October 22 – Alibaba Aims to Break Records with 11.11 Shopping Festival
Alibaba plans to top 2018’s $30bn sales by offering over one million new products to their 500 million registered users. This is the eleventh 11.11 Shopping Festival and the online giant is aiming to upgrade its consumers’ lifestyles through new product and brand offerings. From The Drum
October 22 – Amazon France Opens First Robotic Warehouse
Amazon France opened its sixth warehouse in France, this its first robotic warehouse with Amazon Robotics. This is Amazon’s largest warehouse, globally and hosts 4,000 autonomous shuttles that slide under cabinets to transport them to operators. Article Written in French. From LSA
October 21 – Hudson’s Bay Company Will Go Private
The Canada-based Hudson’s Bay chain, the oldest company in North America, will go private in a deal valuing the Canadian retailer at CA$1.9 billion. The group plans to revamp the brand offering, removing unprofitable brands and adding new brands in a turnaround effort. From Financial Post
October 21 – SPAR China Opens Additional Supermarkets
Five additional SPAR supermarkets were opened in China with 2 outlets in Shandong and 3 in Guangdong. This brings the retailer count closer to 400 in China. From European Supermarket Magazine
October 21 – Tesco Malaysia Opens 60th Store
With operations in Malaysia for 17 years, the retailer recently opened its 60th outlet of more than 2000 square feet. This outlet marks the largest of Tesco Malaysia’s stores. From Inside Retail
October 20 – Schwartz Group Lidl to Open 30 UK Stores
Thirty new Lidl stores are planned for opening in the UK, with focus on locations in Surry, in southeast England. From Surry Live
October 17 – Amazon Launches Global Selling Program in Vietnam
Amazon has launched its Amazon Global Selling program in Vietnam with the aim of accessing the online potential of the Vietnam’s manufacturing and export-oriented sectors. Amazon will place a dedicated team in Vietnam to facilitate selling on Amazon. From KrAsia
October 17 – France’s Fnac Darty Reports Revenue Growth
Revenue growth of 3.7% was reported for electronics retailer Fnac Darty in Q3. The retailer achieved double-digit growth in digital operations, which represented over 19% of the Fnac Darty’s revenue in Q3. From Fnac Darty
October 17 – South Korea’s E-Mart to Sell 13 Stores
Shinsegae-owned E-Mart, in an effort to improve its financial position, in the face of tough competition from e-commerce, will sell 13 store buildings and land. This represents just under 6% of the retailer’s assets. From Inside Retail
October 17 – UK’s Marks & Spencer Announces New 60,000 Square Foot Store
This new retail store is planned to open in the summer of 2020 in Nottingham, at a retail park. The announcement comes less than two weeks before the retailer opens a large new store the first clothing store it has opened in ten years in the south west. From Marks & Spencer
October 16 – Ikea India Plans Expansion into Tier II Cities
Ikea is developing a large format store in Bengaluru and plans to then develop an outlet in Delhi as its first phase expansion plans. Following this first phase, Ikea will expand to tier II cities in India. From ET Retail
October 16 – Dutch Retailer HEMA Continues Expanding Partnership with Casino Franprix in France
Following a trial of shop-in-shops at fifteen Franprix stores, HEMA will expand its partnership with the Casino Franprix to 50 additional French stores. Currently the HEMA shop offers 250 SKUs in the textile, office, party and tableware categories. Article written in French. From LSA
October 16 – MercadoLibre to Invest Heavily in Brazil
Argentina-based MercadoLibre plans to invest $718 million in logistics and financial services in Brazil. MercadoLibre currently has two distribution centers in São Paulo and aims to open facilities in other parts of the country to offer faster delivery. Currently MercadoLibre has approximately 33% market share in Brazil. From PYMNTS.com
October 14 – Lawson Philippines Plans Massive Store Openings
Lawson Philippines plans to grow its store count from 50 stores to about 500 within five years with new agreement between Lawson and local partner Ayala Corp. This agreement follows the cancellation an anticipated partnership with Puregold Price Club. From Inside Retail
October 14 – Walmart Mexico Launches Sustainability Initiative
Project Gigaton, Walmart’s global sustainability initiative will launch in Mexico, following the United States, Canada, China and United Kingdom. This initiative seeks to avoid 20 billion tons of greenhouse gases in Walmart’s global value chains. Article written in Spanish. From Walmart Mexico
