Europe news & analysis

Amazon has announced plans to launch in Sweden, the Nordic region’s largest grocery market. Here we consider which FMCG categories it usually prioritises and report on the online performance of leading Swedish grocery retailers. First launch in a Nordic country Launching in Sweden will see Amazon’s entry into the Nordics. Customers in Sweden can already shop on Amazon through other European...

We look at the latest developments and news from Lidl in the US, Italy and other European countries. US: Chairman Roman Heini exits Lidl US Chairman Roman Heini took the decision to leave the company to “pursue other professional interests and spend more time with his family” as reported by website Supermarket News. Before joining Lidl US in October 2018, Heini worked for 18 years at Aldi, ...

Jerónimo Martins revealed a mixed Q2 performance with an overall decrease in sales. Biedronka displayed a strong sales performance whereas, Ara’s expansion plans were impacted from the pandemic’s mandatory restrictions in Colombia.   Sales performance Jerónimo Martins’ consolidated sales decreased by 1.3% to €4.6bn with like-for-like (LFL) performance of -0.7%, in Q2 2020. Group EBITDA decr...

France-based Casino reported consolidated net sales up by 10.4% (same-store basis) in Q2 driven by strong demand across France and Latin America due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the group saw a net loss of €87 m during the first half of the year, mainly due to increased costs.   France: same store sales growth +6.0% driven by convenience and supermarkets Total net sales decreased by 5...

Schwarz Group reported a net sales increase of 8.6% to €113.3 bn for its financial year 2019/20. Lidl posted one of its strongest growths in the recent years with net sales up by 9.5% while Kaufland sales grew by 4.5%. The group maintained its expansion pace with 400 store openings, similar to 2018/19, reaching 12,500 stores in 33 countries. Lidl: sales growth accelerates The discounter ...

Carrefour reported Q2 results as like-for-like (LFL) sales increased by 6.3%. The strong results were driven by the good performance and omnichannel strategy in most markets including Spain, Belgium and Brazil. Q2: atypical activity due to COVID-19, convenience +19.0% LFL The multi format and omnichannel model confirmed its resilience and adaptation to the various shopper needs during the d...

Another market entry for the hard discounter Mere, part of Svetofor owned by Russian retail group Torgservis. The new store opened in the city of Czestochowa in Poland on July 25. Fourth European market entry Svetofor currently operates more than 1,500 stores across Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and China. In Europe it opened its first stores under the banner Mere in Romania in 2018, then ent...

McDonalds announced results for the second quarter 2020 ended 30 June 2020, the period when global COVID-19 restrictions had most impact on store trading. Summary As of 30 June 2020, nearly all McDonald’s restaurants around the world were open to serve customers Total revenue fell from US$5,409.8m in 2019 to US$3,761m in 2020 Systemwide sales decreased 24% Operating income decli...

Carrefour and Uber Eats announced they will roll out their partnership nationwide in France and extend it to Belgium from September. Nationwide rollout in France… The service, which was launched in April 2020 offers delivery within 30 minutes. It was initially available in 15 stores, although it is now available at 330 stores in Paris and the surrounding region. Following the success, it wi...

Following Unilever’s Q2 / H1 results announcement we look at five areas it highlighted and the learnings others can take from the global business. 1. Online shift seen globally and across operating models Much discussed as a driver of online’s expansion, the pandemic has led to fast paced growth globally. Unilever discussed how it was seeing the channel advance in several of its key markets...