Tesco poised to report loss of £4bn | Woolworths's frozen veggies sell well
Costco gets unique and much sought after deal
Canada vegetables prices up 6.4%
Canada's all-items consumer-price index rose 1.2% in March from a year earlier, Statistics Canada said Friday, english.capital.gr reports. Food prices overall increased 3.8% from a year earlier, with the cost of vegetables up 6.4%
US: Fresh & Uncomplicated closing 7 retailers
Fresh & Quick is closing 50 to 55 retailers in 3 states, which includes seven in the Bay Location, and testing out a new e-commerce comfort retailer enterprise model, the firm announced Monday, bulletinstandard.org reports. The move comes a year and a half soon after the chain was taken over by Los Angeles-primarily based private equity firm Yucaipa, headed by investor Ron Burkle, from its British owner, Tesco.
AU: significant sales growth for Woolworths' frozen vegetables
Woolworths CEO Grant O'Brien said sales of frozen vegetables of the Select brand had significantly increased since Simplot was contracted to supply Tasmanian produce, abc.net.au reports. Mr O'Brien said the deal secured supply for more than the next two years and revealed how consumers valued local provenance. "We've seen significant increase in sales since the change of supply on those products, which is absolutely consistent with other moves that have been made by us in the last two years of realigning supply to domestic growers," he said. Woolworths chief sees many "profound" opportunities for Tasmanian agriculture, but he cautioned that the high cost of freight needed attention.
India: Grocery to be next gateway for Paytm
Alibaba-backed payment platform Paytm is set to enter the online grocery market under a new business vertical to be headquartered in Bengaluru, business-standard.com reports. The development, at a time when domestic e-commerce giant Flipkart is also preparing to start grocery retailing, a space currently dominated by small and mid-sized players, suggests investors and analysts are viewing grocery as the next big growth avenue in e-commerce.
US: Stop & Shop, King Kullen workers OK new deal
Union workers of King Kullen and Stop & Shop stores in New York have ratified a new three-year contract, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500 said Friday, supermarketnews.com reports. UFCW Local 1500, Westbury. N.Y., said the new deal covers 8,500 workers and was approved in votes Thursday.
UK: Tesco poised to report annual loss of up to £4bn
Tesco will this week unveil ‘eye-watering’ losses as chief executive Dave Lewis attempts to draw a line under its troubles and set out his strategy to investors, thisismoney.co.uk reports. The supermarket is expected to reveal on Wednesday that losses in the year to February were as much as £4billion. It includes a number of one-off costs, such as a £4billion writedown in the value of Tesco’s property and £300million spent on redundancies. The writedowns wipe out a trading profit that is expected to have halved to £1.4billion on annual turnover of £63billion.
Discounters rule as more Scots pick Aldi and Lidl
ONE pound in every ten spent in Scottish supermarkets is taken by discount stores Aldi and Lidl – more than elsewhere in the UK, new figures have revealed, scotsman.com reports.
UK: Pound in best rally since 2013
The pound posted its biggest weekly gain versus the dollar in almost two years as data signalling U.K. economic strength overshadowed concern caused by a looming election that’s still too close to call, esmmagazine.com reports. The pound rose 2.1% this week to $1.4978 as of 5 p.m. London time on Friday, when it touched $1.5054, the highest since March 18. That’s the biggest weekly gain versus the U.S. currency since June 7, 2013.
US: Meijer testing shop online curbside pickup
Meijer is testing a new service to expand its omnichannel offerings, pymnts.com reports. The new pilot program called Meijer Curbside allows shoppers to pick out their items online and then pickup those items at a participating store where that shopper can grab-and-go without stepping out of the car. The pilot is currently underway in one Grand Rapids store.
Thai TCC Holding to acquire Metro Vietnam
Thailand's Berli Jucker (BJC) shareholders on Friday rejected a plan to buy German retailer Metro's Vietnam unit, prompting its major investor TCC Holding to step in and acquire the Vietnamese cash-and-carry retailer, thanhniennews.com reports.
France: Hyper U stores may be rebranded
The Hyper U stores in Pays-de-la-Loire in France could be set to become Auchan outlets within the next five years, according to reports, esmmagazine.com writes.
The move was initially reported in the retail sections of local newspapers. It has not been officially declared as it is subject to approval by l’Autorité de la concurrence.
Russian retail sales slump
Russian retail sales slumped for a third month and real wages plunged the most since 1999, highlighting the discrepancy between improving markets and the plight of the consumer as the economy enters its first recession in six years, esmmagazine.com reports. Wages adjusted for inflation fell 9.3% in March from a year earlier after an upwardly revised 7.4% drop a month earlier, the Federal Statistics Service in Moscow said in a statement on Friday. Retail sales fell 8.7%, compared with a revised drop of 7.2% in February.
US: Weis grocery store offers online shopping option
Weis grocery stores are announcing their new shopping option, wicz.com reports. Weis grocery stores are going to offer a click and collect service.