Asia news & analysis

Our global analysts share their opinion on grocery retail news from across the globe. Leclerc addresses self-scan shrinkage concerns – Lucy Bellotti, Senior Insight Analyst French market leader Leclerc partners with Knap to test 40 connected shopping trolleys in its hypermarket based in La Colle-Sur-Loup. The retailer has approximately 60-80 shoppers using the smart trolleys per day and cla...

Costco delivered another solid year of sales for fiscal ‘23, despite the ongoing affect of weakened sales in high-ticket discretionary items. Here we explore its performance in more detail and give insight into its 2024 expansion plans and steady digital transition. Fourth quarter and full year key numbers Q4 total revenue up 9.4% to $77.4 bn, with full year revenue up 6.7% to $237.7 bn ...

Foodpanda, owned by Delivery Hero, is in negotiations to sell its food delivery business in selected Southeast Asia markets (including Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmart and Laos). Grab, a ride-hailing, taxi, food delivery and grocery app in Southeast Asia, is a potential buyer according to a report by a German media company. We explore three reasons why Foodpanda ...

Central Food Wholesale, part of Central Retail Corporation, is opening its first Go Wholesale store in October. This is happening as Lotus’s announced a new mall concept, locating Makro wholesale stores within Lotus's malls. First Go Wholesale store to open on 27 Oct Central Retail Corporation is investing THB20bn (US$550m) to expand Go Wholesale stores over the next five years. The first s...

The Korean wave is unstoppable and continues to sweep across the globe, with Homeplus private labels (PB) landing on store shelves in Mongolian discounters since 4 September. Homeplus chose to partner with Circle Group, a local Mongolian chain store discount retailer, to sell over 200 PB products at 14 locations under the two banners -- Orgil and Tout’en, in Ulaanbaatar. With pricing and conve...

In September, Alibaba’s supermarket chain, Freshippo, opened 30 new stores across China, averaging one store per day, amounting to 350 locations. Freshippo’s latest expansion developments The recent openings include 16 Freshippo Xiansheng supermarkets (meaning “fresh food” in Mandarin”), three Freshippo Mini stores, 9 Freshippo outlets and one Freshippo X club across China. In addition t...

Convenience stores 7-Eleven and CU announced they have started selling seasonal products for winter since 17 September in light of the increasing sales of winter products driven by the widened daily temperature difference. Increased sales in hot beverages and morning hours Sales of hot drinks and high-calorie products experienced 50% growth compared to last year. Particularly, 7-Eleven’s ‘S...

Our global analysts share some of the latest headlines across the globe. Here's what you need to know. Don’t miss our key insights Hypermarkets and supermarkets channel 2023   – We explore where hypermarket and supermarket growth will come from at both regional and country levels, utilising our extensive global research to present examples from the retailers leading the way N...

I have the privilege of visiting stores in Thailand every year to see firsthand how they are evolving over time. In my last two visits, there is a growing use of digital screens in different parts of the stores. Some of these are being used to generate extra revenue for the retailer, while others are enabling communication with shoppers. 1. Tops: cross-channel marketing and shopper engagement ...

GS25 Music & Beer Festival just ended after touring four cities in Korea. Through combining with Korean popular culture, this retailer has successfully showcased their brand image and connections with the younger generation. In this article, we will delve into the key areas of inspiration it gave to fellow retailers and suppliers. What was the festival about? Since 2017, GS25 has been hosti...