Major symbol group Costcutter Supermarkets Group, has announced a major brand transformation to engage shoppers and drive future retailer sales growth, under the title of its 'Shopper First Programme'. The new brand package (including a new logo) has been developed out of a deep and wide-ranging research and review project, aiming to provide a clearer than ever understanding of how shoppers shop in, and what shoppers want from, their local stores; enabling Costcutter to build its offer with these needs at its core. (igd.com)
Wal-Mart to invest $50m in China online grocery
Wal-Mart Stores Inc will invest $50m in Chinese online grocery and delivery firm New Dada, the US retailer said on Friday, extending its tie-ups with local online players to help boost sales in the world's second-largest economy. Wal-Mart shifted its China strategy earlier this year when it sold its own online platform Yihaodian in exchange for a stake in local e-commerce giant JD.com Inc. New Dada is a joint venture part-owned by JD.com. The investment in New Dada will help Wal-Mart target Chinese shoppers with faster delivery times in a popular but fiercely competitive online grocery market. New Dada has over 25m registered customers and delivers in over 300 Chinese cities. (Reuters)Spar China reports strong growth
SPAR China reported a €1.9bn turnover in the 2015 results, at 6.8% year-on-year growth. Investment continues not only in retail with 360 stores trading today, but also supply chain expansion across all of the regions in which SPAR trades - Shandong, Guangdong, Shanxi & Inner Mongolia, Beijing (city), Sichuan, Henan and Hebei. In China, SPAR operates SPAR Hypermarket, SPAR Supermarket, SPAR Neighbourhood and SPAR Express formats. SPAR entered Indonesia in 2015 and opened 15 SPAR supermarkets in the first 9 months in partnership with Ramayana. SPAR India reported positive store productivity and like for like sales with 17 hypermarkets in the major cities. SPAR also announced plans to enter Mongolia and Thailand earlier this year. (businessinsider.nl)Spain's CNMC takes no action against Dia and Eroski
Spain’s competition authority (CNMC) has said it is going to take no acton against Dia and Eroski for entering into a purchasing alliance last year. Both retailers were reported to the CNMC by FIAB and Promarca last November, over a 
potential breach of the competition defence law. Specifically, they deemed that the alliance between both retailers would facilitate ‘price fixing, limitation of investments for innovation or promotion, imposition of similar conditions for different services and subordination of contracts entered into with them to the acceptance of payments and business terms which are not in line with the supply agreements with each distributor’. (esmmagazine.com)Netherlands: Jumbo invents pop-up bus-stop shop
Dutch supermarket Jumbo has opened a pop-up bus-stop shop, temporarily transforming a bus shelter in the Potter Straat in the city of Utrecht, in The Netherlands. The pop-up project presents a selection of products, proven to be favourite buys with Jumbo customers. The items can be processed quickly, scanned and added to a virtual shopping cart using the - recently updated - 'Jumbo app'. (esmmagazine.com)
Tassie produce to fill freezers at Coles
An eight-year contract between vegetable processor Simplot and supermarket giant Coles will see an extra six million kilograms of Aussie-grown produce flow through Simplot’s Devonport plant each year. Simplot managing director Terry O’Brien today said the new $24m sales deal would also secure the future of the plant, which was under a cloud of closure three years ago. A total of 240 farmers — most from Tasmania — will be tasked with growing the extra produce. The deal will also mean all the frozen vegetables in Coles’ freezers are Australian grown, with the local vegies replacing imported products. “Simplot’s American parent company has been patient and this deal is reward for that patience,” Mr O’Brien said. (weeklytimesnow.com.au) Aldi's new store design mimics Whole Foods
The discount grocery chain Aldi is taking aim at Whole Foods with a new store design. Aldi debuted the new design this month at a store in Richmond, Virginia, and it looks almost identical to Whole Foods’ new cheaper chain of stores called 365 by Whole Foods. The Aldi store has softer lighting than its older stores, as well as a larger fresh produce section, wider aisles, and electronic displays on the walls. (businessinsider.nl) Seven&i H1: c-stores strong but challenges remain
Japan’s largest retailer Seven&i has reported a 0.6% decrease in total stores sales to JPY 5,280bn (US$51bn), with net income dipping 51% to JPY33bn (US$0.3bn). Japan’s largest retailer Seven&i has reported a 0.6% decrease in total stores sales to JPY 5,280bn (US$51bn), with net income dipping 51% to JPY33bn (US$0.3bn). Seven-Eleven Japan, which operates the group’s convenience store chain, continues its strong performance in the domestic market. It has registered total store sales of JPY 2,286bn (US$22bn), 5.5% up from previous year. Same-store sales have also grown by 1.6%, thanks to further improvement of quality for standard products. (igd.com)US: 7-Eleven sales down but profit up
7-Eleven Inc, the group’s operation in US and Canada, has seen its total sales slip by 7%, mainly driven by the negative impact of the stronger Yen. Meanwhile, its income has improved by 10% despite the sluggish sales, thanks to growth in existing product sales and improved gross profit. (igd.com)Woolworths CEO shifts focus from prices to stores
Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci is shifting his focus from cutting grocery prices to renovating stores after finally stemming a 12-month decline in supermarket sales. (afr.com) The Co-op recognised by the IGD
The Co-op has been recognised by the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD), the global food and grocery experts, for its ‘food to go’ product range and the ‘service rocks’ learning and development initiative. While Co-op retail chief executive Steve Murrells pipped a host of top supermarket and food manufacturing executives to join the grocery industry’s hall of fame. (eprretailnews.com)Walmart named Mango Retailer of the Year
The National Mango Board (NMB) named Wynn Peterson and Gary Campisi of Walmart the 2016 Mango Retailers of the Year. The award was announced during the NMB’s Annual Mango Industry Reception on October 16, 2016, during PMA’s Fresh Summit Convention & Expo in Orlando, FL. Present at the award were mango industry leaders, including many of Walmart suppliers and several NMB board members. (National Mango Board)Carrefour Belgium demonstrates food waste controlling methods
A new initiative was announced by Carrefour Belgium in the Walloon area of the nation, to control and to reduce the food waste by slashing the prices of unsold goods, repacking fresh produce and to prepare meals with unsold ingredients and fresh produce. The initiative is to ensure that as many citizens as possible are aware of the issue and to provide stakeholders involved in the food market, who were already sincerely committed to this aim, the company said in a press statement. (internationalsupermarketnews.com)