Tesco launches supplier App | Walmart discontinues Wild Oats organics

Fast growing discount supermarket Lidl is opening a new distribution centre in Bristol. The supermarket firm has bought a 33 acre site at Delta Properties Central Park development in Avonmouth. It plans to build a 600,000 square feet warehouse to serve as a regional distribution centre to service Lidl’s expanding operations in the west of England. The site will be the supermarket’s fourth new warehouse to be announced in the last 12 months with the retailer also set to open regional distribution centres in Exeter, Wednesbury and Southampton. (southwestbusiness.co.uk)

Self-serve checkouts, automated ordering and shelf-ready packaging have helped supermarkets and grocery retailers reduce their annual wages burden to the lowest level since 2004, new figures show. (smh.com.au) 

Two sets of retail analysis show the ways in which food shopping is evolving, and how retailers must adapt to survive. Retail industry think tank IGD reports that despite convenience stores targeting the ‘little and often’ shopper, they are failing customers with problems over layout. Michael Freedman, senior shopper insight manager at IGD, said: “Even though more people actually visit a convenience store for their top-up shopping, they tend to be more satisfied when they go to a supermarket or food discounter for this mission.” (thenews.coop)

Leading German retailer, Edeka has announced it is piloting a new express concept, its first venture into the convenience channel. At 200 sq m, it is the retailers smallest store and offers a range of fruits, pastries, salads and drinks, but with a focus on freshly baked goods. (igd.com)

Globus has reported sales of €3.64bn for the first half of its 2015/2016 financial year. Despite this being a flat result on last year, weak currencies have affected sales, so the performance is reassuring. Russia in particular has seen a good sales performance, with total revenue up 26% to 42.5bn rubles. In Germany the results were also encouraging. (igd.com)

Lidl said that fresh was a key category in its growth in Spain, with the department accounting for 35% of its sales at the end of the year. The company said that it had increased its purchasing of fruit and vegetables by 11.6%, with much of this coming from Spanish producers, and with much of it intended for exporting to Lidl stores around Europe. (igd.com)

Shoprite says it will act strongly in the interests of consumers and not tolerate food-price increases that are not based on fundamentals. The group said in a statement that while the drought and the weak rand have pushed up food inflation, there are signs that upward pressure on food prices could be starting to ease. Shoprite chief executive Whitey Basson warned against those attempting to push through unnecessary price increases fuelled by the frenzy in recent reports about spirally costs. (moneyweb.co.za)

Casino's e-commerce business, Cnova, has reported a 6.6% fall in net sales for Q1 (at constant currency) to €742m. Net sales were up 15.3% at Cdiscount France to €465m, but fell at Cnova Brazil to €274m. In March, Cnova completed the disposal of Cdiscount Vietnam to Big C Vietnam, and of Cdiscount Thailand to the Thai conglomerate TCC Group. Cnova's focus is now on its largest markets which offer the greatest potential. (igd.com)

Supermarket Asda will turn off loud music and escalators for an hour every week to make shopping easier for autistic people and their families. Tom Purser, from the UK National Autistic Society, told Newshour's Razia Iqbal that the idea could make a real difference for people with autism, by reducing the stress factors involved in going for the weekly shop. (BBC)

Pick n Pay Stores Ltd. announced plans to enter Nigeria as it posted a 26% increase in full-year profit after opening 175 new stores. The company, based in Cape Town, said it agreed to partner with Lagos-based AG Leventis & Co. to enter Africa’s largest economy. "A key part of the group’s strategy is to establish a second engine of growth in markets in the rest of Africa," the company said in a statement on Tuesday. Pick n Pay will hold 51% of the operation in Nigeria, “which will roll out a combination of large and smaller formats to meet consumer needs." (esmmagazine.com)

AskMe Group, a consumer focused internet firm focusing on hyper local businesses, is doubling the reach of its grocery delivery arm to more than 80 cities and aims at a five-fold growth in deliveries this financial year. (business-standard.com)

Three years ago Chinese supermarket chain Winha had no customers. Now it has 800,000. By the end of the year it hopes to have one million, and it has Australian farmers in its sights. Winha says it is one of the first companies in China to use the country's historic free trade agreement with Australia to help grow its business. Its chairman Jackie Chung was in Australia last week with a small delegation to negotiate directly with farmers to supply its boutique supermarkets in Guangdong, China's most populous province. (smh.com.au) 

Albert Heijn owner, Ahold is to build its very first fully automated distribution centre (DC) in the Netherlands. The DC, which will replace the current Zaandam facility, will be the retailer’s first fully automated DC and will work alongside Ahold’s distribution centres around the country to deliver to stores and online shoppers. (igd.com)