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Casino: Franprix boss to also head Monoprix

Walmart aims to list its Japanese supermarket unit Seiyu

Coss Cutters chain opens first store in Guyana
Local supermarket chain Coss Cutters has opened its doors in Guyana. The grocery, which began operations at Farm, East Bank, Demerara, has promised its Guyanese customers that it will offer goods at competitive prices with excellent customer service. CEO Anil Ally stated that the opening is the first major venture outside of Trinidad and Tobago. “As you can see, the equipment installed is state of the art. Everything here is new. I can say the cost is plenty. I average that we spent well over $500mln. It is a significant investment. We did a lot of market research; we saw what was needed in the community and we moved forward. This is what we know best. We have been in the supermarket business for well over 31 years.”
Source: looptt.com

Walmart aims to list minority stake in Japan unit Seiyu
Walmart said it aims to list its Japanese supermarket unit Seiyu while keeping a majority stake in the business, amid on-and-off speculation the U.S. retail giant was looking to exit Japan where it has struggled to grow. Lionel Desclee, who was hired earlier this year as CEO of Walmart Japan, said in a speech to employees that Walmart would remain invested in Seiyu. “We also have a longer-term aspiration to list a minority stake of our business in Japan,” he said in a speech, according to a Walmart Japan statement.
Source: reuters.com

France: Retailer Casino says Franprix boss to also head Monoprix
French supermarket retailer Casino, which has been battling concerns over debts at the company and at its parent group Rallye, named Franprix boss Jean-Paul Mochet as the new head of its Monoprix arm. “After three years with the Casino Group, Régis Schultz, President of Monoprix, wanted to pursue new professional projects internationally”, Casino said in a statement. “Jean-Paul Mochet is appointed President of Monoprix. At the same time, he retains his duties as President of Franprix”, according to the statement.
Source: reuters.com

UK: Aldi joins Lidl in Battle of London
German discounter Aldi has its eyes set on London after a successful test with a proximity store in Balham. Just ten days ago, arch rival Lidl also announced a plan to conquer London. Aldi Local, as the Germans call their small urban store, is a new concept that the discounter introduced this spring. The second one to open, after the trial store in Balham, is a store in Camden. On top of that, 'regular' stores in Archway, Eastcote, Kilburn, Kingston, Romford and Tooting would be rebuilt into smaller 'Local' stores. The Camden store would offer some 1,500 products on 600 sqm - nearly exactly the same as the first store in Balham that opened this March. The main difference between a regular store and an Aldi Local is its product range: the latter does not sell heavy or big products that (almost) require a car for transport. The new concept also focuses on on-the-go products: as such, it may have a slightly higher price range compared to ordinary Aldi stores.
Source: retaildetail.eu

Raf van den Heuvel to be appointed General Manager at Albert Heijn Belgium
Raf van den Heuvel, currently Commercial Director, has been appointed General Manager, Albert Heijn Belgium, effective August 1, 2019. Raf will succeed Luc de Baets, who is retiring. Albert Heijn’s CEO Marit van Egmond said: “Led by Luc since 2014, Albert Heijn has grown to be a popular supermarket among Belgians. We thank him for building Albert Heijn Belgium’s strong foundation.” Earlier this year, Ahold Delhaize announced that Albert Heijn, currently with 43 stores in Belgium, will open 30-50 stores in the country in the coming years. “We’re entering the next phase of growth and are confident that Raf is the right person to lead Albert Heijn Belgium forward; he has been involved from the start of the brand in Belgium and knows its customers, franchisers and associates like no other,” said Marit van Egmond.
Source: aholddelhaize.com

Walmart in Mexico launches grocery orders via WhatsApp
Walmart’s Mexico unit has begun offering grocery delivery from its Superama stores via messaging service WhatsApp, the retailer said, in a new stab at attracting shoppers outside bricks-and-mortar supermarkets. WhatsApp, the free text-messaging service owned by social media platform Facebook, is ubiquitous throughout Mexico. Superama shoppers can text an order to a WhatsApp number run by Walmart, known in Mexico as Walmart de Mexico.
Source: reuters.com

Canada: Longo’s to pilot build-your-own meals
Longo Brothers Fruit Market has begun testing a new in-store program to make it easier for customers to assemble all of the components for a meal. Under the pilot, launched at Longo’s Maple Leaf Square store in Toronto, a centrally located kiosk merchandises the fresh ingredients needed for a meal. Shoppers can hand-select their produce, meats, starches and garnishes to create a specific meal or follow a certain recipe. Meal sizing is adjustable so customers can buy ingredients to feed a single person or a dinner party of 10 people, according to Vaughan, Ontario-based Longo’s. Recipes and step-by-step cooking guides are available in-store and online.
Source: supermarketnews.com

Amazon gets patent for drone surveillance system that could send the company's eyes into the sky
Amazon may soon send drones into the sky to gather data with the help of drone surveillance technology. Earlier this month, the retailer received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a new data-gathering system. With this latest patent, Amazon expands its information-collecting reach. While the company rose to prominence selling information (also known as book sales), the Seattle-based mega retailer has gone deep into data collection with its always-listening virtual assistant, home-monitoring company, and a facial recognition tool it offers to law enforcement. In the first line of Amazon’s patent, the filing would allow an “unmanned aerial vehicle” to gather data about the places it flies over. The patent notes that Amazon’s drone would obtain data about objects within and around a specified “geo-fence,” or a virtual boundary. An option to surveil only authorized areas would offer the ability to keep other areas private.
Source: fortune.com

US: Smart & Final becomes private company
Smart & Final Stores completed a $1.12bln deal to be acquired by private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC. With the transaction’s closing, Smart & Final became a private company and its shares ceased trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “SFS” effective June 20. Under the agreement, announced in mid-April after speculation that Smart & Final was on the selling block, Apollo purchased the warehouse-style grocery chain for $6.50 in cash per share of outstanding common stock.
Source: supermarketnews.com

US: JetBlue sues Walmart for trademark infringement over Jetblack service
JetBlue Airways has sued Walmart for trademark infringement, after the world’s largest retailer began using the name Jetblack for its text-based personal shopping service. In a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, JetBlue called Jetblack a “transparent attempt” by Walmart to capitalize on the goodwill associated with the carrier’s trademarks. JetBlue also said Jetblack was likely to cause “significant consumer confusion” as Walmart expands the service, and warned that Walmart intends further infringements by using additional “Jet+color” names such as Jetgold and Jetsilver.
Source: cnbc.com

US: H-E-B opens Tech Hub in Austin
San Antonio-based H-E-B is the latest grocer to be thinking technology first, as it opens its new Eastside Tech Hub, in Austin, Texas. The 81,000-square-foot office space houses the H-E-B digital team as well as its wholly owned subsidiary Favor. H-E-B acquired Favor, an Austin-based on-demand delivery company, last year. According to H-E-B, in addition to the hundreds of employees currently at the new office, the hub allows room to grow as both teams continue investing in digital innovation. The retailer is also running daily shuttles between its headquarters in San Antonio and the new Austin space.
Source: progressivegrocer.com

Hy-Vee becomes first U.S. company to partner with Citrus
Hy-Vee Inc., a U.S. grocery chain with more than 265 retail stores across eight Midwestern states and $10bln in annual sales, has become the first retailer in the U.S. to partner with the Citrus Retail Media Platform to better serve its suppliers and growing customer base. Established in 1930, Hy-Vee is synonymous with healthy lifestyles, culinary expertise and superior customer service and ranks in the Top 10 Most Trusted Brands in the U.S. Citrus, led by CEO Brad Moran, provides retailers such as Hy-Vee with a retail media platform that is proven to increase supplier product sales via sponsored search and monetize digital shelf space for retailers, while retaining a personalized online shopping experience for customers. Citrus, which launched its platform in December 2017, now works with 20 global Tier 1 retailers in Europe, UK, Asia, Australia and Latin America. In addition to being the first retailer to launch Citrus in the U.S., Hy-Vee is also the first announced retailer partnership from the Citrus USA office.
Source: businesswire.com