Retail and consumer goods industry news

With the annualization of the onset of the pandemic impacts from 2020, the latest release from the British Retail Consortium Retail Sales Monitor (BRC-RSM) has switched to reporting a two-year comparative for its March data, in an attempt to indicate the underlying trend in UK retail and smooth the volatility seen last year. This shows that sales in March 2021 were 8.3% higher than 2019, largely ...

We look at the latest news from M&S, including its latest initiative to support British farmers, the expansion of its international online business, and the recent purchase of clothing retailer Jaeger. Supporting British famers M&S has started a new five year ‘Farming with Nature’ collaborative programme to support its Select Farms. The Select Farms brand is part of M&S's Plan A initiative,...

Sainsbury's and Deliveroo are expanding their delivery partnership nationwide, following a successful trial in 10 stores. 100 stores to offer grocery delivery from Deliveroo app Sainsbury’s and Deliveroo have signed a two year contract, which will provide shoppers the option to order grocery items via the Deliveroo app from 100 stores nationwide, including in Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds, Yo...

FamilyMart has opened several new convenience stores in Malaysia, the Philippines and Japan. We explain why each one is significant and what can be learned from FamilyMart. The first FamilyMart drive-through in Malaysia The pilot drive-through store is located at Berkeley Uptown, Klang, Selangor. Products such as oden (skewers of assorted items such as fish ball and tofu), bento, ice cream ...

We assess four ways in which Coles has stepped up its investment in offering its shoppers enhanced value in recent weeks, why this activity will continue and what we can expect from Woolworths and other retailers in the coming months. 1. Bringing back 'Down Down' The retailers Down Down everyday low prices campiagn was a key part of the retailer's recovery under Ian McLeod's leadership and ...

Japanese supermarket chain Daiei will launch an unmanned store in Tokyo, in collaboration with Chinese startup Cloudpick.  In addition, Rakuten and Seiyu are now also using robots to deliver supermarket purchases in Yokosuka City, Japan. Cost to implement Daiei’s store is 50% cheaper than similarly sized unmanned stores Daiei, an affiliate of AEON, will open this unmanned supermarket in Tok...

Conagra Brands delivered a strong third quarter performance with net sales up 8.5% to $2.8bn and net income up 37.8% to $281.4m. Although the outlook for COVID-19 is improving in many regions, including enhanced mobility, the company expects demand for food-at-home to remain elevated, underpinning future growth. Four years’ worth of incremental new buyers Given the unprecedented trialling o...

Tesco has identified five areas where it believes it can make the most difference: cutting waste, reducing emissions from energy and transport, sustainable food production, net zero climate ambition and sustainable diets. Tesco claims ‘Food production is linked to 70% of biodiversity loss on land, and globally, emissions from food waste are higher than from any country on earth, except for US...

On-demand grocery shopping platform Everli, based in Milan, has raised $100m in a Series C funding round. International growth plans Everli was founded in 2014 and has been named as the European Instacart due to similarities in its business model. It is an online marketplace where users can order products from various retailers for same-day delivery. The orders are picked in store and deliv...

Watsons Hong Kong has launched a citywide plastic container recycling programme called ‘Plastic Reborn,’ in collaboration with Procter and Gamble. Watsons’ store network across Hong Kong serve as collection points Together with P&G, Watsons now uses its network of 230 stores across the city as collection points for empty plastic containers.  Hong Kong-based service The Loops will send these u...