News

Retail and consumer goods industry news

16 December 2013
If the Norwegian Competition Authority approves cooperation between Norgesgruppen and ICA Norway, Coop Norge, Norway’s third largest retailer will partner with Rema 1000, the discount format of Reitangruppen. Initial cooperation between Norgesgruppen and ICA took effect in April On April 1st this year, the agreement between ICA Norway and Norgesgruppen’s wholesale company, Asko, took effect....
13 December 2013
Krish Iyer has been appointed to lead Walmart's operations in India, starting in the new year. Walmart makes key management appointment Krish Iyer has been appointed the new President and CEO of Walmart India. Iyer joined Walmart in 2012, and previous worked in a variety of roles for global health and beauty retailer A.S. Watson. He replaces Ramnik Narsey who filled the role for an i...
13 December 2013
ICA, Sweden’s largest retailer has announced its strategic priorities for 2014. Growth to come from Sweden and the Baltics, while Norway faces continued headwinds CEO, Per Stromberg commented 'Growth will continue in Sweden and the Baltic countries … When it comes to our Norway, operations remain challenging ' . 10 strategic priorities for 2014 ‘to enable continued growth and improved p...
13 December 2013
Netto Polska, part of Danish retailer, Dansk Supermarked Group may look to grow its store count in Poland to 1000 stores, according to a Polish grocery news website. Other discounters operate over double this number Kent Petersen, President of Netto Polska drew comparisons with other discount retailers. ‘If Biedronka can have about 2200 stores, we can surely have about 1000. I think that the...
12 December 2013
Sobeys’ second quarter sales increased by 2.0% to $4.4bn, with same-store sales up 0.2%. Net earnings from continuing operations within the food division decreased by 27.1% to $56.3m, impacted by transaction costs related to the acquisition of Canada Safeway and lower gross margins. Pressures on promotional pricing The Canadian market remains competitive and volatile.  Sobeys reported tha...
12 December 2013
Lidl Belgium has been treating customers to free meals in top quality restaurants in exchange for completed surveys about Lidl and food at the end of their meal. Lidl "wines and dines" customers to change perceptions All dishes were produced using Lidl products and graded by customers, and Lidl reported positive results, with dishes receiving excellent feedback. The new initiative lets custom...
12 December 2013
A leading Indonesian convenience retailer plans to invest IDR 1.3tn (USD 108m) in new store openings in 2014. 1,300 new stores planned The addition of 1,300 new stores in the coming year will raise total store numbers to approaching 10,000. Indomaret's expansion plans are gaining momentum; in 2012 the retailer planned 800 new stores, and in 2013 the target was 1,000. This rapid expans...
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...