US: Amazon Fresh makes debut in D.C.
The Washington, D.C. area will welcome a new Amazon Fresh store on May 27 when the retailer opens a 30,000-square-foot store and begins its eastward expansion. The new store will be located in a shopping center at 7005 C Manchester Blvd., in the D.C. suburb of Franconia, Virginia. It will be the 13th Amazon Fresh location and the first outside of the Southern California and Chicago markets.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Online grocery sales shrink 10% in April
U.S. online grocery sales continued their rollercoaster ride of recent months as the market totaled $8.4bln in April, down 10% from March, the latest Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey showed. April’s online grocery sales decrease extended an up-and-down trend from $9.3bln in March, $8bln in February, $9.3bln in January and $8.1bln in November. However, April 2021 online grocery sales remain more than 4 times higher than pre-pandemic levels and are up 16% versus April 2020, noted Barrington, Illinois-based Brick Meets Click, a strategic advisory firm focusing on digital technology’s impact on food sales and marketing.
Source: supermarketnews.com
Jacksons Food Stores/Jackson Energy (JFS/JE) to acquire 63 convenience stores across the Western U.S.
Jacksons Food Stores/Jackson Energy (JFS/JE) announced it will be acquiring 63 Speedway convenience stores in California, Arizona and Nevada as the companies continue to focus on growth and expansion into additional markets across the Western United States. JFS/JE is acquiring the stores from 7-Eleven, Inc., which recently completed the acquisition of Speedway from Marathon Petroleum Corp.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: Target reports strong gains in sales and profitability in Q1
It’s good news all around for Target Corp., which beat expectations with first quarter comparable sales growth of 22.9%. The company added more than $1bln in market share during the first 3 months of 2021. Analysts had projected a much lower sales increase of 10.7%. Revenues were pegged at $21.81bln but came in at $24.20bln.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: NGA unveils new logo, enhanced mission messaging
The National Grocers Association (NGA), the trade association representing the independent supermarket industry, has unveiled a comprehensive rebranding, including a new logo, the first since the organization was founded in 1982. The central organizing theme of NGA’s rebranding is focused on the association’s new tag line, “At the Heart of the Community”, which illustrates the importance of independent community grocers to their markets as drivers of the economy as well as support of local families.
Source: nationalgrocers.org
Spain: Eroski sees operating income up 30.2% in FY 2020
Spanish retailer Eroski has reported a 30.2% year-on-year growth in operating income to €252mln in its financial year 2020. The company’s total sales amounted to €5.4bln, up 2.1% compared with 2019, despite the adverse effects of COVID-19 on its non-food businesses and reduced mobility and opening restrictions during the pandemic.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Israeli retailer Shufersal profit gains on online shopping spike
Reuters reported: “Shufersal, Israel’s largest supermarket chain, reported a 27% rise in quarterly profit, boosted by higher online sales with many shoppers staying home during a third coronavirus lockdown. Shufersal said it earned 114mln shekels ($35mln) in the first quarter, compared with 90mln a year earlier. Revenue in the January-March period rose 0.9% to 3.8bln shekels. Same-store sales rose 0.5%”.
Source: nasdaq.com
Russian discounter Mere eyes Belgium
Mere, the low-end retailer from Russia that is now active in 9 countries, has big Western European ambitions and wants to open 10 stores in Belgium before the end of the year. Plans for France, the UK, Italy and Austria were also announced earlier.
Source: retaildetail.eu
UK: Co-op partners with environmental charity to redistribute 6.8mln meals a year
Co-op and environmental charity Hubbub are partnering to fast-track the expansion of community fridges across the UK. Community fridges are open to everyone in communities – without any need to be referred or having to prove eligibility – to share fresh food that would otherwise have gone to waste. The food is donated by businesses – with Co-op donating surplus food from its stores. The fridges also enable communities to learn new skills through activities such as cookery sessions and workshops on how to grow fruit and veg.
Source: talkingretail.com
Holland: Jumbo and Koornneef Retail Group extend collaboration
Dutch retailer Jumbo plans to expand its market position in the South Holland region by extending its collaboration with the Koornneef Retail group. Jumbo and Koornneef have signed an agreement to expand into new locations in the coming years. The move will see the addition of several new Jumbo outlets to the joint portfolio of Koornneef and the Dutch retailer.
Source: esmmagazine.com
E-mart to sell retail business in Vietnam
E-mart said it will sell its retail store business in Vietnam to a local firm there after facing repeated obstacles to expanding its operations in the Southeast Asian country. Korea’s largest retailer will receive royalty payments from the Vietnamese buyer instead. E-mart revealed through a public disclosure that its board of directors has decided to sell off a 100% stake in E-mart Vietnam Co. to Truong Hai Auto Corporation (THACO) Group. THACO Group is one of the leading car manufacturers in Vietnam and the fourth-largest firm in the country.
Source: koreatimes.co.kr
Picnic wants to conquer France city by city
Dutch online supermarket Picnic is officially launching in France. After a test in Valenciennes under the pseudonym TocToc, the company is now going for a phased roll-out. Picnic is now officially active in France, starting with the town of Valenciennes in the north of the country. Earlier, a limited test launch took place under the name TocToc, possibly to mislead the press, but now the Dutch company confirms its ambitions.
Source: retaildetail.eu
UK: Future of thousands of corner shops in doubt
Despite independent convenience stores proving popular during the pandemic as people shopped locally, a retail expert has suggested their future looks bleak with as many as 6,000 shops facing closure. Andrew Goodacre, Chief Executive of the British Independent Retailers’ Association agreed that the problem must be addressed now.
Source: kamcity.com
UK: Tesco to axe Metro format in huge supermarket shake-up with 147 stores affected
Britain’s largest supermarket is preparing for a mass overhaul in a move that will see the Metro format end and dozens more stores rebranded into superstores this summer. Almost 3 decades after opening to rival smaller food stores, Tesco is calling time on Tesco Metro, with plans to rebrand 147 stores into Express and Extra superstores, instead.
Source: mirror.co.uk