Belgium: Inflation in supermarkets rises to 12.5%
An average shopping trolley in a Belgian supermarket was almost 12.5% more expensive than a year earlier. Compared to July, prices were up by another 1%, according to a new survey by consumer organisation Test-Aankoop. The survey used the prices of 3000 essential food and household products in the stores of Albert Heijn, Aldi, Carrefour, Colruyt, Cora, Delhaize and Lidl. The exceptions in the shopping basket are few and far between. Only for vegetables (+5%), fruit and chocolate (both +4%) have price increases remained limited.
Source: retaildetail.eu
UK: Nisa ‘Fuel for School’ savings
A promotion focusing on lunch box fillers and breakfast favourites has been launched in Nisa retailers’ stores to coincide with children across the UK returning to school after the summer break. Nisa’s Fresh 3 promotion this month offers shoppers Easy Peelers 600g and Family Apple packs for just £1 a bag, providing a healthy addition to any lunch box. The ‘Fuel for School’ promotion is in stores now until Tuesday 20 September.
Source: talkingretail.com
Italy: Carrefour opens first remodelled hypermarket
Carrefour Italia has kicked of a remodelling project for its hypermarkets in Italy and has reopened its store in Corso Filippo Turati 75, in Turin. The remodelling project aims to providing a newer and more complete shopping experience, in order to meet new consumer needs. The Carrefour Iper Turati-Bramante store features a new look, with brighter colours and a more spacious aisle layout. The fresh products offer ranges from fruit and vegetables, cheese to cold cuts, to butchery department and fresh pasta.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Shoprite's annual profit rises as inflation-hit South Africans drive demand
South Africa's biggest grocer Shoprite Holdings reported a 10.3% increase in annual profit as shoppers flocked to discount store chains for everything from groceries to household supplies in the face of higher inflation. Shoprite's more affluent customers, who have largely shrugged off the impact of inflation, also boosted profit and sales at its upmarket Checkers supermarket chain, which also offers on-demand grocery delivery. Shoprite managed to chalk up group sales growth of 184.1bln rand ($10.75bln), up 9.6% as its core South African supermarkets business grew sales by 10.1%, despite the impact of civil unrest last year that damaged its 231 stores.
Source: reuters.com
PureGo now Rappit: Online grocery store promises more rewards for shopping, more efficient deliveries
Online grocery store Purego, a collaboration between the Puregold Group and Globe’s 917Ventures is now Rappit, the Filipinos’ new grocery shopping sidekick that promises more efficient deliveries and a better shopping experience. Rappit, a play on words combining “wrap it” and rapid, is hopping into Filipino households with a more fun and exciting shopping experience plus greater rewards for their shopping.
Source: manilastandard.net
Holland: Albert Heijn launches new food waste prevention programme
Dutch retailer Albert Heijn expects to save 4.5mln kilograms of food as it launched a new in-store food waste prevention programme, AH Overblijvers. AH Overblijvers are products that are left over at the end of the day and have an approaching expiration date, or are going out of stock, and can be offered to customers at reduced prices. For an additional price, shoppers can choose AH Overstayers packages in various formats, such as Surprise, Vegetarian, Bakery (Love & Passion bread, donuts, and bake-off bread).
Source: esmmagazine.com
Indonesia: HappyFresh board is set to hire Alvarez & Marsal for review
HappyFresh’s board hired turnaround firm Alvarez & Marsal Holdings LLC and is conducting a review of the online grocer’s financial situation, according to people familiar with the matter. The move comes after the Jakarta-based startup struggled to raise additional capital to fund its operations, said the people, who asked not to be named as the matter is private. In addition, some senior executives have stopped handling their day-to-day duties. Founded as one of the first Instacart-style grocery delivery services in Southeast Asia, HappyFresh has raised at least $97mln in equity funding in addition to debt financing.
Source: bnnbloomberg.ca
UK: Iceland partners with Del Monte to push NHS Healthy Start scheme
Iceland has partnered with fruit and vegetable supplier Del Monte to promote the NHS Healthy Start scheme, which was set up in autumn 2021 to help families on a low income buy healthy food and drink. The partnership marks the first time a supermarket has partnered with a brand to support the UK-wide health-focused initiative, which helps families with young children buy milk, fruit and vegetables, pulses and baby formula.
Source: grocerygazette.co.uk
Belgium: Delhaize alters SuperPlus loyalty programme from October
Supermarket chain Delhaize has announced it will "optimise and simplify" its SuperPlus loyalty programme to ensure people who eat healthily will receive more discounts as life gets more expensive. Anyone spending up to €99 in the company's stores in Belgium this month will automatically receive a 10% discount on all fresh produce with a Nutri-Score of A or B in October.
Source: brusselstimes.com
Belgium: Managers leave sinking Makro
Although the employees of Makro and Metro Belgium had been asked to remain in service to ensure the continuity of the retailer in the interest of all employees, some of the company’s c-level managers have nevertheless decided to leave the company early. COO Pieter Verstraete had already left on 31 July, in his own words “to explore new horizons”. According to RetailDetail information, he does not yet have a new job. CFO Christoph Otte-Wiese, a German national, has also left the company to return to parent company Metro in Germany. He will be succeeded in the Belgian branch by Tilman Gronau of One Square Advisors, a consultancy specialising in financial restructuring. This has become apparent in internal communications of Makro Cash & Carry Belgium, which was passed on to the editors of RetailDetail.
Source: retaildetail.eu
SPAR Athienitis reopens in Zimbabwe following extensive upgrade
SPAR Athienitis, situated in the Fife Avenue shopping centre in Harare, Zimbabwe, has reopened its doors after extensive renovations. The new-look SPAR Supermarket boasts wider shopping aisles, an increased range, and a new gifting and home décor section. The store has undergone a significant transformation, with an increase of 600m2 (about twice the area of a tennis court) in the trading area, as well as a stand-alone 196m2 TOPS at SPAR. Nearly 500m2 of the newly refurbished store is dedicated to fresh and frozen products, highlighting SPAR’s “fresh is best” policy.
Source: spar-international.com
Amazon eagerly eyeing social commerce sector
US tech company Amazon is doubling down on the fast-growing social commerce sector by beefing up its presence in WeChat mini program, as China's Generation Z consumers - those born between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s - evince rising demand for personalized and niche overseas products via social media channels.
Source: chinadaily.com.cn
Brazil's GPA expects to retain around 13% stake in Exito after spinoff
Reuters reported: "Brazilian retailer GPA said that preliminary studies showed the company would retain around a 13% stake in its Colombian Exito businesses following a planned spinoff. In a securities filing, the company said the spinoff is planned to take place in the first half of 2023. The company said the process would also see 83% of the Exito shares currently owned by the parent company distributed to GPA shareholders".
Source: nasdaq.com