February 26 – Amazon Enters Food Delivery Market in India
In the wake of Uber’s attempt at food delivery in India, after falling to the competition of two local competitors, Swiggy and Zomato, Amazon is on the brink of launching its food delivery service in India. The launch is delayed from the original plan of launching by Diwali. The initial launch will be in Bangalore with a select number of restaurants. From Tech Crunch
February 26 – Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd On the Precipice of Merging
Rumored to have been agreed to by the two retailers two years ago, the two German retailers plan to merge by 2022, ending a 50 year split of the retail group. This merger aims to eliminate redundant structure and raise efficiency, which could result in major staff reductions. From Retail Detail
February 26 – Walmart Discussed Possible Buyers for Asda Stake
Walmart has said that it is looking for possible buyer of stake in its UK-based supermarket, Asda, which has struggled against the local competition of Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons. In addition, Asad has tough competition with German-owned Lidl and Aldi. From Reuters
February 25 – Chile’s Falabella’s Post Increase in Digital Sales
In their Q4 financial reporting, Chile’s Falabella reported a 19% in the fourth quarter and 22% for the year. The growth is reported to be attributed primarily to the growth of Falabella.com in Colombia, Peru and Chile. From Falabella
February 25 – Tesco Launches First Cashless Store
Tesco has launched its first store to accept only electronic payments. This marks the first of the UK retailers to move in this direction. The store offers shoppers a range of electric payments and self-checkout. From The Times
February 24 – MercadoLibre Plans Major Investment in Mexico
Argentina-based MercadoLibre has announced a planned investment of USD 420 million in Mexico, which is the online retailers fastest growing market. The retailer invested a significant amount in Mexico in 2019, which was less than 45% of the newly announced investment plans. The focus of this investment will be logistics, brand expansion, financial services. In 2019, the online retailer had net profits of USD 275 million in Mexico, a growth of 152% over the previous year. Article in Spanish From América RETAIL
February 22 – Australia’s Woolworths Announces Positive Half Year Results
Woolworths reported half year results for 27 weeks ending January 5, 2020, noting that grew 6.0% to AUD 32.41 billion and group sales increased by 31.6% to AUD1.65 billion. From Woolworths Group
February 21 – Spar Austria Reports Positive Results for FY 2019
The SPAR Austria Group, which includes SPAR Austria, ASPIAG, Hervis and SES SPAR European Shopping Centres, reported expansion and growth in 2019, reaching EUR 15.72 billion in sales. In Austria, sales reached €7.2 billion, securing he SPAR Brand Austria’s industry leader for the tenth consecutive year. SPAR Austria reported sales growth of 4.7%, which is more than double the Austrian food retail industry’s estimated average growth of 2.1%. From SPAR International
February 21 – John Lewis Partnership Puts Incubator on Hold in the Face of Difficulties
After profitability of John Lewis Partnership sank due to weak performance, for the first time since the 1950s, the of employees not receiving the “partnership bonus” is at risk. As a result, John Lewis has put its incubator scheme, JLab, on hold as part of the group bringing together its retail business and Waitrose chain under one management team. As aims for cost-reducing measures and return to profitability, it has brought John Lewis and Waitrose under one team headed by new chairman and has cut about 75 management jobs. From The Grocer
February 20 – Lidl to Invest GBP 1.3 in Store Expansion
With the opening of its 800th stores in the UK, 16 of which have been opened since the start of 2020, Schwarz Group banner Lidl has announced it will invest GBP 1.3 billion in store expansion across the UK in the next two years. From City AM
February 20 – Canada’s Loblaw Announces Positive Results
Loblaw has announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year ending December 28, 2019, noting an increase of 3.3% in revenue to CAD 11.59 billion. From Lowblaw
February 20 – Mercadona to expand in Portugal
Spanish grocer Mercadona plans to increase its number of outlets in Portugal and reach 150 stores in the country over the next few years. The retailer plans to add 10 stores in 2020, the exact number it added in Portugal in 2019. Article in Spanish. From América RETAIL
February 17 – Amazon Launches Business Prime in Spain
Amazon has launched Business Prime in Spain, offering businesses access to Prime benefits and access to more than one million products in Madrid and Barcelona. Business Prime in Spain comes less than two years after the introduction of Amazon Business, which has been expanding globally and has rolled out in the U.S., Canada, Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Japan and India. Article in Spanish. From Amazon
February 17 – South Korea’s Lotte Announces Major Store Closures
Lotte Shopping plans the closure of up to 200 stores, including department stores and large-format supermarkets. Lotte operates more than 700 stores under its Lotte Mart, Lotte Department Store, Lotte Super and drug-store chain LOHB banners. There have not yet been reports that Lotte will scale back its international business, which is largely in Southeast Asia, after it began withdrawing from China last year. From Inside Retail
February 16 – Carrefour to Acquire Additional Stores in Brazil
Carrefour Group will acquire 30 Makro Atacadista SA Cash & Carry outlets in Brazil. These outlets account for about BRL 2.8 billion in gross sales in 2019 and are located across 17 states in Brazil. From Carrefour
February 13 – HEMA to Open Stores in Mexico
Netherlands-based variety store, HEMA, has planned to open 10 outlets in Mexico in 2020, marking its physical entry int into the American continent. The retailer says it hopes to have 200 stores in Mexico, where it notes the rapidly growing middle class. HEMA is working with two new franchise partners, Ensueño Group and Modatelas Group to open its operations in Mexico. HEMA has previouslyl launched an alliance with Walmart to sell its products via the Walmart US website. From DutchNews
