Brussels will not sell Tesco stores in Poland
The European Commission sent an assessment of the planned sale of the Tesco supermarket chain in Poland to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. The buyer of 301 stores is Salling Group A / S based in Denmark. The Polish authorities asked the Commission to refer the matter to them, pointing out that the transaction might affect competition in local retail markets for everyday consumer goods in the country. “The evidence gathered by the Commission has confirmed that the conditions for a full referral of the case pursuant to Article 9 of the EU Merger Regulation have been met and that the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is best prepared to assess the effects of the transaction in Poland”, the European Commission said in a press release.
Source: polishnews.co.uk
Australia: Aldi tops supermarket rankings (again)
Discount supermarket chain Aldi has topped the Canstar Blue 2020 supermarket review for the seventh time in 9 years. Canstar’s review compares the major Australian chains on 8 counts, ranging from product freshness and quality through to value for money and overall customer satisfaction. The firm surveyed more than 2600 consumers on their grocery-buying experiences within the past month, finding that big chains are now tending to distinguish themselves more on value and customer experience rather than price. Aldi was the best-rated retailer for the third year in a row, and was the only supermarket in this year’s results to score 5 stars for overall customer satisfaction. It also rated 5 stars in most categories surveyed.
Source: insidefmcg.com.au
UK: Waitrose signs up Deliveroo for rapid food delivery
Waitrose has signed a deal with takeaway food company Deliveroo to give customers a fast-track service from its stores to their homes. The supermarket says it plans to run a 12-week trial starting from 1 September. Households will be able to choose from more than 500 Waitrose products. The move reflects Waitrose's aim to form partnerships that make its products easily available. "This gives us an opportunity to give our customers a taste of what the future of convenience shopping could look like for us", said James Bailey, executive director for Waitrose. The trial will start in stores in Bracknell and Clifton, followed by Surbiton, Cambridge and Notting Hill on 3 September.
Source: bbc.com
Holland: Jumbo announces plan to deliver groceries on Sundays
Dutch retailer Jumbo Supermarkten has announced plans to deliver groceries on Sundays, starting with a pilot project on 13 September. The retailer aims to meet the continuous growth in demand for home delivery and online orders through this initiative. The service will be available to customers of around 250 Jumbo stores in northern and central Netherlands, North Brabant and Zeeland.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Portugal: Sonae MC posts double digit growth in first half
Sonae MC, which operates the Continente chain in Portugal, has posted 11.5% growth in sales in the first half of its financial year, citing the 'extraordinary impact' of COVID-19 on the retail sector. Like-for-like growth in the half-year was 8.3%, with the group reporting sales of €2.43bln for the period. In the second quarter alone, turnover grew by 9% to €1.24bln, with like-for-like sales above 6%, it said.
Source: esmmagazine.com
7-Eleven, Inc. signs agreement with CP ALL to operate 7-Eleven stores in Laos
7-Eleven, Inc. continues to expand its presence globally, with a planned entry into Laos. The world's largest convenience retailer has signed a master franchise agreement with CP ALL LAOS CO., LTD, a company under CP ALL Public Company Limited, to develop and operate 7-Eleven® stores in The Lao People's Democratic Republic. The first 7-Eleven-branded convenience store in Laos is expected to be open in Vientiane, the capital city.
Source: prnewswire.com
Holland: Lidl starts super cheap pricing to fight food waste
Supermarket chain Lidl is taking another step in reducing its food waste. From now on, customers can find products on their use-by date for super cheap at the 436 Lidl stores. Products like cheese, bread and milk are priced at 25 cents, and meat, fish and vegan products at 50 cents. Fruit and vegetables can be bought by 2 kilogram box for 2.99 euros through the Too Good To Go app, AD reports.
Source: nltimes.nl
India's Reliance buys retail rival for $3.4bln, shares jump
Reliance Industries Ltd. is buying assets of debt-strapped rival Future Group for 247.1bln rupees ($3.4bln), almost doubling the footprint of India's No. 1 retailer and largest company by market value. Shares in Future Retail Ltd. soared as much as 20% in Mumbai trading Monday. The deal includes Future's retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing units, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. said in a statement.
Source: gulfnews.com
South Africa: Massmart ups cost-saving target as loss widens
South African retailer Massmart Holdings Ltd has raised its three-year cost saving target to 1.9bln rand ($113mln) as it seeks to halt expense growth, improve margins and exit loss-making stores, its chief executive said. A turnaround plan announced earlier this year by the company, majority-owned by Walmart Inc and whose brands also include Makro and Game, has started to yield results, CEO Mitchell Slape told analysts in a presentation.
Source: af.reuters.com
Amazon orders 1,800 Mercedes-Benz electric vans for European deliveries
Amazon.com Inc said it had ordered 1,800 electric vans from Mercedes-Benz for its European delivery fleet, as part of the online retailer’s plans to run a carbon neutral business by 2040. A majority of the electric vehicles from Daimler AG’s car and vans division will go into service this year, the company said, adding that it had ordered 1,200 of Mercedes-Benz’s larger eSprinter models and 600 of the midsize eVitos. The order is the largest for Mercedes-Benz’s electric vehicles to date and includes 800 vans for Germany and 500 for the United Kingdom.
Source: reuters.com
Alberta’s newest Costco marks the first in Canada to open on First Nation land
A new Costco location that opened in Calgary on Friday is the only one in Canada to sit on First Nation land. The new Costco serves as the first anchor tenant in The Shops at Buffalo Run retail centre on Buffalo Run Boulevard in the Tsuut’ina Nation. The new wholesale warehouse is 150,000 square feet and officials estimate it will service some 40,000 members.
Source: globalnews.ca
US: Instacart faces lawsuit from DC attorney general over ‘deceptive’ service fees
Instacart is facing a lawsuit from Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine that alleges the company charged customers millions of dollars in “deceptive service fees” and failed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of sales tax. The suit seeks restitution for customers who paid those service fees, as well as back taxes and interest on taxes owed to D.C. The suit specifically alleges Instacart misled customers regarding the 10% service fee to think it was a tip for the delivery person, from September 2016 to April 2018.
Source: techcrunch.com