News

Retail and consumer goods industry news

16 January 2014
Amazon has introduced vending machines to sell Kindle devices and accessories to customers at high traffic US locations. Expanding physical presence Amazon's automated 'Kindle Kiosk' vending machines aim to drive impulse purchases and are being installed in high traffic locations such as selected airports and shopping malls, according to Geekwire. The machines sell items ranging from the $379...
16 January 2014
Netherlands-based Ahold has announced fourth quarter and full year results. At the same time the retailer also announced a number of organisational changes in Europe. Consolidated sales contract in Q4 The retailer said that during its fourth quarter it generated consolidated net sales of €7.5 billion, a decrease of 1.1% on the previous year at constant exchange rates. In the US fourth quarter...
15 January 2014
Following the popular trial of 1,200 'healthy tills' last year, Lidl has made a bold decision to remove all confectionery items from its checkouts and replace them with healthier options. Lidl favours 'healthy tills' Last year Lidl swapped typical confectionery impulse items for healthier alternatives such as juice and fresh fruit at 1,200 of its checkouts. After the trial and conducting ...
15 January 2014
Swiss grocery market leader Migros has reported a 7.2% increase in retail turnover for 2013, to CHF22.9bn. Group sales were similarly strong, showing an increase of 6.9% year-on-year to CHF26.7bn. "Healthy momentum in all areas" Chief executive Herbert Bolliger said, despite intense competition and falling prices, an excellent overall performance lay behind the figures. Migros' retail sa...
15 January 2014
Coop Danmark, Denmark’s largest grocery retailer is partnering with Post Danmark and KEBA to allow customers to collect and send post in 300 Coop Danmark stores. Primary objective is to grow loyalty Speaking of the partnership Michael Love, Coop Branch Director commented ‘We wish to offer our customers an additional service that they will only find in our stores. With the new “Pakkeboksen”, s...
15 January 2014
Denmark’s second largest grocery retailer, Dansk Supermarked Group, has entered a four year partnership with the Danish Sports Federation (DIF). Dansk Supermarked to donate €2m in 2014 As part of the deal, Dansk Supermarked will donate DKK 15m (€2m) in 2014 alone, ‘the largest that Danish elite sport has ever received’ . Donation targeted on five areas Per Bank, CEO of Dansk Supermarked...
15 January 2014
Following Casino's full year and Q4 sales release today, we look at the group's performance in Latin American markets. Across the region, same-store sales improved compared to Q3 Same-store sales (excluding petrol and calendar effect) were up 12%, a strong increase compared to +9.6% in the third quarter; this particularly reflected GPA's performance in Brazil. Same-store sales also impac...
15 January 2014
Casino has reported 2013 net sales of €48.6bn, up 15.9%, with total sales in France up 5.7% and a strong international performance, particularly in Brazil. For the fourth quarter, internationally Casino reported an "excellent performance relative to previous quarters" , and continued improvement in France. Improvements in France In France, the full consolidation of Monoprix (since 5 Apr...
15 January 2014
McKesson has announced that it has failed to win enough shareholder support for its bid to take over German distributor Celesio. Failure to reach completion condition The US drugs wholesaler group said in a brief statement that it did not gain enough support from Celesio's stock and bondholders to reach the 75% completion condition. This comes as Franz Haniel & Cie, Celesio's majority owner, ...
15 January 2014
Iceland's international director, Paul Foley, has stepped down from his role following the retailer's decision to scale back international expansion plans.  Iceland to scale back new markets push Former managing director of Aldi UK, Paul Foley, has resigned from his role as international director at frozen food specialist Iceland. Foley joined the company in April 2012 as a consultant and...