Europe news & analysis

As Albert Heijn and Selecta open their first unstaffed concept in offices in the Netherlands and announce plans to extend the service into Belgium, both Albert Heijn and Delhaize set out sustainable initiatives. Albert Heijn and Selecta to take unstaffed store to Belgium After the two companies announced plans for opening unstaffed stores in the Netherlands , Albert Heijn and Selecta hav...

We review Couche-Tard’s third quarter performance and growth strategies. Key numbers Total revenue down 20.8% to $13.2bn YoY Merchandise and service revenues up 5.6% to $4.5bn YoY Road transportation fuel revenues down 29.7% to $8.5bn YoY Other revenue down 40.9% to $148m Same-store merchandise sales up 4.7% in Canada, 2.9% in the US and 2.8% in Europe and other re...

2021 has seen a rush of news flow about the financing, launch and expansion of specialist on-demand rapid delivery startups in the UK, operating from dark stores. Fancy, Jiffy, Weezy, Dija, Genie, Getir and Gorillas are all now operating, or on the verge of operating, in one or more UK towns or cities; offering ultra-quick delivery on grocery and convenience essentials from hyperlocal dedicate...

Following its global partnership with Too Good to Go , SPAR International has announced a further partnership with Gander. SPAR said it initially collaborated with Gander in Northern Ireland, but was now aiming to expand it to a global agreement. Partnership’s expansion to help SPAR limit food waste SPAR said Gander will offer it a ‘ real-time, automated mobile platform that helps food ...

Ocado's retail revenue grew by 40% to £599m in Q1, for the 13 weeks to 28 February 2021. The retailer has also launched a refresh of its private label range with a focus on reducing plastic and non-essential packaging components. Strong order size In Q1, retail sales grew faster in comparison to the previous quarter (+35%) driven by an increase in average order size to £147. This was due...

Jiffy, an ultra-rapid online supermarket, launches in the UK offering groceries and household essentials in 15-minutes. 15-minute delivery Jiffy offers fresh groceries and household essentials in 15-minutes. It operates from a number of local fulfilment centres, or dark stores. To aid its launch, Jiffy has raised undisclosed amounts in an initial seed-funding round led by venture capital fu...

Salling Group’s discount banner Netto has completed its acquisition of Tesco Poland , following approval from local competition authorities. The move will see Salling Group acquire 300 stores and two distribution centres. For Tesco, the exit from Poland reduces its central European business to the three much smaller markets of Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Netto’s biggest inves...

As Metro AG’s local operations commit to its long-term strategy, the group launches new services to support HoReCa customers and partners with Loop to reduce single-use plastic packaging. Metro launches DISH to support HoReCa businesses As it looks to support independent restaurants, Metro’s tech division, Hospitality Digital, has launched a new tool, DISH Order. The solution plugs into res...

According to reports in France-based trade publication LSA, Picnic is finalising its launch in France, which will be supported by Cora, while Gianluigi Ferrari is set to be chief executive of the buying alliance, Everest, between it and Edeka. Gianluigi Ferrari to become chief executive of Everest The buying alliance between Netherlands-based Picnic and Germany-based Edeka, which was anno...

As Carrefour receives approval for its takeover of Supersol in Spain and cuts prices on everyday staple products, amongst other developments, we round up news from the retailer. Carrefour completes acquisition in Spain… Carrefour’s acquisition of the Supersol chain has been approved by the local competition authority, Defensa de la Competencia, which will enable it to complete its €78m purc...