AU: Watchdog to closely follow how grocers treat suppliers

Spain: Carrefour expecting to operate 160 Express stores by year end -
According to reports in granconsumo.tv, Carrefour expects to open 160 Express stores in 2016, which will see it operate more than 500 in the country, with more than 70 to be operated on Cepsa petrol forecourts. Carrefour has said that it has focused its expansion in the regions of Andalusia, Catalonia, Valencia, Extremadura, La Rioja, Navarra, Madrid and the Basque Country, with about a fifth of the stores in areas with populations of less than 10,000. 90% of the stores are franchised. (igd.com)

AU: Watchdog to closely follow how grocers treat suppliers
The competition watchdog says it's closely following concerns around the way Aldi, Coles and Woolworths treat suppliers when delisting products. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman said supermarkets need to improve the way they notify suppliers when delisting products to avoid breaching the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct. (sbs.com.au)

Supermarkets’ best weapon against e-tailers: produce.
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Aldi expands in Madrid
The supermarket chain ALDI has opened three new surface stores in the Community of Madrid. The residents of Alcobendas, Alcorcón and the district of Argüelles already have access to their own product offering, fresh, packaged, regional, ecological “with a strong commitment to quality” of the German chain. (internationalsupermarketnews.com)

Big four in the UK shy away from opening new stores
The drift in customer behavior and post Brexit economic worries have forced the “Big Four” supermarkets to shelve their plans for new stores in the UK. As per the figures compiled for The Telegraph, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons have only filed for one supermarket planning application each this year, compared with 20 two years ago. Since 2014, two third of plans to build new large stores have been shelved, the figures compiled by Barbour ABI reveals. (internationalsupermarketnews.com)

UK: Sainsbury's names Poundland boss
British supermarket group Sainsbury's has appointed the boss of discount retailer Poundland as its new finance chief, it said on Monday. Kevin O'Byrne, the current chief executive of Poundland, will join as chief financial officer on January 9, Britain's second largest supermarket group said.

France: Carrefour Bio opens in Lyon
Carrefour has expanded its banner Carrefour Bio into Lyon with a 225-square-metre outfit which it says is a response to a rising demand for organic SKUs in France. Its entire offering is organic, providing over 4,500 vegetarian, ‘healthy’, and gluten-free SKUs. (esmmagazine.com)

Albert Heijn opens ‘most sustainable supermarket in Europe’
Dutch retailer Albert Heijn has opened what it describes as the ‘most sustainable supermarket in Europe’ in Purmerend, in The Netherlands. It even boasts a mini greenhouse, where herbs are grown naturally in-store. (esmmagazine.com)

Kenya: Naivas invests to expand and acquire rival
Naivas has announced that it is set to invest about KES470m (US$4.6m) to expand its presence in the country, with KES400m (US$3.9m) to be spent on opening six new stores by February 2017, with the remaining KES70m (US$0.7m) used to acquire the Nakuru-based Rihab Supermarket. The acquisition of Rihab Supermarket will take Naivas’s store base to 39, but comes at a time when rivals are struggling. (igd.com)

Dunnes Stores sees profits surge by 17%
Pre-tax profits at the main Northern Ireland and UK arm of Dunnes Stores last year, surged by 17%. The firm sustained the increase in profits in spite of revenues decreasing by 7% from £136.9m to £127.56m in the 12 months to the end of last January, according to accounts just lodged by Dunnes Stores to Companies House in the UK. Pre-tax profits hit £13.19m. (belfasttelegraph.co.uk)

India: BigBasket may consider raising $150 mn post March
BigBasket may consider raising $150 mn post March. Online grocer Bigbasket is on the lookout to raise another round of funding of USD 150m sometime after March next year, an article in Mint today said. According to sources, this may be the last round of fund-raising before the company considers an initial public offer. (moneycontrol.com)

Woolworths confirms dumping of tinned tomatoes deal
The future of hundreds of jobs and farms in the Goulburn Valley is in further doubt after SPC Ardmona lost a major supermarket contract. Woolworths announced late today it was dumping its “goodwill” deal with SPC — made just two years ago — to source its own-brand line of tinned tomatoes. The retailer was today placed under fierce political pressure to honour a five-year $70m deal with the Shepparton-based food processor, after the Herald Sun revealed that it was considering walking away from the contract. (heraldsun.com.au)

Spain: DIA expands reach of online store
DIA has extended the reach of its online store to Valladolid, in northwestern Spain. The addition of Valladolid means that the retailer’s store covers 17 provinces, which have a combined potential customer base of more than 15m people. (igd.com)

SA: Shoprite provides positive operational update
Following on from the news that chief executive Whitey Basson is to retire, Shoprite has revealed a positive operational update that it says continues ‘ the momentum of the last quarter of the 2016 financial year’, with turnover rising by 15.7%. The results were driven by a mixture of good growth in South Africa, where sales rose by 12.4%, with internal inflation of 7.2%, and despite the retailer’s core customer remaining ‘under pressure', it has continued expansion and strong growth outside its home market, with turnover growth of 35.1% (55% in constant currencies). Shoprite said it met its store opening target for the three month period, adding 16 supermarkets. (igd.com)

Sefalana enters Lesotho following acquisition
Sefalana has announced that it has entered Lesotho for the first time following the acquisition of a cash & carry store in Maseru, the country’s capital. Sefalana’s finance director, Mohamed Osman, said the acquisition was ‘in line with its expansion plans into the region’ and follows on from a successful expansion into Namibia in 2013. (igd.com)

Sainsbury's invests another £1m to fight food waste
Sainsbury’s is stepping up its drive to tackle the UK’s food waste epidemic by announcing a further £1m to help towns and cities reduce the number of items thrown away by consumers. (theguardian.com)

AU: Aldi 43% cheaper than Woolworths
A new market survey reveals that the German discounter is 43% cheaper than its major rivals Woolworths and Coles for branded products in Australia. The survey conducted by financial services holding company, Fairfax, reveals that around 36 products cost shoppers $113.25 at Adli, while customers buying the same items would pay $13.24 more at Woolworths and an extra $16.25 at Coles. When it comes to groceries, one could save up to 14% when shopping from Aldi, bypassing Woolworths and Coles. (internationalsupermarketnews.com)