News

Retail and consumer goods industry news

12 December 2013
Metro Group says its transformation is showing effect, and has reported a sales increase of 0.9% for its 2013 short financial year, running from 1 January to 30 September 2013. Faced economic challenges this year Despite continued challenging conditions internationally, EBIT before special items was up 3.1% for the short year, comparing it with the first nine months of 2012. Olaf Koch, Ch...
12 December 2013
Asda has said that it is likely to bring Black Friday back to the UK in 2014 following an enthusiastic response to this year's event from shoppers. However it commented that overall sales in the run-up to Christmas are behind where they were last year. Food benefits from Black Friday Commenting on Asda's first Walmart Black Friday event, CEO Andy Clarke said that he had been surprised by shopp...
12 December 2013
VietNamNet Bridge reports CP All is preparing to set up 7-Eleven stores in Vietnam within the next two months. Building on convenience success in Thailand The retail arm of Thailand's CP Group, CP All, successfully operates the 7-Eleven franchise in the market. With over 7,000 stores, it is the third largest network of 7-Eleven stores, following Japan and the US. At the time of CP All...
12 December 2013
In an interview with US-based Supermarket News, Ahold’s chief executive, Dick Boer, said that the retailer’s ‘Reshaping retail’ strategy was ‘progressing as planned’ despite economic headwinds. Online growing in importance Boer said that ‘ Connecting the customer is the most important thing supermarkets can do ’ and highlighted how Ahold was investing in online shopping, through its Peapod su...
12 December 2013
China's fastest growing grocery retailer is preparing to open its first two stores in Shanghai by the end of December. Completing tier one city coverage Yonghui has been building its regional coverage from its base in Fujian province, where it built its reputation for excellence in fresh produce. In November the retailer opened its first store in Guangzhou, ahead of the double store o...
12 December 2013
After launching tests in Seattle and Los Angeles, Amazon Fresh is entering San Francisco. Users have access to an expanded Amazon range of more than 500,000 products, including fresh ranges and products from local suppliers, available for same day delivery.  Competition heating up online San Francisco is proving to be a key e-commerce test market in the US. Over a year ago, Google set up ...
11 December 2013
Costco’s first quarter net sales increased by 5.4% to $24.5bn, with comparable store sales (excluding fuel and currency impacts) up 5.0%. Net income attributable to Costco increased at a slower rate of 2.2% to $425.0m, mainly due to higher than anticipated operating expenses. Fresh foods among best performing departments This was another solid performance from Costco overall, although pro...
11 December 2013
Major UK neighbourhood retailer, McColls has added a 700th store to its portfolio of convenience outlets.  The new store, located at Bow Broom, Swinton, South Yorkshire represents a significant milestone in McColls' transformation into a convenience-led operation, developing from its background as a traditional confectionery, tobacco and news (CTN) retailer. Convenience now the primary format...
11 December 2013
The Southern Co-operative is collaborating with Finnish company Foodie.fm to trial Click & Collect. System to offer personalised recommendations The trial is based on Foodie Local, a self-service online system, which makes personalised food and product recommendations. Foodie Local offers information on over 100,000 products in the UK and is optimised for mobile use. Trial should help ...
11 December 2013
The French retailer opened its 200th Polish supermarket outlet on 5th December, in Lubón, near Poznan in western Poland. It is also evolving its store concept in France, under the code name Mag3.E.  Plans further Polish expansion in 2014 One more store will open before the end of 2013. Intermarché plans at least 30 new stores next year, according to reports. Krzysztof Waligórski, president...