February 17 – Tesco Stores Renamed Across Southeast Asia
CP Group has renamed its Tesco stores across Southeast Asia to Lotus’s. The rebranding follows the USD 10.6 billion acquisition of Tesco’s Asian operations in Thailand and Malaysia in 2020. From Inside Retail

February 15 – South Africa’s ShopRite Sees Profits Grow
South Africa’s ShopRite Holdings announced that profits for the half-year that ended at the end of December 2020 have seen a growth of between 12.5% and 22.5% compared with the same period a year ago. The group’s furniture business, comprising OK Furniture and House & Home saw increases by 15.7% from the year-ago period and was said to be the largest sales driver. From European Supermarket Magazine

February 14 – UK’s Marks & Spencer Hits Record for Online Valentine’s Day Sales
Based on enhanced digital marketing efforts, UK’s Marks & Spencer saw record online flowers and food gifts sales for the Valentine’s Day holiday. The retailer has concentrated similar efforts for offerings for the March Mother’s Day holiday.  In addition, Marks & Spencer has added a digital shopping feature that allows customers to connect with in-store staff who will walk them around the store, digitally, to browse furniture offerings. From Retail Tech Innovation Hub

February 13 – Amazon India Will Integrate AmazonFresh and AmazonPantry Services 
With an integrated online store, customers can shop for a wide range of fresh and frozen food selections and well as dry grocery items, beauty, baby, personal care, and pet products, while having the convenience of two-hour delivery slots from 6 AM to midnight. This service will be available for customers in Bengaluru, Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Mysore over the next two weeks and other cities where Fresh is currently offered in the coming months. From ET Retail

February 12 – Dutch Online Retailer, Picnic, to Open in France

After having established a subsidiary in France, Picnic, a Dutch online supermarket, is planning to open in northern France this year. The UK had previously been a target for the retailer, but due to Brexit, the eagerness has dwindled. From Retail Detail

February 12 – Australia’s Woolworths Reinstates Product Purchase Limits
Among other retailers in Australia, upon the announcement of a five-day lockdown in Victoria, Australia, Woolworths has reinstated purchase limits on a range of essential products in outlets in Victoria and online. The limits will ensure Woolworths customers have fair access to essential products.  From Woolworths Group

February 11 – Alibaba’s Logistics Arm Gears Up for Chinese New Year
To support the anticipated spike in product delivery demand for Chinese New Year, Alibaba’s logistics arm, Cainiao Network, will maintain operations over the holiday period across more than 200 cities. Close to 50,000 of its Cainiao Post stations nationwide will also stay open for consumers to collect purchases through contactless technologies such as self-serve pick-up machines and driverless carts. At a time when the Chinese traditionally travel during the 40-day holiday period, a 61% reduction in travel is anticipated from the pre-pandemic timeframe, therefore giving rise to online gift purchasing. From Alizila

February 11 – Carrefour to Open National Distribution Center in Spain
Carrefour will open a new distribution 98,757 square meter distribution center in Spain. The new DC will host Carrefour’s national logistics platform for low-turnover products, large household appliances, and textiles to service more than 1,200 Carrefour stores in Spain and the rest of the platforms in its logistics network.  Article written in Spanish. 
From Revista Info Retail

February 10 – Schwartz Group Lidl Expands Customer Service on Whatsapp in Ireland
Lidl is experimenting with customer service through Whatsapp, allowing customers to quickly reach out to an employee with questions. During the first Covid wave, shoppers could check the business of the stores using Whatsapp. From Retail Detail

February 10 – Russia’s M.Video-Eldorado Plans Increase in Stores Russia’s largest consumer electrics chain, M.Video-Eldorado, announced the plan to open 500 outlets by the end of 2023, including 250 small format stores under the name “Eldorado 250”.  Article Written in Russian. From Retail.Ru

February 10 – Amazon France Reorganizes Food Offerings Around Monoprix
Amazon is reorganizing its food offer around retailer Monoprix, with which it has formed an alliance in the country. The structure will include warehouse openings in the coming months and increased development of Amazon’s Prime Now express delivery service.  Article written in French. From LSA

February 10 – JD.com Gears Up for Chinese New Year
JD.com is gearing up for the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday with constant omnichannel shopping and one-hour delivery service known as “JD Citywide Shopping”.  This service is JD’s omnichannel fulfillment supply chain program which integrates  multiple offline channels, including chain supermarkets. The service allows offline channels to deliver orders originating from JD.com directly and improving the supply chain efficiency of the offline retailers. From JD.com

February 10 – Metro AG Sees Sales Fall Due to Hospitality Closures 
Germany’s Metro, an international wholesaler specializing in servicing the HoReCa industry saw sales fall 11.2% in Q1, an impact of the closures of hotels, restaurants, and catering companies. Metro has more than 16 million customers globally. From Metro AG

February 10 – Sweden’s ICA Gruppen Sees Sales Increase

Sweden’s ICA Gruppen saw a 5.6% sales increase in Q4, results aided by the results of the continuing pandemic. From ICA Gruppen

February 9 – Alibaba Seeks to Continue to Connect U.S. Brands to Global Buyers 
Alibaba is hosting a two-week virtual trade show, Global Products Expo: Made in the USA, designed to assist hundreds of U.S. brands in connection with millions of global buyers. The event features suppliers of products in categories including fashion, beauty, home, office, health, medical, food, agriculture, sports, and hobby.  Alibaba expects million of buyers to attend from around the world through February 21. From Chainstore Age

February 2 – DIA to Close Clarel Stores in Portugal
With a focus on food retail, Spain’s DIA retail group will close 41 of 71 Clarel personal and home care chain stores. Twelve outlets will be transformed into new Minipreço supermarkets to allow DIA to respond to consumer demand. From European Supermarket Magazine

February 1 – Canada’s Loblaw Partners with Loop to Up Sustainable Offerings to Customers
The global reuse platform, Loop, launched in Canada with grocery chain Loblaw, initially rolling out to residents in Ontario. Now customers can shop for a wide variety of food and household products in refillable packagings, such as ice cream, sauces, snacks, pet food, and toothpaste from some of the country’s most popular brands, including Loblaw’s President’s Choice. From Lowblaw Companies Limited