Retail and consumer goods industry news

The French retailer opened its 200th Polish supermarket outlet on 5th December, in Lubón, near Poznan in western Poland. It is also evolving its store concept in France, under the code name Mag3.E.  Plans further Polish expansion in 2014 One more store will open before the end of 2013. Intermarché plans at least 30 new stores next year, according to reports. Krzysztof Waligórski, president...

Leading UK retail buying consortium Nisa is seeking to drive Facebook engagement with a daily Christmas prize competition each day on the run-in to the 25th December.  The use of social media provides another platform helping to build consumer awareness of the Nisa brand, and supporting its retail membership which now includes over 1,000 Nisa symbol group stores. Facebook page as advent calenda...

Mercator, Slovenia’s largest retailer has published its plan for 2014 in which it has reduced its sales revenue forecast by 3.5% versus its estimate for 2013. The retailer is currently subject to a potential takeover by Croatia-based Agrokor, which owns the Konzum grocery chain alongside other food-oriented businesses. Internal restructuring and wider economy are key factors Mercator advised t...

CVS Caremark and Cardinal Health are to form a joint venture sourcing generic drugs in the US, the world's largest drug market. Ten Year Deal Both companies will be bringing both sourcing and supply chain expertise to the new joint venture, which will be the largest buyer of generic drugs in the US, driving value for patients and shareholders. No physical assets are being transferred into th...

Hedge fund Elliott International is now in a position to block the agreed takeover of Celesio by McKesson. Higher share price being sought According to Reuters, Elliott International has invested considerable amounts of money building up its stake in Celesio over the past few weeks. The shareholding now equates to 25.16% of the company. Deal with McKesson conditional Despite having reac...

Jean-Charles Naouri, chairman of GPA's board, has talked about the retailer's priorities in an interview with Brazilian journalists in Paris. Accelerating development Mr Naouri said a new phase would begin now that Casino has gained full control of the GPA business, and reiterated the retailer's ongoing commitment to and pride in the market.   Priorities include cash & carry Mr Naour...

Just 24 hours after its launch on Sunday 8th December, Aldi has sold out of the budget  tablet device it released in the UK as a "Special Buy" in time for Christmas. A competitively priced device Launched as a 'Special Buy', the Medion Lifetab is a 7" tablet PC priced at only £79.99 and comes with a free three year warranty. The 8GB Android-powered tablet product is described as a 'sleek, mul...

In August, Metro re-opened its Les 5 Saisons store in Montreal, following a two-year closure to enable a condominium development. Following significant investment, the retailer has developed a 970 sq m store which aims to offer an unrivalled range of products and outstanding customer service. We took a visit to this store to discover how the retailer is aiming to meet the needs of premium-focuse...

Target is testing a new e-commerce initiative, ‘Target Awesome Shop’, where the product ranges which are offered are powered by Pinterest recommendations and customer reviews. Combining social and Target.com data Target’s new website features around 1,000 products which have been the most pinned items on Pinterest and have the best customer reviews. This enables the retailer to merge data...

Walmart has announced that David Cheesewright will be promoted to president and CEO of Walmart International, the retailer’s second largest operating segment. Cheesewright is currently president and CEO of Walmart’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Canada region. Established track record of success within the business David Cheesewright will report to Doug McMillon, who was named l...