To follow is a brief review of retail news from around the world:

January 15 – Ahold Delhaize to Open Additional Outlets in Belgium
In addition to opening 200 new Fresh Atelier and Shop&Go stores, announced in late October, the group plans to add 100 new supermarkets (SM, AD or Proxy) and 30 to 50 Albert Heijn supermarkets in Flanders, Belgium for a total of 350 new stores under the Belgium-Dutch group’s banners. From Brussels Times

January 11 – Brazil’s Casino GPA Ends Year Revenue Increase
Net sales revenue at Casino GPA’s food division rose 12 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter to approximately $3.8 billion, with same store sales at stores open for at least 12 months grew 6.9% in the quarter from a year ago. From Reuters

January 11 – Casino’s Ecommerce Arm, Cnova Announces Increase in Q4 Sales
Gross merchandise volume was up 11.9%  in the fourth quarter, showing the best quarterly performance since the third quarter of 2017. From European Supermarket Magazine

January 11 – Hong Kong’s Watsons to Launch in Vietnam
Hong Kong-headquartered healthcare and beauty retailer, Watsons, will launch its first store in Vietnam on January 17. The new store will be located in the high profile, Bitexco Tower in Ho Chi Minh City. From Inside Retail Asia

January 11 – India’s Future Group to Start Meal Delivery in Bangalore
With an aim of increasing the revenue contribution of food business from 50 percent to 55 percent in near future, Future Group has rolled out a pilot program to deliver food directly to consumers that are prepared at the company’s facilities. From ET Retail

January 9 – Falabella Announces Investment Plan
Chilean Retailer, Falabella, announced its investment plan through 2022, which total USD4.2 billion. The objective of investing heavily in its digital and physical ecosystem is at the core of the plan. From Neuck.com

January 9 – UK’s Steamer Trading Stores Sold to ProCook
Twenty seven of the 38 Steamer Trading UK stores have been sold to UK retailer, ProCook. Ten of the under-preforming Steamer Trading stores will close and one store, branded under Divertimenti, will remain under Steamer Trading’s founder. From Housewares Live

January 9 – Pop-Up Specialist, Storefront Asia, Moves into South Korea
Storefront works to release temporary retail space with its global marketplace for connecting tenants and property owners in an efficient way. With this new move to South Korea, Storefront Asia hopes the benefits of pop-up stores will serve thousands of merchants looking to expand into the market. With a prolonged recession in South Korea, retail vacancy rates are rising and more brands are diverting their interests from traditional retail storefronts, to offer an experience to customers in a pop-up format. From Inside Retail

January 8 – Tesco Begin Deliveries by Robot from One UK Store
Tesco UK has unveiled delivery robots, fitted with GPS tracking, a speaker and cameras that are able to be followed and controlled by a human in a control center who can identify theft attempts. The service is powered by tech company, Starship, and is currently available for delivery from one store north of London to customers within a two-mile radius. From Daily Mail

January 8 – Makro Portugal Launches HoReCa Channel
Makro Portugal has invested in an additional digital platform to reach its customers and the HoReCa channel. The retailer has launched an online store called mShop for business clients. mShop will be available in the regions where Makro’s ten stores are located in Portugal. Article written in Portuguese. From Revista Info Retail

January 8 – UK’s Morrisons Christmas Sales Were Up But Shares Are Down
UK grocer Morrisons has announced its Christmas 2018 performance for the 9 weeks ended on 6 January 2019 as up 3.6%. However, its shares fell this week, as its wholesale business, which supplies food to Amazon, convenience store group McColl’s and petrol station operators, had a less-than-expected performance. From Financial Times

January 8 – Modern Retail Pioneer Rebrands All Hyperstar Stores in Pakistan as Carrefour
Effective December 20, all Hyperstar Stores in Pakison will be rebranded under the Carrefour banner. Stores are currently in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, with additional stores slated to open in Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot in 2019. From The Express Tribune

January 8 – JD.com Launches Smart Delivery Stations in China
JD.com has launched two smart delivery stations in China in Changsha and Hohhot to strengthen logistics capabilities. The stations are focused on R&D, testing and personnel training to solve issues related to last mile delivery. Currently, JD.com has delivery robots that can be loaded with 30 parcels and autonomously deliver within a 5-kilometer radius, while avoiding obstacles and recognizing traffic lights. Running at full capacity, the delivery stations, operating with a half-half split between robots and couriers, can deliver up to 2,000 packages a day. From Parcel & Post

January 6 – Costco Continues to Expand in Australia
Costco plans to open three new warehouse in Australia in 2019, adding to its count of 8 current stores with 150,000 members. Australian’s spent almost USD1.5 billion in 2016 at Costco in 2016, accounting for roughly 5% of Costco’s total international revenues in 2016. From Forbes

January 7 – Russian Retailer Takes on Aldi and Lidl
Russian retail discounter, Torgservis, will open its first store in Leipzig, Germany at the end of January. The retailer, through its subsidiary TS Markt, plans to open at least a hundred stores in the east of Germany under the brand Mere, under which it is currently operating in Romania. From Retail Detail

January 4 – France’s E. Leclerc Cuts Private Label Prices
E. Leclerc has cut prices on approximately 4600 SKUs of its private label, Marque Repère, and will maintain these cuts through 2019. These prices will be across all 681 Leclerc stores, in its 620 Drive outlets, and on the home delivery site E.Leclerc Chez Moi. From European Supermarket Magazine

January 2 – Co-op UK Plans 100 New Stores for 2019
With approximately 33% of new stores planned for London and south east England, Co-op will also improve or open 40 stores in Scotland and open 10 stores in Whales. In December, the retailer opened a £6m distribution center in 20018 at Inverness Airport Business Park, which is already servicing its stores in the region. From Talking Retail

January 1 – Walmart Chile Opens Its First Self-Service Store
Walmart Chile has debuted a new store format in Santiago, Chile, as part of efforts to modernize its store network and drive in-store efficiencies. The supermarket is Walmart’s pilot in the region, has 5 self-service registers in their 320 square meter store that are monitored by personnel on-hand to help with the usage of the check out kiosks. Article written in Spanish. From La República

January 1 – Dutch Retailer, Coop Increases Turnover 18% in 2018
Coop Reported sales of €1.4 billion for 2018 and attributes the €200 million higher than the previous year to the combined turnover of its Coop store network and the 51 EMTÉ stores acquired in July 2018. From European Supermarket Magazine

The International Business Council is a special interest group of IHA members, dedicated to helping its membership market and sell their products internationally by sharing information, providing networking opportunities and offering programs to assist, support, and educate. Membership is free to all regular, IHA members – visit the IBC website to learn more.