Germany: Rossmann to open a further 250 stores
Rossmann, the German personal and household care retailer, has announced plans to open a further 250 stores in 2017 with an investment of around €225 million ($235 million). The plans foresee 110 new locations for the German market, where Rossmann’s network of shops stood at 2,055 as of the end of 2016, figures from the company […]
Germany: Lidl test marketing Express format – reports
Discount retailer Lidl is working on a new convenience format known as Express, according to an article in ESM quoting Lebensmittel Zeitung. The concept is reportedly being test marketed in Berlin, combining online ordering with Lidl’s traditional bricks-and-mortar retailing. According to the report, Lidl is currently working on the web service to support the new service, which would […]
Sweden: Axfood to acquire Mat.se
Swedish retail and wholesale food business Axfood is to expand into the online shopping sector with the $59.6 million acquisition of Mat.se, Operated by Matse Holdings, Mat.se is an online supermarket offering bakery products, flowers, beverages, and other grocery items. The company also offers a food delivery service under its Cold Cargo brand as well […]
USA: Amazon debuts Amazon Go concept
E-commerce Amazon giant has made its first concrete steps into bricks-and-mortar retailing with the opening of a new store in Seattle, WA, USA under the name Amazon Go. The concept allows customers to pick and choose their groceries from the store but, unlike a typical supermarket, dispenses with the traditional checkout procedure. Instead, the technology […]
Thailand: Spar enters market
Spar, the world’s largest food retail voluntary chain, has announced its entry into the Thai market. The company has formed a retail partnership with Bangchak Retail Company (BRC) for a 300 store venture, representing an investment of €74 million ($78 million) over the next five years. According to a company press release, BCR will open […]
China: Aldi to make debut with online business
German discount retailer Aldi has announced plans to expand into China through online channels, according to an article in Retail Week. The company will reportedly start off by selling a selected range of products to Chinese consumers online as soon as mid 2017, although it is not said to have plans to invest in bricks-and-mortar […]
Japan: Picard opens first store in Asia
Picard, the French frozen food retailer, has made a definitive step into the Far East market with the opening of its first store in Japan, according to a report in Les Echos. Described as being located in an upmarket area of Tokyo, the new store has been launched in partnership with Japanese retail group Aeon, […]
UK: Marks & Spencer to open 200 Simply Food stores
Marks & Spencer, the UK grocery and clothing retailer, is planning to open 200 new Simply Food stores in the next five years, according to a report in Off Licence News. The move comes as the firm is reportedly planning on scaling back its clothing & homeware divisions in order to focus more heavily on […]
Portugal: El Corte Ingles invests in one hour delivery service
Spanish supermarket chain El Corte Ingles has introduced a new service that delivers online orders within the space of just one hour, according to a report in HiperSuper. According to the trade journal, the new service, called Click & Now, was introduced on 7th November and enables customers to choose from a selection of 20,000 […]
Australia: Woolworths launches ‘branded’ private label products
Australian supermarket chain Woolworths has introduced a new range of private label products with names that exclude Woolworths branding, News Limited reports. According to the article, the supermarket claims that the line – which includes new brands such as Smitten and Apollo pet food, Chevron batteries and Little Ones nappies, as well as the removal […]