Convenience news

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 ...

The Co-op has announced its full year results for the 51 weeks to 2 January 2021, along with an announcement on its decision to repay relief it received through the UK government’s furlough scheme. Highlights Group revenue £11.5bn (2019: £10.9bn), +5.5% vs 2019 £84m of additional Covid costs during the year (£82m supported by Government economic measures), below the £97m forecast in J...

Masan Group renames VinMart, one year after acquiring the multi-format chain of grocery stores from Vingroup. Restructuring will take place before rebranding Vietnam's conglomerate Vingroup sold its retail subsidiary VinCommerce, which operates VinMart, VinMart+ and agriculture arm VinEco to Masan Group in a merger deal in December 2019. The CrownX, the retail subsidiary of Masan Group, is ...

At the end of March 2021, Carrefour Brazil opened its first two fully autonomous stores. The stores use scan & go technology, which Carrefour is using in 40 Express stores, however these are its first unstaffed stores. "We already have 40 stores with the scan & go system. Our innovation area is conducting robust work to create an ecosystem that connects all of our businesses in one applicatio...

Tesco and recipe box provider Simply Cook have joined forces to launch a meal kit offer in the retailer’s Express stores, according to The Grocer. Let’s Cook bay introduced The initiative from Tesco’s Incubator programme will see a ‘Let’s Cook’ bay introduced to chiller cabinets that invites shoppers to create a meal for two for £6 by choosing a protein, vegetable, carbohydrate and a Simply...

The first CU convenience store has opened in Malaysia. South Korean retailer, BGF Retail signed a brand licensing deal with MyNews in October last year. Located in Centrepoint Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur Source: CU Malaysia South Korean products account for 60% of all products Source: CU Malaysia The 165 sq m store sells popular Korean street food over t...

Magnit is in the middle of a business transformation programme. It is implementing six strategies to turn around its business and as it looks to support its dynamic growth strategy, and compete with other leading retailers in Russia. Since 2018 the retailer has reported an improving sales performance with a sales CAGR of 11.4% between 2018 and 2020, when compared to a 6.7% rate for the p...

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a high level of format innovation in the UK this quarter. In this article we highlight five key stores that have opened and the trends driving store innovation. 1. Sainsbury’s new flagship store In February, Sainsbury’s relaunched its Hempstead Valley supermarket after eight months of redevelopment work to create a next generation state-of-the-art...

Although performance at urban convenience stores has been challenged amidst COVID-19 in many Western European markets; Reitan Convenience has invested in four new concept stores as it seeks to be fit for the future in partnership with design agency Reactor AB. These new store concepts elevate the customer experience across its formats to a whole new level, while PBX could set the benchmark...

Major UK convenience retailer McColl’s has announced its full-year results for 2020 and updated on its strategy to maintain business momentum going-forward. It’s no surprise that the announcement confirms that 2020 provided exceptional conditions for retailers focused on trading in local, neighbourhood locations within easy reach of big groups of house-bound residents.  But what does the exper...