To follow is a brief review of retail news from around the world:
May 28 – Walmart and Amazon Battle India’s Strong Players, Traditional Family Run Stores
Thousands of “kiranas” throughout India pose a legitimate threat to the models of the Western, organized retailers’ models, as they are well-established, pay low wages and pay little rent. From The Wall Street Journal
May 14 – Poland’s Eurocash Group’s Sales Rise in Wholesale Divisions
Eurocash Group has reported a 7.5 percent increase in sales in the first quarter of 2018, to €1.17 BN. The company sighted that the increase was seen in both its wholesale and retail division, accounting for 7.2 percent and 8 percent respectively. From European Supermarket Magazine
May 11 – Singapore Retail Figures Reveal Department Stores to Be the Big Winner in March
March department stores sales in Singapore rose 9.1 percent as recovery continues. From Inside Retail
May 11 – Costco China Plans First Store Opening
Although the U.S. wholesale giant has been reaching the Chinese consumer market through Alibaba’s Tmall since 2014, Costco plans to open its first store in 2019 in China. From Inside Retail
May 9 – Walmart Acquires Majority Stake in Flipcart
Walmart has acquired 77 percent stake in India’s leading ecommerce operator, Flipcart in a $16 BN deal. Flipcart currently has over 100 million registered users and net sales of $4.6 BN in 2017. From Retail Analysis
May 9 – Belgian-Dutch Ahold Delhaize Had a Good First Quarter
The group’s retailers, Albert Heijn and bol.com generated a 3.4 billion euro turnover in the Netherlands, up 2.7 percent, thriving mostly online. From Retail Detail
May 8 – Alibaba Buys Pakistani Online Retailer, Daraz
With operations in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal Daraz’s was acquired by Alibaba in an effort to fortify operations in this region. Alibaba aims to take advantage of Pakistan’s burgeoning population of youth, which is anticipated to expand more than 8 percent annually through 2021. From Bloomberg
May 7 – Turkish Retailer, Sok, Anticipates 85 Percent Foreign Allocation in IPO
When entering the market on May 16, Turkish retailer plan to offer only 15 percent of shares to domestic investors, the remaining 85 percent of this discount retailer’s shares will be offered to foreign investors. From Reuters
May 7 – Czech Online Retailers Look for Business Abroad
With online sales in the Czech Republic already accounting for 10 percent of all domestic sales, online retailers are starting to search for opportunities abroad. Currently, with more than 400,000 online sites in the Czech Republic, the largest per capita in Europe, competition is strong and ecommerce is said to be very advanced. From Ecommerce News
May 6 – JD.com Opens Its First Unmanned Store to Date
Just south of Beijing, in Xiong’an New Area, this smartphone-enabled store is just over 2600 square feet and speaks to JD.com’s mission to open 1000 retail stores per day in 2018. From MingTiAndI
May 4 – Walmart International Changes its Business Focus from West to East
Among other markers, the sale of its UK operations of Asda to UK grocery rival, Sainsbury’s, marks one of many moves that illustrates Walmart International’s strategy shift out western markets. From Forbes
May 4 – Germany’s Schwarz Gruppe Anticipates €100 Billion in Sales in 2018
Parent Company of Lidl and Kaufland anticipates continued growth to €100 Billion in retail sales in 2018. From European Supermarket Magazine
May 3 – Sweden’s ICA Group Forms Partnership with UK’s Ocado for Online Grocery Expansion
ICA will be pairing with British online retailer Ocado to increase the strength of its online grocery business. Ocado will build an ICA warehouse in the Stockholm area with an anticipated timeline of three years to complete. From Retail Detail
May 3 – Walmart Will Start Selling Stores in Brazil
In May, Walmart Brasil will begin to sell some of its 465 stores in Brazil, sighting low sales and the emphasis on its partnerships in India and China. *This article written in Portuguese. From WSCOM
May 3 – Amazon UK Wins Best UK Retailer Award
This award, presented by GlobalData is a customer satisfaction award, which measures how satisfied customers are with the retailers they use. John Lewis Partnership was awarded second place and AO.com, third place. From Retail Gazette
May 3 – Alibaba Opens 10 New Stores in China
The Chinese online retail giant opened 10 more Hema stores in four new markets in China, bringing its count to 46 stores in 13 cities in China. From Alizila
May 3 – UK Ecommerce Grew to €15.6 billion in 2017
Business to consumer sales in the UK has increased 13.65 percent in 2017, with an anticipated growth rate of 14.3 percent for next year. From Ecommerce News
May 2 – Canada’s Lowblaw is Expanding online Grocery Pick-Up and Delivery Across Canada
Currently available in 11 markets in Canada, Lowblaws intends to expand online grocery delivery and click-and-collect options across Canada. From Global News
May 2 – Parkson Retail Asia Posts Q3 Loss
Despite posting a loss, these new figures show a narrowing net loss by 14 percent as compared to a year ago for department store operator, Parkson Retail Asia. Revenue for Q3 rose 5.9 percent, although expenses also rose 3.7 percent. From The Business Times
May 2 – Australia’s Woothworths Posts Higher Sales in Q3 Than Competitor, Coles
Grocery giant, Woolworths Group Ltd reported a 4.4 per cent rise in Q3 same-store food sales, beating rival Coles’ performance during the same period. Wesfarmers-owned Coles posted same-store sales growth of 0.9 percent. Wesfarmers, a retail conglomerate, plans to spin off Coles to focus on faster-growing businesses. From The Business Times
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.
