Ahold Delhaize to use predicate "Royal" after merger -
Ahold today announced that His Majesty the King of the Netherlands has honored its request to use the predicate "Koninklijke" ("Royal") after its intended merger with Delhaize Group. Upon completion of the proposed merger, the statutory name of the combined company will be "Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V." (benzinga.com)
Amazon enters Britain's fresh food market with Morrisons deal
Online retailer Amazon is set to enter the British fresh food market after striking a supply deal with supermarket Morrisons, potentially ramping up competition in the already cut-throat sector. Morrisons, Britain's fourth biggest supermarket, said on Monday the deal would allow Amazon Prime Now and Amazon Pantry customers access to Morrisons ambient, fresh and frozen products in the coming months. "The combination of our fresh food expertise with Amazon’s online and logistics capabilities is compelling," said Morrisons CEO David Potts. The British grocer already has an online supply deal with retailer Ocado and on Monday it said it had reached agreement in principle with Ocado to grow Morrisons.com. When implemented the deal would expand Morrisons' online reach to the whole of the UK. (Reuters)
Auchan France: hypermarkets strugglingUK: Tesco could cut 39,000 jobs
Tesco could cut jobs to reduce its costs and improve profits. About 39,000 store staff could be let go over the next three years as part of a programme called "Project Pace", a document on verylittlehelps.com, a Tesco staff forum, revealed. The British retailer confirmed the document. However, it added that it was just a potential plan and was part of the various scenarios modelled by Tesco and it currently had no plans to trim its staff. (ibtimes.co.uk)
Sales at Auchan France's hypermarkets fell by 2.8%, excluding fuel, in 2015 according to reports published in French trade magazine Linéaires. The results follow falls of 1.2% in 2014 and 2.6% in 2013. They are in stark contrast with those of Auchan Drive, where sales were up 10% last year as indicated by Olivier Dauvers. (igd.com)
UK Retailers could cut 900000 jobs in decade, group says
UK retailers may slash as many as 900,000 jobs over the next decade amid technological advances and the increased minimum wage, their trade body said Monday. The decline would amount to about a third of the industry’s current employment level and extend a drop that began in 2008 when 3.2 million retail jobs existed, the British Retail Consortium said in a report. (Bloomberg)
Carrefour to acquire 36 stores from Eroski in Spain
The Carrefour Group has signed an agreement with the Eroski Group to acquire 36 compact hypermarkets, eight shopping malls, and 22 gas stations in Spain. The hypermarkets have a combined sales area of 235,000 square metres, and the whole acquisition will allow Carrefour to gain presence in 27 new cities. (esmmagazine.com)
Brazil: Assaí continues to deliver for GPA
Net revenue for GPA's consolidated business was up 0.2% in Q4 2015, and 5.5% for the full year. The food businesses also performed well, with a 6.7% increase for the fourth quarter. (igd.com)
Asda takes U turn; food banks will continue
Asda has decided to bring back all the food collection points for food banks after receiving heavy criticism from the public. The supermarket giant has previously announced that it would ban all food collection points in its stores. (internationalsupermarketnews.com)
Lidl opens six stores in Spain this week
Lidl have opened six new outlets in Spain this week, reports LaOpinion.es. The openings represent an investment of more than €15m for the German retailer. (esmmagazine.com)
Dutch Albert Heijn expands health food offering
Dutch retailer Albert Heijn is expanding its range of healthy products, adding 100 new items to its offering that have been chosen to respond to the needs of increasingly health-conscious consumers. The new range includes pure fruit and vegetable snacks. (esmmagazine.com)
Per capita spend on grocery expected to rise by $330.3 in Kenya
The per capita spend on grocery in Kenya is expected to rise to $330.3, according to the Kenya Grocery Retail Market Report for 2016 – 2020 period. The report also says that the market is dominated by domestic retailers such as Nakumatt, Tuskys, Naivas, Uchumi and Ukwala. The report signals a major change in purchasing patterns, with increased spend on added value products in the fresh food, health and beauty, and alcohol categories. (internationalsupermarketnews.com)
Filipino supermarket giant comes to Canada
A prominent Filipino supermarket announced its entry to the Canadian soil, thanks to the ever growing number of Filipino population in the Americas. Seafood City Supermarket, one of the biggest supermarkets in the Philippines announced that it would open the first grocery store in the country early next year. One could find fresh ingredients for cooking Filipino and pan Asian dishes in the new supermarket. (internationalsupermarketnews.com)
US: Sprouts bets big on deli in high-performing stores
After testing expanded deli offerings in a small number of stores last year, Sprouts Farmers Market is ready to roll out the enhancements to a significant number of locations in 2016, executives told investors in an earnings call Thursday. Seventy percent of new stores and over 30 existing stores will get the new deli treatment this year, according to CEO Amin Maredia. New or improved items include prepared salads, the prepared foodservice case and fresh juices. (supermarketnews.com)
UK: easyFoodstore’s 25p bargain ends this week
25p bargain in easyFoodstore, the budget food store started by EasyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou ends this week. Customers have until Tuesday to bag a 25p bargain at the store before it bumps its introductory offer up by 4p. The popular deal ends on Tuesday with the start of March when prices will rise to 29p. (internationalsupermarketnews.com)
India: Flipkart scraps its grocery delivery App
India’s largest e-commerce firm Flipkart plans to scrap its grocery delivery app just five months after its launch. As per the local newspaper reports the company’s decision to shut down the app comes after a combination of poor customer demand and lack of margins. (internationalsupermarketnews.com)
