Retail and consumer goods industry news

In June 2019, private equity business Advent International acquired an 80% stake in Walmart’s Brazil operations. Walmart maintains a 20% stake in the business, which has been renamed Grupo BIG. In early 2019 it announced its plans to invest BRL1.2bn (US$287m) into modernising and expanding stores over its first 18 months. For more information on the acquisition see our article . Rebrand...

Belgium-based Colruyt has posted its results for the first half of 2019/20, reporting a revenue increase of 2.8% to €4.7 bn (US$5.2 bn) and net profit of €196 m (US$217 m). The figure was boosted by the extension of the financial year for French companies and by the integration of Fiets!. The Group noted on a comparable basis, revenue rose 2.1% including petrol and 1.9% excluding petrol. In addit...

Major UK convenience retailer McColl’s has announced its trading update for the 52 week period ended 24 November 2019. Total revenue was down 1.9% for the full year, reflecting store divestments as part of its store optimisation programme. Like-for-like sales flat Though flat at 0.0%, total like-for-like sales were an improvement on 2018, when they were down 1.4%. Due to unseasonable weathe...

Woolworths has opened a new supermarket at the Burwood Bricksworks Shopping Centre in east Melbourne, claiming it to be its 'most sustainable' supermarket. New and established features... Some of the interesting features of the store include the fact that it will be completely run on renewable energy, trolleys made from recycled milk bottles, plus freezers and hot water that use natural fri...

Metro is selling its stake in the MissFresh meal kit business it acquired in 2017. Company being acquired by Cook it Founded in Montreal in 2015 by Marie-Eve Prevost, Bernard Prevost, and Ritter Huang, MissFresh is a Canadian meal kits company. Following the deal in 2017 MissFresh's three cofounders retained 30% of the capital and continued to take an active part in the company's management...

Alibaba-owned AliExpress has launched its second physical store in Barcelona. Eroski has partnered with Agroganadera de Álava Union to promote local agricultural products. Meanwhile, Consum launches a new supermarket model, which focuses on forming a sustainable environment. Separately, HD Covalco announces a positive turnover and a new cash and carry store opening. AliExpress opens second phy...

SPAR Switzerland has partnered with the food rescue app, Too Good To Go. Meanwhile, the SPAR partner for the Northeast of Italy and Emilia-Romagna region, Aspiag Service, has opened two new stores in Verona and Padua. Switzerland: partners with Too Good To Go In Switzerland, SPAR has joined the Too Good To Go platform to help reduce its food waste. In partnership with the app, 55 SPAR store...

In a surprise development, Tesco has announced that it has put its businesses in Thailand and Malaysia into a strategic review, a move that could that result in their sale sale to another retailer or to private equity. Early stage of evaluation Tesco said in a statement that “following inbound interest, it has commenced a review of the strategic options for its businesses in Thailand and M...

AEON mall Vietnam opened its fifth shopping and entertainment complex in Hanoi’s Ha Dong district on 5 December. New experiences for shoppers The three-storey mall is 22,700 sq m with 221 retail tenants for food, fashion, household hold goods and entertainment. More than 40 new brands to the city can be found here including Koi tea, Idoome, Kipling and Typo.   High tech and environmental...

Both Dollar General and Dollar Tree have reported strong Q3 results, with Dollar General exceeding expectations. Dollar General to open 1,000 new stores in 2020 Dollar General has announced plans to open 1,000 new stores in 2020 and complete 1,500 store remodels. This will be an increase from 2019, where it is expected to open 975 new stores and complete 1,000 remodels by the end of the yea...