net sales during this period, positively affected by the acquisition of Suomen Lähikauppa and the divestment of Russian operations. (esmmagazine.com)
Brazil's GPA sees 9% growth in Q2
Brazilian retailer Grupo Pão de Açúcar (GPA) posted a net profit of R$165 million (€44.7 million) in the second quarter of 2017, compared to a net loss of R$277 million in the same period last year. Net sales grew by 9.5% to R$10.66 billion (€2.89 billion), driven by 29.2% growth at Cash & Carry banner Assaí and continued recovery of the Extra hypermarket banner. (esmmagazine.com)
Spain: Dia Group posts 4% sales increase
Spanish retailer Dia Group has announced that sales increased by 4.1% to €5.127 billion in the first half of 2017, compared to the same period in the previous year. The company's operations in Argentina and Brazil contributed to this growth, with a 12.1% increase in gross sales in local currency, reaching €1.885 billion. In Spain, however, gross sales fell by 3.6% to €2.83 billion. (esmmagazine.com)
Groupe Casino posts strong home performance in H1
Groupe Casino has posted a trading profit of €121 million in its home market of France in the first half of its financial year. This is up from the €85 million it posted in the same period in 2016. Some €83 million worth of this trading profit was accounted for by food retail activities, compared to €36 million in H1 2016. Overall, group trading profit was €466 million in H1 (or €336 million if a tax credit in Brazil is excluded), up from €281 million in the same period last year (€211 million ex-Brazil). In Latin America, Casino’s business rose by 7.1% during the period, ‘ led by the sound development of cash & carry, the success of hypermarket revitalisation programmes in Brazil and growth in overall sales at Éxito.’ (esmmagazine.com)
Jerónimo Martins posts 11.4% sales increase in H1 2017
Portuguese retail group Jerónimo Martins has announced that consolidated sales increased by 11.4% to €7.8 billion during the first six months of the year. The group's net profit reached €173 million, while EBITDA increased by 7.2% year-on-year to €416 million. (esmmagazine.com)
Russia's Magnit sees 6.4% increase in revenue
Russian retailer Magnit has posted a 6.4% increase in revenue in the first half of its financial year, to RUR 555 billion (€7.96 billion). This is up from the RUR 522 billion it posted for the same period last year. Gross profit increased from RUR 142 billion RUR in the first half of 2016 to RUR 153 billion RUR in the first half of 2017. EBITDA for the first half of the year was RUR 49 billion, while EBITDA margin was 8.8%. (esmmagazine.com)
Profi opens five new stores in Romania
Romanian supermarket chain Profi has announced that it opened five new stores during the last week of July in Scheia, Bordusani, Patulele, Pietrosani and Bucharest. A Profi City store has been opened in Bucharest, on Calea Serban Voda, while a Profi Standard was opened in Scheia, Suceava County. The other new stores in Bordusani, Patulele and Pietrosani are all operating under the Profi Loco banner. (esmmagazine.com)