To follow is a brief review of retail news from around the world:
June 20 – JD.com Reaches Record Sales During its Annual 6.18 Shopping Event
More than 43 million customers visited online pop-up stores and brought sales for the Chinese online retailer to $24.7 bn during the company’s anniversary on June 18. This falls just behind Alibaba.com’s $25.3 bn in sales during the rival’s Singles Day event. From The Drum
June 20 – Amazon Launches Prime in Australia Sooner and More Aggressively Than Anticipated
Australian retailers anticipated Amazon to launch their Prime subscription, guaranteeing two-day delivery, later in the year. The low cost for Prime in Australia, more than 35% below the lowest Prime membership currently offered, is less expensive than in any other developed market. This aggressive pricing is anticipated to represent Amazon’s long-term ambitions for Australia. From Business Insider Australia
June 19 – Finland’s Kesko Corporation to Strengthen Home Improvement Offering in Norway with Acquisition
Kesko’s subsidiary, Byggmakker Handel AS, will purchase Gipling AS, a building and home improvement retailer in Norway with 2017 sales of approximately €151. From 4 – Traders
June 19 – Costco France Exceeds First Year Goals
A year after opening its first store south of Paris in Villebon-sur-Yvette Parisian, Costco has more than 73,500 members. The retailer has seen a higher penetration rate of their Kirkland brand in France than in Canada, where the retailer has 98 warehouse clubs. *This Article written in French. From Tendence Hotellerie
June 19 – UK’s Debenhams Considers Selling Denmark-Based Magasin du Nord
Debenhams, which just restated its profit forecast, is considering selling Denmark-based Magasin du Nord, which the retailer acquired in 2009 for GBP 12.3 million. From Reuters
June 19 – Germany’s Supermarket Chain, Lidl, to Open First Stores in Serbia
The retailer plans to open between 10 and 20 stores, on the same day, by the end of the year and plans to offer high quality, low price products as Lidl is known for in other European markets. From Serbian Monitor
June 19 – Alibaba Opens Office in Kuala Lumpur with an Aim to Access SEMs in Malaysia
Alibaba is targeting local businesses in Malaysia as the new office is designed to engage with existing local partners, help Malaysian businesses identify global cross-border trade opportunities, and support Malaysia’s technology sector. From Marketing Interactive
June 18 – Casino’s Brazilian Division, GPA, Launched a New Neighborhood Market Banner with stores to open in São Paulo in Second Half of 2018
GPA’s new stores under the banner Compre Bem will reflect a conversion of over 180 of GPA’s Extra Supermercado outlets. The Compre Bem stores will average of 1,700 square meters of floor space and stock around 7,000 SKUs, adapted by region. From European Supermarket Magazine
June 18 – Drugstore giant, A.S. Watson, Plans to Open a New Store Every 7 Hours in 2018 to Total 1,300 New Stores
The retailer currently operates 12 retail brands, the largest of which is Watsons and runs more than 14,300 stores in its 24 markets. Stores are located in mainland in Asia, Western Europe and Eastern Europe. From Retail Dive
June 18 – Google Forms Partnership with JD.com
Google’s parent company, Alphabe, will invest $550 million in cash for a 1% stake in JD.com. JD.com will make a selection of its products available for sale through Google Shopping across multiple regions. From Investor’s Business Daily
June 15 – Dutch Supermarket Chain, Jumbo, Opening in Belgium
Jumbo is taking the next step in the chain’s mission to open stores in one of the Netherland’s neighboring countries. The retailer plans to open its first stores will open after this year. From NL Times
June 15 – Costco Plans to Launch E-Commerce Business in Japan and Increase Store Count in Japan
With a goal of leveraging online shopping popularity in Japan, Costco plans to launch their online shopping in 2019. In addition, the retailer plans to increase its store count from 26 to 50 by 2030 in Japan. From The Japan Times
June 14 – JD.com Runs a Shanghai-Based Warehouse Which Processes Nearly 200,000 Daily Orders and Employs a Team of Only Four Humans
This warehouse is almost fully automated and processes orders with 99.99% accuracy. JD.com anticipates that the robotic package handlers are able to manage orders in a fraction of the time that it would take 180 human workers to accomplish. From Daily Mail
June 6 – German Supermarket Chain, Lidl to Invest €100 in 2018
The company plans to open additional stores in Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve as well as expand the current distribution center and begin construction of a new distribution center. From Portugal Resident
June 6 – Alibaba’s Logistics Arm to Build Logistics Center at Hong Kong Airport
Cainiao Network, Alibaba’s logistics arm, will invest $1.5 bn to build a logistics center, in a joint venture with China National Aviation Corp. and YTO Express. Cainiao will hold 51% of the stakes of the anticipated 380,000 square meters of this new hub that will serve as an air-cargo processing center, a sorting center and order-fulfillment center at the Hong Kong International Airport. From Alizila
June 6 – Belgium Food Retailer, Delhaize to Open 40 Stores in 2018
The retailer will renovate 90 of its current 760 stores in Belgium and add an additional 40 stores, testing different store formats and concepts. From Retail Insight
June 5 – Amazon to Increase Invest by $2 bn in India
The additional $2 bn investment in India is above the initial commitment of $5 bn by Amazon in India. The investment is targeted at staving off Walmart’s threat in India.
From CNBC
June 5 – Korea’s BFG, Owner of CU, Takes Majority Hold of Online Food Retailer, Hello Nature
With an investment of US$28 mil, BFG has claimed 50.1% of Hello, and will run Hello Nature, an online grocer which offers packaged-food deliveries, as a joint venture. From Inside Retail
June 5 – Walmart Sells 80% of Its Operations in Brazil to an Equity Firm
With 471 stores in Brazil, Walmart has posted operating losses in Brazil for seven straight years after 10 years of expansion left the retailer with poor locations, inefficient operations, labor difficulties and prices that were not competitive. From Reuters
June 4 – Farmacias Guadalajara Introduces First Smartphone Payments in Mexico
Farmacias Guadalajara has become the first chain in Mexico to incorporate the new contactless payment system, with which payments can be made in all stores in Mexico. *Article written in Spanish. From Economía
June 1 – Amazon Australia Restricts Shoppers from Buying on US Site After New GST Rules Begin
Amazon’s new rule will prevent Australians from buying from the Amazon US, or any international Amazons, which frequently have cheaper goods and a greater range compared with the Australian Amazon store. Restrictions will come into effect in July, after new GST rules begin, targeting global retailers. From The Guardian
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.
