July 20 – Walmart Canada Announces Major Investment
Walmart Canada has announced that it will invest CAD 3.5 billion on growth acceleration and customer experience over the next 5 years. Among the investment plans announced are renovations to 150 stores, a digitally connected shopping experience, growth in ecommerce scope, renovation of an existing distribution center and two new distribution centers. From Walmart
July 20 – UK’s Marks & Spencer Announces 950 Job Cuts
In effort to right-size during the COVID-19 pandemic, UK’s Marks & Spencer plans to cut 950 store management and head office jobs. Some reductions had been planned, but the pandemic has accelerated the retailer’s move to what it has called a “stronger, leaner business”. From BBC News
July 17 – SPAR Hungary Successfully Expands Online Grocery Platform
More than a year following the launch of SPAR Hungary’s online grocery platform in Budapest and nearly 50 surrounding municipalities, the retailer has broadened its online program beyond the greater metropolitan area of the capital city. From SPAR International
July 16 – Spain’s Dia Announces Like-For-Like Sales Increases
Sighting higher net sales in a smaller store network, Spain’s Dia released a Q2 report indicating an increase of 6.3% in net sales and like-for-like sales up by 14.9%. From Dia Corporate
July 15 – Hong Kong’s Watsons Accelerates Move to Touchless Payment
Despite slowing of pre-pandemic plans of global store launches of 1,300 shops across its 12 retail brands around the globe this year, Watson’s has accelerated its touchless payment, Watsons GO. The payment system allows customers to scan product bar codes and pay for directly through Alipay HK. From South China Morning Post
July 15 – India’s Reliance Retail Plans Expansion of Categories on Digital Platform
In an effort to compete with Amazon and Flipcart in India, Reliance Retail plans to expand the category offerings on JioMart, the retailer’s grocery and daily essentials platform. Category expansion is expected to include fashion, consumer electronics and smartphones and will be launched for India’s upcoming festive season. From ET Retail
July 15 – Auchan Signs Partnership with Delivery Service in New Markets
Auchan has entered partnership with Spanish delivery partner, Glovo. After a successful trial in Ukraine in 2019, Glovo will now expand its rapid home delivery of products from Auchan stores in Spain, Portugal and Poland and will fulfill orders within an 8 km radius of Auchan stores. From Auchan Retail
July 15 – Amazon Brazil Launches New Subscription-Based Program
Amazon Brazil launched a subscription-based program for everyday grocery items including food, beverages and hygiene products. The program, Programe e Poupe avails a discount of 10% on items that are part of the program, allows scheduled deliveries that automatically ship and includes brands such as L’Oreal, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble and Reckitt Benckiser. From European Supermarket Magazine
July 15 – Thailand’s Central Retail Plans Expansion in Vietnam
Thai retail conglomerate, Central Group, plans to expand over 90% of Vietnam within five years. The retailer currently operates 35 malls and 230 stores across 39 of the 63 provinces in Vietnam. Central Retail is the largest multinational retail company operating in Vietnam and has a customer base of about 12 million and revenues in 2019 of USD 1.17 billion, accounting for about 20% of Central Group’s sales. From Inside Retail Asia
July 15 – Amazon Australia Launches New Feature for Pet Owners
Amazon Australia has made it easier for pet owners to receive personalized product recommendations and discount on products for their pets with the launch of Pet Profiles. The continued growth of this category will add to the more than 125 million products offered to shoppers on Amazon Australia. From Amazon Australia
July 14 – German Discounter Lidl Plans Store Openings in the UK
Germany’s Lidl has planned to open more than 25 new stores in the UK by the end of 2020. In 2021 and 2022, the retailer intends to invest GBP 1.3 million, allowing for the opening of 100 additional stores with an aim of 1000 stores by the end of 2023. From Retail Gazette
July 13 – Carrefour UAE Opens New Fulfillment Center
Majid Al Futtaim, Carrefour’s holding company in UAE, has opened its largest Carrefour online fulfilment center to meet the increasing digital shopping demand, brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new center was built in five weeks and is currently handling 3,000 daily orders, operating 24 hours per day. From Arabian Business
July 7 – Amazon Australia Announces Grants for Startups
Amazon Australia has announced grants of more than AUD 80,000 for startup businesses in which the online giant sees potential for success. Under this program, Amazon Launchpad Innovation Grants, Amazon Australia aims to remove some of the barriers that small startups face in their goals to bring innovate products to market. From Amazon Australia
July 8 – Indonesia Imposes Tax on Amazon, Google and Netflix
With an anticipated 13% drop in state revenue in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesia has imposed a 10% tax on sales by technology companies Amazon, Google and Netflix. This new tax law will apply to all non-resident foreign firms which sell digital products and services in Indonesia worth USD 41,000 or more per year. Indonesia’s digital boom is expected to reach USD 130 billion by 2025. From Deal Street Asia
July 6 – Carrefour Combines Its Loyalty Program with Apple Pay
As one of the first European retailers to do so, Carrefour France has enabled customers to add their loyalty card to Apple Pay, allowing customers to continue to receive benefits of Carrefour’s loyalty program when using contactless pay. From Geeky.news
July 6 – Auchan Poland Plans Additional Self-Checkouts
Auchan Poland plans to add self-checkouts to its existing count by mid-2021, with the aim of 1000 self-checkouts. This represents double the number of self-service payment locations that currently exist. Article written in Polish. From Wiadomości Handlowe
July 6 – JD.com To Introduce More Korean Brands into China
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, JD.com is aiming to avail more Korean brands to their customers in China, who have increased their shopping on JD.com. This initiative represents a partnership between JD.com, Korea’s LG and Korea International Trade Association (KITA). LG will manage the supply-chain and KITA will support the Korean SMEs entering Chinese market. From Inside Retail
