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

September 18 – India’s Aditya Birla Shows Signs of Recovery
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail formed from a merger of Madura Garments Lifestyle Retail and Pantaloons Fashion and Retail Ltd, has been struggling since its creation. In the first two fiscal years after the merger the stock gained just 7%, however, the business has stabilized and the last three quarters have shown a steady rise in revenue. From Live Mint

September 18 – UK’s Sainsbury’s Invests in Two New Habitat Stores
Sainsbury’s acquired Habitat in September 2016, is investing GBP 1.5m in two stores, one in Westfield London and one in Brighton. The 4700 square foot Habitat store opening in Westfield London, the largest shopping center in Europe, will be part of the Westfield’s aim of creating a home hub with a selection of furniture and home brand stores. From Furniture News

September 17 – Amazon Launches Small and Medium Sized Product On-Line Storefronts
In an effort to claim a share of the small to medium sized business sales, Amazon US has opened Amazon Storefronts online. The e-tail giant plans to do similarly on their sites in the UK and Germany. From WTHR

September 17 – Korea’s GS Retail Opens Unmanned, Smart Convenience Store Using Facial Recognition Technology
GS Retail said the launch of the new type of store is geared to expand the technologies to support its franchisees while reducing the overhead of personnel expenses, as wages are on the rise in Korea. From Korea Herald

September 17 – Lidl UK to Build a New Distribution Center in Leeds
Schwartz Group’s Lidl is planning to open its seventeenth distribution center in Leeds as part of the group’s Lidl’s GBP 1.45 billion expansion plan in the UK. From The Grocer

Septemer 14 – Walmart to Acquire LatAm’s Cornershop
This online marketplace for on-demand delivery from supermarkets, pharmacies and specialty food retailers in Mexico and Chile will aim to strengthen Walmart’s business in Mexico and Chile. From PYMNTS.com

September 14 – Germany’s Metro Begins Preparing to Sell Retail Stores to focus on Wholesale Operations
Metro announced that it will be putting its big box chain up for sale and reviewing options for its Chinese Cash & Carry operations. The retailer’s business in China includes 93 stores and accounted for $3 billion in revenue in 2017. From Bloomberg

September 13 – Spain’s Mercadona Opens First Store in Africa
The Spanish retailer has invested €7.6m in the opening of it first supermarket in continental Africa, in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. This opening is the first of two stores planned for Ceuta and marks the first opening of any Mercadona stores outside of the Iberian Peninsula. From Fruit Net

September 13 – UK’s John Lewis Partnership and Waitrose Combine Loyalty Programs
With an aim to align the two retail brands more closely, John Lewis and Waitrose are trialling the combination of their two branded retail loyalty programs. From Marketing Week

September 13 – Mexico’s Liverpool to Rebrand Fábricas de Francia Stores
Liverpool plans to convert the 41 Fábricas de Francia retail stores into Liverpool or Suburbia stores. This announcement follows their $837.8 million acquisition of the Suburbia chain of stores from Walmart in April 2017. From Mexico News Daily

September 12 – Carrefour Tests No-Brand Approach
As a test to consumers’ willingness to exclusively purchase private label brands, Carrefour has removed all branded products in four of its stores in France. This experiment points to Carrefour’s goal, announced earlier in the year, to increase the share of private label turnover to 33%. From Retail Detail

September 11 – UK’s Tesco to Unveil Discount Store
With an aim to take market share away from Germany’s Aldi and Lidl, which hold 13% of the current UK grocery market, Tesco will unveil its newest store, Jack. Although the retailer has not disclosed many details, it is anticipated that there will initially be 100 stores, including 60 of the Tesco smaller format stores that are currently struggling. 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.