Delhaize America’s Hannaford banner is piloting an “ugly” produce program at its 14 stores in the Albany, N.Y, region, the retailer announced. The aesthetically challenged fruits and vegetables are supplied by Robinson Fresh, whose Misfits produce also appears in many of Salt Lake City-based Associated Food Stores’ corporate and member-owned stores. (supermarketnews.com)
Whole Foods' first 365 store debuts in California
Whole Foods Market Inc.’s first smaller format store — 365 by Whole Foods Market — made its debut on Wednesday in the Los Angeles suburb of Silver Lake, drawing crowds to check out Whole Foods new, lower-priced brand of stores. Austin-based Whole Foods plans to open at least 12 more of the smaller concept stores by 2017 across the country. Whole Foods executives say they hope the 365 stores will help the company shake off its “Whole Paycheck” nickname with lower prices, while drawing millennial and older shoppers alike and injecting new life into Whole Foods’ earnings. Shoppers at Wednesday’s 365 opening said they noticed the design of the store highlighted its focus on lower prices. (statesman.com)
Interior new 365 store -Source: Reuters
US: Costco tops Q3 profit estimates after cutting costs
Costco Wholesale Corp. posted third-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates after the warehouse club curtailed costs. Net income rose 5.6% to $545m, or $1.24 a share, the Issaquah, Washington-based company said Wednesday in a statement. Analysts estimated $1.22 a share on average. Same-store sales in the U.S., a closely watched measure, increased 3%, excluding the negative impacts from lower gasoline prices and foreign exchange.
US: Supermarket chain Mars to go out of business
Mars Super Markets will make what its CEO said was the "difficult decision" to close all its remaining stores. The move ends a run of more than 70 years in business in the Baltimore area. Counting the five stores being sold to Weis, Mars has 13 locations in the Baltimore area, mostly in Baltimore County. (wbal.com)
Lidl seeks to invest 500mln in Belgium
Over to the next 5 to 7 years, supermarket chain Lidl will invest about €500m into the Belgian market, which should lead to 50 new stores and about 2,000 new jobs. At first, Lidl's focus will be on the capital, Brussels, where it intends to open another 35 stores. New stores will be located in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Anderlecht, Evere and Machelen, while a range of current stores will be remodeled. (retaildetail.eu)
Co-operative trades on its history for future new look
The Co-operative's classic clover-leaf logo of the '60s has been dusted down and re-launched as the Manchester based mutual looks to remind shoppers of its original purpose: a consumer co-operative. The new iconic logo, first seen in 1968, is already appearing on seven stores and rollout is expected to see over 2,000 with the new design by 2018, with full group coverage by May 2019. As well the exterior over 600 own-brand products will sport the new look. (igd.com)
Mercator doubles investments in Q1, mostly in Serbia
Slovenia-based retailer Mercator Group invested €12.9m in its operations in Q1 2016, nearly twice as much as in the equivalent period of 2015. The majority of the investment took place in Serbia. Some 56.6% of total investment funds were allocated to existing units. Investment into new retail facilities accounted for 22.8% of total investment. In Q1 2016, Mercator introduced the new private label line of dairy products Mila and premium products line Special Moments, while renaming and increasing the assortment of organic products under the Bio Zone line. Mercator Group ended Q1 with revenue of €604.9m, down 3.8% year-on-year and net profit of €2.3m (-44%), impacted by the sale of non-core activities. (wbal.com)
Tesco to remove Irish food section from UK stores
Tesco in the UK is to remove a section of its supermarkets specifically stocked with Irish products and reduce the amount of food brands from Ireland on offer. From July, the Irish food area will be removed from the larger “World Foods” section in many of the chain’s bigger supermarkets. Tesco has said the most popular of the products will continue to be stocked on the main shelves. (irishtimes.com)
UK: M&S food sales perform well
M&S announced its annual results with total group revenue in the 53 weeks to 2 April rising 2.4% to £10.6bn and underlying profits rising 4.3% to £689m. Pre-tax profits fell 18.5% to £488.8m. While the Food division continued to perform strongly, the Clothing and Homeware division yet again struggled with underlying sales down 2.9% for the year. (newsroom.researchfarm.co.uk)
Lidl Spain increases local suppliers by 20%
Lidl has added 100 new local suppliers to its network in Spain, increasing the total number by 20% to 600. The discount retailer has also increased the number of products available in store to 2,600, 18% more than last year (2,200), according to elEconomista.es. (esmmagazine.com)
The Profi supermarket network in Romania is up for sale
Polish investment fund Enterprise Investors, which owns the Profi supermarkets, ponders selling the business, after a fast expansion in recent years. The retailer currently has 400 stores in Romania and a turnover of over €0.5bn. Enterprise Investors has mandated Citi Corporate and Investment Banking to assess the market conditions and the possible scenarios for the company’s development, reports local Ziarul Financiar. (romania-insider.com)
VAT to be charged in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has said it will begin charging value-added tax (VAT) by the end of 2016, with the aim of ‘rationalising consumption of local shoppers’. The charge is part of a wider agreement across the GCC countries, which will be implemented over the next two years. VAT in Saudi Arabia is set to be charged along the full length of the supply chain, which is likely to negatively impact on consumption, and is leading some to fear that companies will have to cut jobs and costs more widely to maintain profitability. (igd.com)
Chile: Cencosud sees big yearly jump in Q1 profit
Chilean retailer Cencosud reported a net profit of 107.7bn pesos ($159.5m) in the first quarter of 2016, a significant jump from a net profit of 22.059bn pesos the same period last year. The company said gains were due mainly to lowered costs and currency factors. (Reuters)
Majid Al Futtaim to invest further in Oman
UAE-based Majid Al Futtaim is to increase its investment in Oman to OMR705m (US$1.8 bn) by 2020. The money will be spent on the Mall of Oman, City Centre Sohar, My City Centre Sur, with other funds set aside for expanding its presence through the Carrefour brand. (igd.com)
US: SpartanNash 1Q sales dip on retail struggles
SpartanNash said Wednesday that sales in the fiscal first quarter slipped by 1.3% as struggles in its military and retail divisions wiped out the effect of new distribution customers. Consolidated sales for the 16-week quarter ended March 23 totaled $2.3bn. Earnings for the period were down by 9.3% due to higher restructuring costs, partially offset by lower expenses resulting from productivity and efficiency initiatives and lower merger and integration expenses. (supermarketnews.com)
Ahold's bfresh launches online shopping, delivery
Ahold's bfresh has launched an online ordering and delivery service in partnership with a Ukraine-based service provider making its U.S. debut. (supermarketnews.com)
