Retail and consumer goods industry news

Croatia-based Konzum, part of the Agrokor Group, has published unaudited results saying that sales rose by 1.1% to HRK13.5 billion. New stores help to drive growth Konzum added 30 stores in 2012, which helped to underpin revenue growth during the year. The company went on to say that while it expected consumption in many of the markets in which it operates to stagnate in 2013, it was aiming...

South Africa-based Woolworths has announced that during the first half of its financial year it enjoyed total sales growth of 18% and a rise in like-for-like sales of 9.4%. Grocery sales see strong growth The company said that food sales had risen by 11.1%, aided by an increase in price of 7.4%. Like-for-like sales were up by 7.8%, underlining the strength of Woolworths’s performance. Clothin...

In an interview with Les Echos, Costco France’s Country Manager, Gary Swindells, has outlined the retailer’s ambition to build a network of 15 outlets in the country over the next five to ten years. France market entry part of broader European growth strategy The retailer’s first outlet in France is expected to open in Bussy-Saint Georges, Paris, in 2015, marking Costco’s first expansi...

Leading retailers including Tesco and SPAR are laying down plans for this key market. We summarise the latest news and look ahead to the further developments 2013 may hold. Tesco to set up Indian subsidiary Local newspaper The Hindu reported Tesco's plans to open a subsidiary for fresh and processed foods to service its global store network. The sourcing and back end capabilities develo...

Poland-based Biedronka, according to reports in Handel Extra, is trialling self-checkouts at a store in Warsaw. Company says trial is not part of plan for full roll out According to the reports, Biedronka has been trialling four Wincor Nixdorf units at its Glebocka Street store in Warsaw and has plans to add a further four units supplied by NCR deployed in another Warsaw outlet during the f...

We’ve been in-store at Asda this week to look at how it is implementing its strategy for growth. Impactful value communication underpins the strategy Asda's focus on EDLP is at the heart of its ambitions, and is given voice through the Asda Price Guarantee (APG), both inside and outside the store. Alongside extensive large signage to communicate rounded price points in the power aisle, this...

Wesfarmers has released its half year results for the period ending 31 December 2012, with EBIT for its retail division increasing 9.4% to AU$1,705m.  Coles' earnings grew an impressive 15.1% to AU$755m, with both Bunnings and Kmart also recording solid profit growth. However, costs incurred implementing Target's transformational plan meant the retailers earnings reduced 20.4%. Coles strateg...

ICA reports mixed results across markets, but delivered healthy growth and a strong profit performance in 2012. "A successful year" Full year sales totalled SEK 96.9m, up 1.8% on 2011, +4.2% at constant exchange rates and adjusted for the divestment of ICA Maxi stores in Norway . It also delivered strong operating profit performance of SEK 192m, growth of 11.9%. Commenting on the results,...

Whole Foods Market’s first quarter sales, for the 16 weeks to January 20, increased by 13.7%, with comparable store sales up 7.2%. Net income over the period increased by 24.3%. Strong performance although growth rates ease slightly Whole Foods Market has delivered another quarter of strong sales and earnings growth, extending its industry leading performance of the last two years.  The re...

Latest figures released by Nielsen indicate that the aggregate sales for UK supermarkets grew by 2.2% in the four weeks to 2nd February. This  marked a slowdown from the Christmas period when sales rose by 3.7%. Volumes flat Nielsen reports that unit sales in the latest four week period were unchanged (versus +0.5% in the previous period), reflecting the continuing cautious mood of UK ...