Australia: Woolworths to sell $303 mln stake in Endeavour Group
Australian retailer Woolworths (WOW.AX), opens new tab said on Wednesday that it would sell a 5% stake worth A$468 million ($302.84 million) in Endeavour Group (EDV.AX), opens new tab, almost three years after spinning out the liquor store and pub operator. Shares of Woolworths slipped 0.4%, while those of Endeavour were down 5% in early trade. Woolworths said it would use the proceeds from the selldown to return capital to its investors and provide an update in its full-year results on Aug. 28.
Source: Reuters
Japan: 7-Eleven Japan gets smart advertising
7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan are getting AI-based vision systems to improve in-store advertising. The project is being conducted by Sony Semiconductor Solutions (SSS) and will see the company's edge AI-driven vision detection solution introduced at 500 convenience store locations in Japan. The tool uses on-sensor AI to detect when a customer sees digital signage, counting how many people stop to look at the advert and how long they spend looking at it. The placement and content of these adverts are then adapted based on this information to increase the reach and impact of in-store advertising.
Source: IOTWorldToday
Hungary: Government threatens to sue SPAR over alleged defamation
The Hungarian government has announced its intention to initiate legal proceedings against the supermarket chain SPAR, alleging defamation. Reuters reported the development citing Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff Gergely Gulyas' statement in a press conference. Gulyas was quoted as saying: "Proceedings will be opened against SPAR, in court, and presumably for defamation." This move follows after Hungary announced a special tax in 2020, which applies to traditional retail sales in brick-and-mortar stores, as well as online via websites. The new retail surtax also applied to foreign entities with no permanent establishment in Hungary and are involved in distance-selling goods to Hungarian customers. The current tax rate in the country is now up to 4.5% of revenues.
Source: Global Data
France: Retailers should be forced to warn shoppers about shrinkflation on shelves, says watchdog
The Government has been urged to follow the French lead and force retailers to notify shoppers when products have been reduced in size without a corresponding cut in prices. The French move is an attempt to tackle so-called "shrinkflation", which has been described as a rip-off. Shrinkflation has become a headache for consumers and governments as households struggle to cope with dwindling purchasing power in the face of a cost-of-living crisis.
Source: Independent
Australia: 7-Eleven's Australian CEO reveals major store changes
Convenience chain 7-Eleven's Australian CEO has revealed stores may begin to look like its radical Japanese counterpart as the company's new global owners move to overhaul its offering down under. The 750 7-Eleven stores in Australia were last November sold to Japanese company Seven and I Holdings through Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd for USD $1.71 billion. The previous owners were booted out as convenience retail becomes increasingly competitive worldwide—oil giant Viva Energy recently bought convenience giant OTR (On the Run) and Coles Express for a hefty a $1.4 billion.
Source: Skynews
UK: Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons shoppers could be hit with £102 bill
Shoppers at every major supermarket including Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury's as well as Waitrose and Aldi have been told to brace for a price increase on the cost of their shop which will cost over £100 a year. A change to the law came into effect on January 31 this year, but the change has not yet been enforced. That's set to change this month as from Tuesday, April 30, the new Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) will apply to all animal and plant products imported from the EU, which includes checks on food like meat, fish, dairy, fruits and vegetables.
Source: Express
France: Shopper spend down 0.9% In French grocery in April
Customer spend fell by 0.9% in France in the period from 18 March to 14 April, new data from Kantar has found – the first time in 25 months that spend has decreased. The average basket value decreased by 1.7% in the P4 period, Kantar's data showed, while purchase frequency stabilised. The online channel gained 0.6 percentage points of market share in the period, the research firm noted, with the proximity channel also gaining a slight increase (0.1 percentage points).
Source: ESM Magazine
US: online grocery sales expected to hit USD 120 billion by 2028, with Walmart emerging as dominant player
Americans are continuing to buy more of their groceries online, with a recent study expecting that trend to grow exponentially over the next five years. E-commerce grocery sales in the U.S. are projected to increase at a compounded annual growth rate of 4.5 percent – more than three times faster than the 1.3 percent rate expected for in-store sales over the next five years, according to "U.S. eGrocery Sales Forecast: 2024-28," a new report compiled by retail data site Brick Meets Click. On the back of that projected growth, total online grocery sales, which include delivery, pick-up, and ship-to-home segments, are projected to reach nearly USD 120 billion (EUR 112 billion) in the U.S. annually by the end of 2028 and account for 12.7 percent of total U.S. grocery sales.
Source: Seafoodsource
US: Amazon Fresh store in Poway remains shuttered as company tweaks technology
The empty parking lot and locked front doors are a constant reminder that the Amazon Fresh store in Poway has yet to open after more than two years of anticipation. The building in Twin Peaks Plaza near Target on Pomerado Road has been ready for occupancy since early 2022, according to a city of Poway Facebook post. "Almost eight months ago we signed off on a certificate of occupancy for the much-anticipated 'Just Walk Out' grocery store, signaling the completion of any work that required involvement from the city of Poway," states the Nov. 21, 2022 post. Poway spokeswoman Rene Carmichael said last month that the post was in response to questions and social media discussions on why the store had not opened yet as of late 2022.
Source: San Diego Union Tribune
Canada: "Don't tolerate monopolies anymore": Canadians gear up for Loblaw boycott starting today
Last November, when Emily Johnson created a subreddit for people to vent about Loblaw grocery prices, she did not expect it to blow up the way it did. "It's been wild," she told Daily Hive in March. "The group was created as a therapeutic outlet for people to complain about prices and have some fun, spreading some memes." And it certainly has been, with frustrated Canadians posting daily on "Loblaws Is Out of Control" about soaring food prices at Loblaw-owned stores and other major grocery chains.
From questionable discounts to the depressing comparison of grocery prices in 2024 and 2019, plenty of stories on the subreddit will make most Canadians seethe with anger. But now, with over 24,000 members and counting, the community is taking action IRL. It's planning to boycott Loblaw stores for the month of May.
Source: DailyHive
US: Amazon launches new grocery delivery subscription
Amazon has launched a grocery delivery subscription benefit to Prime members and customers using EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) in over 3,500 cities and towns across the U.S. For Prime members, the subscription costs $9.99 per month and offers unlimited grocery delivery on orders over $35 across Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, and a variety of local grocery and specialty retailers on Amazon.com, and even more convenient delivery and pickup options. Customers with a registered EBT card can also sign up for this grocery subscription benefits without a Prime membership at just $4.99 per month. A free 30-day trial is available so customers can see how this grocery delivery subscription works for them.
The subscription includes one-hour delivery windows at no extra cost where available, unlimited 30-minute pickup on orders of any size, priority access to Recurring Reservations for a weekly grocery order, as well as unlimited delivery on $35+ orders from local grocery and specialty retailers available on Amazon.
Source: Sumner County Source