Retail and consumer goods industry news

Couche-Tard’s total merchandise and services revenues in the fourth quarter increased by 9.3% to $1,766m, with net earnings increasing by 24.3% to $146.4m. For the full year, merchandise and service revenues increased by 15.1% to $7,596m, with net earnings up 25.2% to $572.8m. Investing in its European operations to drive efficiencies and growth These results are the first set to incorpor...

In its 2013/14 Q1 trading statement, for the 12 weeks to 21 June, leading UK wholesaler Booker has reported total sales up 13.6%, though driven by the inclusion in group figures of the acquired Makro business for the first time.  In terms of category impacts the acquisition of Makro has boosted non-tobacco sales above all, with the combined business up 21% in these areas.   However, underlying sal...

Walmart-owned, South Africa-based Massmart has announced preliminary financial results for the 26 week period saying that total sales rose by 8.9%, while comparable sales were up by 5.5%. Strong growth across all operations Massmart said that it had enjoyed sales growth across all its divisions, boosting sales to ZAR32.3 billion (US$3.2 billion). The retailer reported that total and compara...

Asda is trialling new tills in its York store, called Rapid Scan, that use 360 degree laser scanning technology. Scanning up to three times faster The Rapid Scan till can pick up product barcodes from all angles, so all customers need to do is put their shopping on the conveyor belt, watch it pass through the laser scanner and then pack it in the bagging area. The till will scan products t...

UK retail sales rose by 1.4% on a like-for-like basis in June according to newly released figures from the British Retail Consortium, in line with the sales increase of a year ago which was boosted by Jubilee celebrations. Total total sales grew by 2.9%, above the year-to-date average. Retail recovery gathers momentum The June figures paint an encouraging picture of the state of UK retail . Af...

German cosmetics retailer Douglas Holding AG is the final bidder for French cosmetics and perfume retailer Nocibe. Further investment and expansion announced Nocibe is a French beauty retailer with 450 stores and was created in 1984. The business is based in Lille and sells both branded and retail brand beauty products and is considered to be a rival of Sephora. The business was bough...

Leading international consumer products group PZ Cussons has announced an exchange of contracts to acquire the Australian baby foods brand Rafferty’s Garden. Addition of another leading brand Rafferty’s Garden is a leading premium baby food brand in Australia. It has around 40% share in the ‘wet’ baby food market and is growing share in the dry and snacks market for infants. All manufac...

Kroger has reached an agreement to acquire Harris Teeter, a leading US grocery chain with over 200 stores. Good fit for Kroger Earlier this year Harris Teeter announced that a strategic review of the business was underway leading to speculation that the business would be acquired, either by private equity or an existing retailer. The transaction represents a good fit for Kroger given Harri...

M&S has reported encouraging first quarter trading with group sales up by 3.3%, an improvement on the 3.1% achieved in Q4. Strong performances from food and M&S's international operations were assisted by an improving trend in general merchandise. Food: broadening customer appeal Total food sales advanced by 4.5% (1.8% LFL) in the 13 weeks to 29 June as shoppers responded to M&S's increasingl...

Tesco has confirmed that it has opened its first grocery Click & Collect service in Slovakia, following recent launches in other Central European countries. Grocery Click & Collect following global blueprint The new grocery Click & Collect service has been launched at the retailer's Zlate Piesky Extra store in north east Bratislava. Tesco will hope that the launch will bring more fle...