Retail and consumer goods industry news

Aldi continues to grow the number of national brands in its stores, both in its domestic market and internationally. We assess how its strategy in brands is evolving. 1. Brand strategy varies by market Over the last two years, Aldi has steadily been growing its branded listings. The precise number of listing varies by market and depends on local shopper trends, with Switzerland and Aus...

Migros has reported a 0.7% increase in EBIT for 2012 today, and outlined its priorities for the year ahead, in its annual results presentation.    Three main areas of focus for 2013 Migros said 2012 was "a good year" , despite economic difficulties, price cuts and the ongoing impact of cross-border shopping tourism. In 2013, Migros will continue such projects as the range optimisation in...

Québec based Provigo, part of the Loblaw group in Canada, is investing $100m in its store network this year to roll-out new store concepts. New flagship to be developed for the Province Loblaw's investment will be split across a number of its chains, including Provigo, Loblaws, Maxi and Maxi & Cie. Part of the investment will be allocated towards developing the new concept version of Provi...

The latest figures to be released from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Retail Sales Monitor show that UK retail sales rose by 1.9% in March on a like-for-like basis.  However, while the early Easter provided a boost to food and drink sales, the prolonged winter weather depressed clothing sales in particular, impacting demand for the Spring fashions now in stock. Growth in online slower Thou...

Aldi Süd is launching a test project in Germany that will see parts of its advertising spend used online in new ways. Promoting special buys Aldi has begun promoting its limited availability lines on new online platforms in order to reach different customers. It has already taken out space on Ebay.de, Gmx.de and Web.de with the trial so far limited to the states of Baden-Württemberg a...

Kenya-based Nakumatt’s managing director, Atul Shah, has said that the retailer is looking to raise as much as US$50 million to open new stores over the next four years. Expansion to take Nakumatt into new markets Shah said that the retailer wants to add a further five stores and expand into two new countries. Shah was quoted as saying: “ We are in the process of opening four additional store...

Schwarz Group is reportedly poised to open stores in the Latvian market, nearly ten years after it first announced it was considering entry. Opening its Lidl format A local Latvian paper has quoted a Lidl representative as confirming that Schwarz Group is looking for real estate to build Lidl stores in the country. The Lidl spokesperson wouldn't comment on the precise time-frame of the...

Aldi is reported to be investing up to AUD 2bn in its Australian business in the next few years. Supporting strong growth Local press, Australian Daily, reports that Aldi Australia is set to receive AUD 1bn to support its rapid store expansion programme, with a further AUD 1bn to follow in the future. Expanding into new states Aldi has not confirmed the specific figures released...

Spinneys’ chief executive, Michael Wright, has told Arabian Business that the Lebanon-based retailer will launch online during 2013. Online operations to start in Lebanon Wright said that the launch of an online service in all the markets Spinneys operates in – Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Qatar – will enable shoppers to order online and then have goods either delivered to their home or made ...

Caprabo is cutting prices on more than 2,000 food products, including private label, brands and fresh, in an initiative designed to help improve its price image. Cuts effective from April Caprabo's director general, Alberto Ojinaga, said the move marks the retailer's most ambitious set of price cuts yet.  The cuts apply to more than 1,000 branded food items, 600 private label and 300 f...