Ingles' Q1 sales increase | Sobeys partners with Orckestra
Sainsbury's outperforms its 4 rivals | Walmart expert moves to Asda
British supermarket Sainsbury's continued to outperform the industry in the early weeks of 2016, industry data showed on Tuesday. Market researcher Kantar Worldpanel said total sales at Sainsbury's rose 0.6% in the 12 weeks to Jan. 31 year-on-year and its market share edged up 0.1 percentage points to 16.8%. Market leader Tesco, Walmart's Asda and Morrisons recorded sales falls of 1.6%, 3.8% and 2.2% respectively and all lost market share. In contrast discounters Aldi and Lidl saw sales growth of 13.7% and 18.7% respectively. Kantar Worldpanel said sales in the overall UK grocery market rose 0.2%, while deflation was 1.6%. The Co-op is the country's fastest-growing non-discount supermarket chain for the first time in five years, its sales rose 1.4%. (Reuters)
Russian retailer Dixy increases direct imports
Russia’s fourth largest food retailer Dixy continues to increase direct imports of fruit and vegetables from South America, Asia and Africa, in light of the sanctions in place against food exports from Europe, the US and Turkey, reports anrt.info. "Due to the restrictions on imports of certain goods to Russia, Dixy continues to examine prospects for concluding new deals in the development of fruit and vegetable supply channels," said the company. “The chain continues to increase the share of direct imports and is open to expanding the map of trading partners.” The share of direct imports in Dixy’s circulation in mid-2015 was 7%.
UK: Tesco must pay £1m costs for watchdog investigation
The grocery code adjudicator (GCA), Christine Tacon, instructed Tesco to make the payment, which will cover the majority of her £1.2m costs relating to the year-long investigation. (theguardian.com)
Cooperative supermarkets arrive in France
France is about to witness a new kind of shopping experience where customers volunteer in supermarkets to avail of low prices for their purchases. “Three projects are under construction in France. In Paris, two Americans named their supermarket concept as The Wolf, whereas in Lille collaborative supermarket called” Super Quinquin “and Toulouse will be launched. Other similar initiatives are also being developed in Marseille and Lyon. (internationalsupermarketnews.com)
Walmart retailing expert Andy Murray moves to UK arm Asda
Walmart Stores Inc's top retailing expert Andy Murray has been sent over to its British supermarkets operator Asda to try to reverse a decline in sales and loss of market share to fast-growing discount rivals. (Reuters)
The most powerful person in British food and drink
Amazon boss Chris North has been named the most powerful man in the British food and drink industry. The website’s UK managing director has shot through the ranks from 15 last year to the top spot after The Grocer said supermarkets had been rattled by Amazon’s “menacing manoeuvres”. The Grocer said: “Chris North gives grocery the shivers. And they’re only going to get worse.” (mirror.co.uk)
Irish Tesco: Fresh food first
Fresh food will be at the heart of Tesco's strategy with the Irish CEO Yaxley acknowledging how Tesco's drive to build non-food sales had obscured its position as a food retailer. "It will be fresh food first from now on, and only then will we support some of our shops with general merchandise, and only if it is the right-sized shop" he said. (igd.com)
US: Ingles' sales increased in first quarter
Excluding gasoline, Ingles’ sales increased by 2.6%, with non-fuel comp-store sales increasing by 2.3% led by a 1.7% increase in average transaction size. Grocery gross margins were flat with last year’s first quarter. (supermarketnews.com)
Portugal’s Sonae acquires Mozambique supermarket chain
Portuguese retail group Sonae has teamed up with private fund Satya Capital to buy the Extra supermarket chain in Mozambique. The deal will be conducted by S2 Africa, an acquisitions vehicle focused on retail set up in 2014 by London-based Satya Capital and Sonae Distribuição, which owns the Continente hypermarket chain in Portugal, reports online portal Zitamar News. (esmmagazine.com)
Profits up for Scottish Spar chain
Scottish convenience store retailer CJ Lang & Son pledged to continue increasing store numbers and investment as it posted a near-13% rise in pre-tax profits to £1.3m. “Our strategy continues to be focused on developing the Spar business in Scotland through increasing store numbers and investment in new initiatives to increase footfall, turnover and margins,” the company said.
CA: Sobeys partners with Orckestra
Sobeys, Canada’s second largest grocery chain has partnered with enterprise eCommerce platform provider Orckestra to bring online grocery shopping to its brands across the country. (itworldcanada.com)
Mercator reveals 2016 business plan
Slovenian market leader Mercator has revealed its business plan for 2016, targeting revenue of €2.6bn and a profit of €55.3m. Mercator is yet to reveal its 2015 results, although the 2016 revenue target is 1.9% lower than that achieved in 2014. (igd.com)
AU: Woolworths to close premium stores
According to local press reports, Woolworths has been trying to sell the premium chain of stores, however will now start to close stores that are under performing. The supermarket looks to focus more attention on its core supermarket business. (igd.com)
X5 Retail Group commissioned six new DS's in 2015
X5 Retail Group commissioned six new (DCs) with a total area of 142 thousand sq. m. in 2015. The DCs service X5’s retail network across a number of high-potential geographies: the Kaluga, Voronezh and Chelyabinsk regions, as well as Moscow and Tatarstan. X5’s new logistics centres strengthen the connection between food producers and shoppers, and help to increase levels of sourcing from local suppliers. (eprretailnews.com)
India: PepperTap shuts operations in 10 cities
The hyperlocal delivery space continues to beset with problems. This time, it's PepperTap, the grocery delivery app which is shutting down operations in ten locations including metros like Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. (indiatimes.com)
