Europe news & analysis

From recent time spent in-store at Carrefour, here are our four insights on how its domestic hypermarket strategy is evolving. Pricing message is clearly and consistently made The company’s pricing message was communicated in-store through a wide range of initiatives that enabled shoppers to save money. It was clear from our visit that Carrefour’s new chief executive’s strategy of focusing ...

Tesco is reported to be bolstering its marketing department, looking to fill a raft of positions in preparation for its new brand campaign. A significant investment Marketing magazine has reported that Tesco is looking to invest in recruiting more than 40 new members to its marketing team, in both new and existing positions, within its UK and international teams. Tesco is looking to fi...

Lidl is set to invest €120m in its Spanish stores and infrastructure this year. Reaffirming its commitment to Spanish market The planned investment is more than 20% higher than Lidl invested in Spain in 2012. Work will commence this year on a new distribution centre in Murcia and the extension of an existing centre in Barcelona. The investment will also go towards opening new stores ...

Russian retailer, X5 Retail Group, is planning to develop its Perekrestok Express format in Ukraine. Focusing on the Kiev region Having operated in Ukraine since 2004, the company is looking to expand its store portfolio which is currently at 10 stores. Dmitry Smirnov, General Director of X5 in Ukraine, has stated that X5 is due to open the first two stores in Kiev this year as a tria...

The Russian retailer has reported net profit of RUB 6.3bn for 2012 Strong year for Lenta following slow growth in 2011 The increase of just over RUB 5bn in income is significantly more than growth in 2011, when it only grew from RUB 1.16bn in 2010 to RUB 1.24 in 2011. By the end of the year, the retailer was operating 56 hypermarkets, an increase of nine stores. Expanding in Moscow ...

SPAR UK has introduced a variety of new 'exclusive' label wines to boost its private label presence in the category. ‘To fill gap between SPAR label and branded wine ... The company said that it was adding these exclusive ranges to fill the gap between its established  private label and branded wines. Initially the offer will comprise two labels for Spanish wines (Modesta and Solà) and two f...

Morrisons has added another six sites for conversion to its M local convenience format, with the acquisition of six stores from the failed home entertainment chain HMV.  This brings the number of stores acquired in recent weeks to 62, ensuring that the retailer will easily exceed its target of 70 convenience stores by the end of 2013.  Morrisons already has 13 M local stores open. Locations widely...

Until now vending machines that dispense beauty products have mostly been found in Japan and within American malls.  Innovative range of products However, the trend has now reached the UK with Harvey Nichols debuting a make-up version of the classic treat dispenser in its new BeautyMart boutique cosmetics hall in London. Previously beauty vending machines have been brand specific, fo...

Hungary-based CBA has announced that it has opened an online shopping service in its home market. Launch comes ahead of Tesco’s introduction of similar offer The CBA Webshop makes 3,000 products available to shoppers, with delivery available at a range of times. CBA has introduced an online service in the belief that, following Tesco’s launch of such an offer, shoppers will being expect...

SPAR opened nearly 200 new stores in Spain in 2012, according to local press, which helped boost sales by 8.3%. In line with stated expansion plans SPAR closed the year with 1,079 stores, 175 more than in 2011, and a turnover of €1,248m.  This expansion is in line with ambitious plans set out by local partner Miquel Alimentació, which said it intends to open 500 stores across Spain ov...