Portugal: Continente introduces 'Zer0 Waste' fruit and vegetable boxes
Portuguese supermarket chain Continente has launched a new initiative with the aim of preventing food waste. The 'Zer0 Waste' boxes are boxes that contain 5kg of fruit and vegetables that are ready for immediate consumption, on sale for €0.50/kg. The packaging allows consumers to see what is inside each box and the contents are carefully selected by store staff who 'rescue' those fruits and vegetables that continue to meet quality and freshness standards. The new concept is available in 29 stores, but the plan is to extend it to the rest of the network, which would prevent 25 tonnes of fruit and vegetables waste per year.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Sweden: ICA sees sales grow by double-digits in largest stores
Swedish retailer ICA Gruppen saw like-for-like sales grow by 10% across its largest store banner, Maxi ICA Stormarknad, in July with reported sales up 11.6%. Across all formats, like-for-like sales were up 5.7% (reported sales up 5.9%) for the month, to SEK 11.52bln (€1.12bln) with larger format stores performing stronger than its smaller outlets. Its ICA Kvantum business saw like-for-like sales up 7.9% (reported sales up 8.5%), while ICA Supermarket was up 2.1% on a like-for-like basis (+0.9%).
Source: esmmagazine.com
Spain: DIA halves net loss one year on from takeover
Spanish retailer DIA more than halved its net loss in the first half, compared to the same period a year earlier, saying a trend of people spending more in its neighbourhood shops during lockdown was continuing as restrictions eased. The net loss totalled €187.7mln compared with €418.7mln in the same period in 2019, when Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman won control of the group.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Ireland: Aldi pilots new type of plastic bag at Limerick store
Aldi customers in Limerick will be among the first in Ireland to take part in trialling new reusable fruit and vegetable bags made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. Customers can purchase the reusable bags designed to hold fresh fruit and vegetables for just €0.49 per bag at Aldi’s Dublin Road store. Shane Mellett, store manager at Aldi’s Dublin Road store said: “All the team here at Aldi’s Dublin Road store are delighted we were chosen to lead this new trial. Sustainable shopping is something we hear customers talking more and more about, and we’re looking forward to hearing any feedback our customers may have over the coming weeks”.
Source: limerickleader.ie
Italy: Bennet acquires 7 former Auchan hypermarkets
Italian retail group Bennet has acquired 7 former Auchan hypermarkets from Margherita Distribuzione. 2 stores are in the province of Milan (Cesano Boscone and Nerviano), 2 are located in Brescia (Concesio and Mazzano), 1 in Lodi (Codogno), 1 in Bergamo (Antegnate), and 1 in the city of Milan (Viale Monza). All 7 hypermarkets are to be completely redesigned according to Bennet’s business model, the retailer said.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Germany: Lidl launches campaign to raise awareness on organic food
German discounter Lidl has launched a campaign to raise awareness about locally produced organic products. The campaign will see the retailer focus on the value of Bioland products and the farmers behind them. Lidl entered into a partnership with the organic cultivation association Bioland in 2018 to source high-quality products and help farmers switch to sustainable organic farming.
Source: esmmagazine.com
China: JD launches JD Convenience Store Mini Shop in Xi’an
JD launched a new type of JD Convenience Store, Mini Shop, in late July in Xi’an, Shaanxi province. This shop provides a self-service shopping experience for working professionals in neighboring office buildings. However, this mini shop model can be adapted and is fully customizable to different shopping scenarios such as libraries, airports and train stations, hotels and more.
Source: jdcorporateblog.com
Spain: Mercadona to buy 850 tonnes of local figs in 2020
Spanish retailer Mercadona has announced that it is to buy 850 tonnes of figs from local producers in 2020. This is 30% more than the 650 tonnes of fresh figs purchased by the retailer in 2019. The move is part of the company’s pledge to offer locally grown fruit and vegetables in its assortment. Mercadona will source fresh figs from producers in the Valencian Community, Catalonia, Castilla y León and the Canary Islands.
Source: esmmagazine.com
South Africa: Pick n Pay warns of 50% earnings drop
South African supermarket chain Pick n Pay flagged a more than 50% fall in first-half earnings, weighed down by constraints on alcohol, tobacco and clothing sales during the lockdown, and by voluntary severance payments. President Cyril Ramaphosa imposed a nationwide lockdown from the end of March to curb the spread of coronavirus, banning retailers from selling non-essential items. These account for about 20% of Pick n Pay's group revenue, with higher gross profit margins relative to basic food and grocery lines.
Source: esmmagazine.com
For second year in a row, Lidl US takes top spot in Hot 100 Retailers list
For the second year in a row, Lidl US was the top ranking retailer in the National Retail Federation's Hot 100 Retailers list. The list, compiled by Kantar, is an annual ranking of the nation's fastest growing retail companies and it is based on sales volume increase from 2018 to 2019. The top ranking recognizes Lidl's growing fresh produce offering, store and warehouse infrastructure, and fast-growing sales and customer base.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: Publix shuttering 2 GreenWise Market stores
Publix Super Markets has recently been growing its reimagined GreenWise Market banner tailored to natural and organic shoppers, but a recent announcement of two closures sets its location numbers back a bit. GreenWise Market will no longer have a presence in South Carolina after planning to close its Lexington and Mount Pleasant stores in the state on August 29. The stores opened as GreenWise Markets in late 2019, but they're no longer a good fit for the brand, according to the grocer.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: The Giant Co. targeting zero-waste stores
The Giant Co. has announced 4 additional stores in Pennsylvania - 5 total - that have attached zero-waste status, meaning 90% or more of a store's total waste is being diverted from a landfill or incineration. The 4 new zero-waste stores in Pennsylvania are the Martin's Food Market at 211 Glimcher Drive, Duncansville; and the Giant stores located at 1153 N. 5th St., Perkasie; 100 Townsedge Drive, Quarryville; and 1661 S. Easton Road, Warrington. They join the Cleona Giant, also in Pennsylvania, that reached zero waste in fall 2018.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Tops pilots Flashfood at 6 stores
This month, Tops Markets LLC will begin piloting an interactive in-store food waste program at 6 of its stores in New York state, allowing customers to buy food nearing its sell-by dates at significant discounts. Such items as produce, meat, deli, bakery and dairy can be listed at up to 50% off on the Flashfood mobile app, and then made available for pickup at one of the 6 locations. Under the program, Tops will post flash sales of its surplus food items on the app, which is available on Google Play or at the Apple Store. Shoppers can search for and purchase food directly on the app, and then collect the items at the designated Flashfood area at the store.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: iFresh announces entry into definitive agreement to acquire Jiuxiang Blue Sky Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
iFresh, Inc. (“iFresh” or the “Company”), a leading Asian American grocery supermarket chain and online grocer, announced that it has entered into an acquisition agreement (the “Agreement”) to acquire 100% of Jiuxiang Blue Sky Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Jiuxiang”). Jiuxiang is a technology company that engages in supply chain financial services, integrated payment systems, and prepaid card marketing systems.
Source: globenewswire.com