Wawa expands presence in Florida | Sainsbury's to axe hundreds of jobs
Tesco to cut third of product range
UK: Tesco CEO says to be worried by discounters
Tesco CEO Dave Lewis has voiced his concern about Aldi and Lidl's aggressive marketing investment, esmmagazine.com writes. Lewis expressed the concern to Marketing magazine where it discussed its loss. "It concerns me at one level, but where we are at the moment is taking a step back to see what is driving the brand experience - it's in store. I'm not interested in share of voice type conversations. I'm interested in what the customer experience is first and foremost." Lewis said. The report added that Tesco's marketing strategy puts its emphasis on quality rather than quantity and is looking to reconnect with consumers.
Sainsbury's to axe hundreds of UK store jobs
Sainsbury’s is to cut 800 jobs in its stores as part of plans to save £500m over the next three years, theguardian.com reports. The supermarket, which axed 500 head office jobs in January, said it would be cutting department and deputy manager positions in some stores. It is also replacing night shifts with early morning and evening shifts in some stores – a change it said to improve product availability.
UK: Holland & Barrett to sell fresh fruit and veg
While Holland & Barrett is planning to lure shoppers looking to buy allergy free products away from supermarkets with launch of its first Free From concept store Holland & Barrett More, it is also going to sell fresh fruit and vegetables, thedrum.com reports. By doing that, it enables those shopping in the More store to carry out a weekly shop in its entirety, negating the need to visit a supermarket.
UK: Morrisons invests in customer service
Morrisons’ share price has rallied today as the group launched a staff bonus scheme, which puts customer service at the heart of the embattled retailer’s turnaround efforts, invezz.com reports. From March next year, Britain’s fourth-largest supermarket chain will take into account the levels of customer service and overall performance delivered by each store. The bonuses can equate to up to3% of each staff member’s gross annual earnings.
UK retail sales fall in March
UK retail sales fell 0.5% in March from February, dragged down by a 6.2% fall in sales at petrol stations, the Office for National Statistics said, the bbc.com reports. Excluding petrol, sales rose 0.2% in March, against a 0.6% rise in February, which has been revised down from an initial estimation of 0.7%. The figures show consumers are still cautious about spending, analysts said.
US: Wawa expands presence in Florida
Convenience retail store chain Wawa has expanded its presence into Southwest Florida by opening three new stores in Fort Myers, creating over 120 new jobs, retail-business-review.com reports.
NZ: Supermarket New World among top brands
Supermarket chain New World, along with Kiwibank, 2degrees and Max have been named among the top brands in the country, stuff.co.nz reports. Twenty-three companies topped their respective fields, as judged by almost 10,000 consumers. The winners of research company Roy Morgan's customer satisfaction awards were announced in Auckland on Wednesday night.
US: Instacart reveals which products carry a surcharge
In response to customer requests, Instacart announced it would begin showing when products are the same price found in other stores and when they cost more, supermarketnews.com reports. Instacart will display pricing mark-up information on the front page for each store as well as on individual product pages. Users can click for more information, such as the average mark-up per store.
US: Hy-Vee is adding grocery delivery
Hy-Vee food stores are adding delivery and in-store grocery pick up, kcci.com reports. The delivery and pick up fee is dropped for orders over $100.
Big Asian food company sells 20% more fresh produce
President Chain Store Corp in Taiwan yesterday said its annual sales of fresh fruit and vegetables are expected to grow by 20% from a year earlier to US$38.55mn this year on expanded collaboration with a Formosa Environmental Technology Corp’s organic farm, taipeitimes.com reports. President Chain last month launched a special sales section for fruit and vegetable products at a dozen 7-Eleven stores in northern Taiwan.
US: Walton family tries to distance from Walmart
Investor sentiment and family reputation could be driving the Walton family’s announcement that it intends to cap its stake in US hypermarket chain Walmart at 50%, according to a business academic from Arkansas, where the company is headquartered, campdenfb.com writes.
Indonesian: Alfamart strong revenue and profit 2014
A leading player in the Indonesian grocery market, Alfamart announces full year revenue growth up 19.6% to IDR 41.7tn and gross profit up 21.4% to IDR 7.7bn, retailanalysis.igd.com reports. Alfamart and its competitor Indomaret seek to expand beyond Java. However, as Alfamart and Indomaret seek to expand beyond Java, operating conditions will become more challenging. Between 2013 and 2014, the proportion of Alfamart's stores beyond Java rose from 15% to 18%, a trend set to continue in the year ahead. In addition, Alfamart will build on its entry into the Philippines through its joint venture with SM Retail.
UK: Booths streamlines store management
Leading regional UK grocery retailer Booths has announced plans to rationalise its store management teams across its 31-strong supermarket estate, retailanalysis.igd.com reports. The in-store head count will be reduced by around 100 as heads of department and assistant manager roles are replaced with three management roles with greater accountability and responsibility.
US: Weis sets cap-ex spending at $92mn
Weis Markets said it plans to invest $92mn in capital spending this year to grow and upgrade its store base, information technology systems and supply chain, esmmagazine.com reports. Speaking to shareholders at the chain’s annual meeting, the chairman of the company said there are 12 store projects underway and another 23 in the active planning stages, plus a major upgrade to its distribution center.
Billa Bulgaria to invest € 100mn in further expansion
BILLA Bulgaria reports a successful 2014, after a 4.8% increase in its gross turnover compared to 2013, cfo.cio.bg reports. The financial result of the company for 2014 is positive and significantly better than expected. To continue this successful course, BILLA Bulgaria will invest about € 102mn in the country in the coming years.
Romanian retailer Mega Image to exceed 500 stores in 2015
Romanian retail chain Mega Image is set to continue expanding in 2015, according to a statement from Adrian Nicolaescu, marketing director of the company, magazinulprogresiv.ro writes. The retailer plans to open two Mega Image supermarkets in the capital and two Romanian Tastes stores. Mega Image will thus cross the threshold of 500 stores operated under the brands Mega Image, Shop & Go, AB Cool Food and Mega Drive. "Our focus is now mainly on the expansion of the Shop & Go concept, but subject to availability we will also open more Mega Image supermarkets, focusing on the capital."
