Haggen sues Albertsons for $1bn over big grocery deal

The Polish retailer Biedronka is testing a new concept that resembles a deli more than a cheap discounter. It has introduced completely new stands in dozens of stores, as well as new departments for fruits and vegetables and other fresh products. Experts argue that this move is the result of competition with the German chain Lidl. The rivalry between the two most popular discount stores in Poland is in full swing. A few years ago, its stores launched a bakery, now it's time for vegetables. Biedronka is testing a new system of shelves and a special fruit and vegetable stand under the name "Greengrocer". It is impossible not to see here the similarity to Lidl, which sells fresh products under the brand "Lidl Central Square," reports the service Dlahandlu. (finanse.wp.pl)

Russian retailer Lenta intends to open its first supermarket outside of Moscow before the end of 2015, reports finanz.ru. The retailer is known for its hypermarkets but opened its first supermarket in Moscow in 2013, there are now 27 of these. “The supermarket division has great potential for growth in the future. We will expand the presence of this format in the city. We are now working in Moscow and its districts, but we also opened supermarkets in St Petersburg this year,” said CEO Jan Dunning. They are also looking at the potential of opening 40-60 supermarkets in cities with a population of over 1mn. "And we could fill this niche," stated Dunning. However, the question of active growth of the supermarket format is being postponed, Dunning stressed during a conference call with investors. The total number of Lenta stores as of June 30, was 143, including 116 hypermarkets and 27 supermarkets.

Pressorg24.com publishes more statistics on retail trade turnover in Kyiv, which in January-July 2015 amounted to €3.5bn, 13.8% less than the same period in 2014, according to the State Statistics Service. The retail trade enterprises’ turnover volume for the reporting period in the capital amounted to €2.1bn, which is 17.4% less than the same period last year. Recall, that the turnover of retail trade in Ukraine in January-May 2015 decreased by 24.7% compared to the same period in 2014 (in comparable prices) to €15.63bn. As reported by UNN, on July 24, retail trade turnover in January-July 2015 in Ukraine amounted to €22.7bn, which is 23.6% less than the same period in 2014.

The owner of Mac’s, Couche-Tard and Circle K convenience stores beat analyst expectations in its first quarter, with net income up almost 13% to US$304mn from a year earlier on higher fuel and merchandise sales. The Quebec-based company benefited from a US$6.8mn currency gain in the quarter, compared to an US$8.7mn loss and US$500,000 goodwill impairment last year. Revenues decreased 2.2% to US$8.98bn from US$9.19bn. (financialpost.com)

As a whole, the supermarkets in Peru throw out S/. 300mn worth of food every year, according to Gestion. The Society of Exterior Commerce (ComexPerú) estimates that just one supermarket chain throws out S/. 50mn worth of food in one year. For lack of a system that prevents this large amount of waste, such as donation programs, Peru discards an unfortunate amount of food. Many of the items such as fruits, vegetables, milk, bread, noodles, among others, get tossed when they are still good and could be consumed. (peruthisweek.com)

France’s major retailers, including Carrefour, Aldi and Lidl, have signed a voluntary contract to replace the food waste law – but a British industry group has called it a distraction from the real issue, saying similar measures are not needed in the UK. (foodnavigator.com)

Former Tesco CEO Philip Clarke will have to testify, under oath, in front of the Serious Fraud Office in London about his knowledge in regards to the accounting fraud that took place at Tesco. (retaildetail.eu)

Vietnamese mobile phone retailer Gioi Di Dong plans to enter the convenience channel this October with five new stores, expanding to up to 50 stores by the end of the year. These five stores opening in October will be around Hoi Minh City. Although the convenience channel remains in its infancy in Vietnam, the retailer aim to open up to 8000 convenience stores by 2020. (igd.com)

Japanese online shoppers are now able to pick up their orders from more than 11,000 Lawson convenience stores, as the two companies partner to offer click and collect service. (igd.com)

Kawsib is in negotiation with Tokyo based convenience chain Three F, seeking to acquire around 5% in the business at an investment cost of USD 1.6m, the Nikkei Asian Review reports. (igd.com)

Retail group EUROSPAR have revealed plans to open another eight stores before the end of 2016, belfastlive.co.uk reports. The Mallusk-based Henderson Group, which owns the franchise for the brand in Northern Ireland made the announcement as they mark their 15th Birthday. (belfastlive.co.uk)

Texas grocery giant H-E-B has announced a formal agreement with San Francisco-based Instacart — a grocery delivery service whose personal shoppers hand pick and deliver items from local stores — in Houston and Austin, as well as expanding the service to stores in The Woodlands and Katy. (houston.culturemap.com)

German hypermarket chain Globus has leased 45,000 sqm of warehouse space at the Industrial Park Kholmogory logistics complex, which is being developed by Kholmogory app. 50 km north-east of Moscow. (eurobuildcee.com)

Woodman’s Markets has launched online grocery ordering and delivery in Madison, and plans to bring the service to Milwaukee later this year. The growing, Janesville-based supermarket operator has teamed with Madison startup GrocerKey Inc. to set up ShopWoodmans.com, with an online catalogue containing 60,000 items. GrocerKey said it will bring ShopWoodmans to the Milwaukee area late this year, and to the rest of Woodman’s stores in Wisconsin and Illinois by early 2017. (jsonline.com)

A group led by MBK Partners Ltd. is nearing an agreement to buy Tesco Plc’s South Korea business for about $6bn including debt, in what could be the country’s biggest private-equity deal, people with knowledge of the matter said. (Bloomberg)

New data covering the 12 weeks to August 16 was published yesterday by leading consumer insights agency Kantar Worldpanel. It showed that Tesco Ireland’s till sales fell 1%, on a year-on-year basis; the lowest quarterly decline for some time, while those of SuperValu dipped 0.8%. Dunnes saw an 8.2% annualised over-the-counter sales jump. Tesco still holds top spot in market share terms with a 24.8% slice of the sector, though down 0.6% on the same quarter last year. SuperValu is not far behind with a 24.5% share, while Dunnes now has a 22.4% share of the market, up by 0.1% on the preceding quarter and by 1.3% on a year-on-year basis. “Dunnes success is, in large part, thanks to the continuation of its ‘shop and save’ campaign,” said Kantar Ireland’s director David Berry. The combined Aldi and Lidl maintained their 17.7% share of the grocery market which is up 0.7%. Aldi holds a 3.7% share, with Lidl boasting 9.1% of the market. (irishexaminer.com)

Qatar-based Al Meera said sales rose 13% in the first half of its 2015 financial year to QAR1.22bn (US$335.0mn), with its performance aided by its continued expansion in store numbers. (igd.com)

Dollar Tree, the second-largest US dollar-store retailer, fell as much as 6.7% in early trading after forecasting sales for the year that trailed analysts’ estimates. Revenue this year will be $15.3bn to $15.5bn, the Virginia-based company said Tuesday in a statement. Analysts estimated $15.6bn. Dollar Tree is working to absorb the Family Dollar chain of stores, which it acquired in a $9.07bn deal in July. The takeover created a a more formidable competitor to Dollar General Inc., the largest US dollar-store chain by revenue. (esmmagazine.com)