Agrokor to close stores | Metro invests in Moscow
Grupo IFA turnover up | Indian e-grocer gets green light
Fensmark Brugsforening, one of Coop Danmark’s largest cooperative associations, is leaving the Danish retail group, according to Dansk Handelsblad. Instead, the company intends to join Coop’s competitor Dagrofa Group, starting next year. Two of its stores will be converted to Meny supermarkets and one to a Letkøb minimarket, both of which are owned by Dagrofa. However, the association and its stores will still remain in the hands of its members. (esmmagazine.com)
India: Online grocer Grofers gets green light
Online grocery delivery start-up Grofers India has received the government’s nod for foreign direct investment (FDI) to undertake the retailing of food products, which are manufactured or produced in India, sources close to development told FE. The start-up which applied for FDI in September last year, at the time had an investment of about Rs3 crore. (financialexpress.com)
China: Alibaba to sell Driscoll's strawberries
Alibaba Group announced strategic cooperation with Driscoll's to bring U.S. food products to China. Through this effort, Chinese consumers will be able to purchase fresh strawberries as well as high quality seafood directly on Alibaba's Tmall platform. (RTTNews.com)
Grupo IFA posts 5% increase in turnover for 2016
Spanish retail company Grupo IFA has posted a consolidated turnover of €15.49 billion for 2016, which represents an increase of 5.1% compared to the previous year. The group says that it is now Spain's market leader in the distribution, retail, and wholesale channels, achieving market share in these areas of 15.1%, 17.6%, and 33.3% respectively. (esmmagazine.com)
Croatia's Agrokor to close shops & cut jobs in retail chain
Indebted Croatian food producer and retailer Agrokor plans to reduce the number of shops run by its retail chain Konzum and lay off workers, a senior manager said on Wednesday. "We plan to close down at between 80 and 100 shops and to cut some jobs. We must be profitable," Konzum's Chief Executive Slavko Ledic said during a visit to a newly opened store on the Adriatic island of Brac. This week, Agrokor published an update on the financial state of the business, noting that a new loan signed on 9 June will ‘secure the ongoing business of Agrokor and its operational companies’ for the time being. (Reuters)
Italy: Esselunga owners agree on future market listing
Shareholders in Italy's fourth biggest supermarket chain Esselunga have reached an agreement that envisages the future listing of the group, two sources close to the matter said on Wednesday. The sources said both sides of the family had reached a deal to merge the supermarket chain with Villata Partecipazioni, the unit that owns its real estate assets, and then proceed with a market listing. (Reuters)
Metro retailer to invest €100 million in Moscow region
Metro retailer will invest until 2020 about €100 million in the development of its projects in the Moscow region, Russia, the director of Metro AG for public and corporate communications, Daniel Florian, announced on Wednesday. (russianconstruction.com)
Analysts: Sprouts ripe for takeover
Sprouts Farmers Market could be the next takeover target in the grocery industry, according to The Street, citing research from Oppenheimer analysts and the Financial Times. Shares of Sprouts dropped 6.3% last week to $21 on the news that Amazon had agreed to purchase rival natural and organic grocer Whole Foods. The drop in share price, according to Oppenheimer, represents “an attractive entry point to get involved with a very high-quality retailer.” (fooddive.com)
Kroger to Lidl: Bring it on
Kroger Co.’s CFO on Wednesday said he was glad to see Lidl’s stores finally kick off so that the retailer can determine how effective its preparation for its arrival has been. While acknowledging Lidl’s arrival is coming at a “pivot point” for the industry, he framed Kroger’s competitive readiness in having faced limited assortment discounters like Aldi, Save-A-Lot and dollar stores for decades. (supermarketnews.com)
Amazon buying Whole Foods is just a 'drop in the bucket'
It's "too soon" to be scared for Wal-Mart based on news that Amazon plans to acquire grocer Whole Foods, Moody's retail analyst Charles O'Shea said. In fact, Whole Foods wouldn't give e-commerce giant Amazon "any discernible edge," as Wal-Mart should remain the world's biggest retailer and biggest grocer, O'Shea wrote in a Wednesday note to clients. Wal-Mart will continue to grow its presence in peoples' lives at a rapid clip, he said. (cnbc.com)
Fresh Food hinders online grocery shopping: study
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