Amazon wants to buy French supermarket

Alibaba launches Tmall in Russia
Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba will launch its online b2c marketplace Tmall in Russia, sources say. Currently, the service is in test mode, but it should become fully operational somewhere next month. It will be launched within the AliExpress platform. (esmmagazine.com)

ICA Gruppen proposes sale of 17 stores in Lithuania
Swedish retailer ICA Gruppen has proposed the sale of 17 of its Rimi stores in Lithuania, in order to proceed with its acquisition of UAB Palink, which runs the IKI retail chain. ICA announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire UAB in December for €213mln, however, the Lithuanian Competition Authority has raised concerns about certain geographical areas. (esmmagazine.com)

Northern Italy cheaper than South for grocery shopping
Grocery shopping is cheaper in Northern Italy than in Southern Italy, with the gap between Italian cities exceeding €1,200 per year. This emerges from the Altroconsumo annual survey of supermarkets, hypermarkets and discounters in 67 Italian cities across 20 regions of the country. (esmmagazine.com)

Univerexport opens €16mln distribution centre in Serbia
Serbian grocery retailer Univerexport has opened a new distribution and logistics centre in the city of Novi Sad. The new centre, which covers 30,000 square metres, will employ 250 workers and the investment value is €16mln. This is the biggest investment in the 27-year history of this company, according to the website of the Government of the Province of Vojvodina. (esmmagazine.com)

Singapore: FairPrice to offer 2% discount on fruit & veg on Wednesdays
In order to promote healthier eating, FairPrice will shave two per cent off prices for fresh fruit and vegetables once a week until the end of the year, it said on Tuesday. In a media release, the company said the discount will apply on Wednesdays at all its 143 outlets including FairPrice supermarkets, FairPrice Shop, FairPrice Finest and FairPrice Xtra. (channelnewsasia.com)

Amazon wants to buy French supermarket
Amazon has approached various French supermarket operators—including Casino—about setting up distribution deals or making an acquisition in the country, newspaper Le Monde reported, citing its own sources. Le Monde said Amazon had contacted Casino over Casino’s Monoprix division, but Casino had declined to pursue the matter. “Casino does not intend to sell Monoprix,” Le Monde reported, citing sources within Casino. Casino declined to comment while officials at Amazon (AMZN, -0.22%) could not immediately be reached for comment. Le Monde added Amazon had also contacted supermarket companies Intermarche and Systeme U. Officials at Intermarche and Systeme U could not be reached for comment. (fortune.com)

Tesco posts seventh consecutive quarter of growth
Tesco has posted a 0.7% increase in group sales (at constant rates) in the first half of its financial year, posting sales of £25.2bn for the period. At actual rates, sales were up 3.3%. The retailer said that group operating profit was up 23.7% for the period to £759mln, which CEO Dave Lewis described as “strong progress. Sales are up, profits are up, cash generation continues to strengthen and net debt levels are less than half what they were when we started our turnaround three years ago. (esmmagazine.com)

AUS: The SA supermarket trumping Coles and Woolworths
Among the big five supermarkets, Foodland – which is based largely in South Australia – was the top performer for customer satisfaction, according to research from Roy Morgan. The year-long study involving 12,000 grocery shoppers found Foodland earned a score of 94.4%, above German discount chain Aldi (92.3%), Australian giants Woolworths (90%) and Coles (88.4%), and IGA (84.7%). (indaily.com.au)

Whole Foods price cuts hit hardest at Trader Joe's & Sprouts -report
Whole Foods rivals Trader Joe’s and Sprouts Farmers Market Inc have been hit hardest by customer defections since Amazon.com Inc’s price cuts at the premium grocer, Whole Foods, a data analytics firm said on Tuesday. Amazon cut prices on select items at Whole Foods on Aug. 28. On the first day, customer traffic spiked 31 percent from a year earlier. Traffic jumped 17% during the week after the price reductions and remained up 4% for the week ended Sept. 16, according to Thasos Group, which analyzes location data from millions of mobile phones.

Ten percent of Trader Joe’s regular customers visited Whole Foods between Aug. 28 and Sept. 3, more than any other competing chain, Thasos Group said. Sprouts was No. 2 at 8%, followed by Target Corp at 3% and Costco Wholesale Corp and Safeway at 2% each.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Kroger Co were the top sources of new customers after the price cuts at Whole Foods. They accounted for 24% and 16% of Whole Foods new customers, respectively, from Aug. 28 through Sept. 3. During that period, 15% of shoppers came from Costco, 11% were from Target and 5% were from Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club. (Reuters)

China: CR Vanguard expanding Suguo banner
CR Vanguard plans to open 700 Suguo CVC stores in China during the next five years, accelerating Suguo's coverage to over 1,800 stores nationwide, with approximately 1,000 stores in Nanjing. The Jiangsu-based banner, Suguo, has three different retail formats; supermarket, convenience and community, the latter two are particularly relevant in serving local communities with tailored product ranges. (igd.com)

NZ: Foodstuffs gets ready for Amazon to redefine grocery shopping
Supermarket co-operative Foodstuffs is placing "big bets" on guessing how you will buy groceries in the future. The owner of the New World, Pak 'n Save and Four Square chains expects New Zealand shoppers to always visit a physical supermarket at some stage during the week, despite its online sales growing. Foodstuffs CEO Chris Quin said it would continue to build and renovate brick and mortar supermarkets, and put more unprocessed food and ready-made meals on shelves. (stuff.co.nz)

Lidl's American conquest sluggish
Lidl’s first American stores’ performance was “frighteningly weak”, German and American media report. The board will take measures and The German company has strengthened its grip on its overseas operations. The discounter is not satisfied with how its expansion plan is being executed and that is why it will strengthen its grip. Some stores are performing “frighteningly weak”, American Supermarket News says. (retaildetail.eu)

CA: Sobeys launches Easy Meals
Sobeys is the latest grocer to embrace the fast-growing “grocerant” concept with the launch of its Easy Meals line of products. Available in both ready-to-cook and ready-to-heat formats, Easy Meals are being sold in single-serve packages, providing choice for the busy families who are the key target. (canadiangrocer.com)

Target gives curbside pick-up another chance
Target's launch of a fresh curbside pick-up service in its hometown of Minneapolis-St. Paul isn't the retailer's first attempt to master an increasingly popular way of shopping. "Drive Up" is currently being tested in 50 Target locations throughout Minnesota. Target first partnered with San Francisco-based Curbside in 2014, testing pick-up in parking lots at 11 of its San Francisco-area stores. The pilot with Curbside was eventually ended by 2016. (cnbc.com)

US: Albertsons to raise $720M in store sale-leaseback
Albertsons Cos. said Friday it had a made a deal to sell 71 owned stores to a real estate investor and subsequently lease them back. The deal with CF Albert LLC would raise approximately $720mln, excluding closing costs. (supermarketnews.com)