Retail and consumer goods industry news

We look at how McCormick expects to benefit from the shift to at-home consumption and home meal prep beyond the current phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Second quarter performance The company saw sales increase 7.6% in the second quarter, with operating income up 24%. The sales growth was mainly driven by consumers cooking more at home, with sales through its consumer segment up 26%, althou...

We look at the German discounter’s most recent acquisitions and what it could mean for its future digital developments, including the idea of launching a marketplace. Acquisition of German marketplace real.de Schwarz Group, Lidl’s and Kaufland’s parent company, has acquired in June 2020 one of the largest marketplaces in Germany: real.de. The marketplace, which offers both grocery and non-g...

Don Don Donki, also known as Donki, is opening its third store in Hong Kong. Largest Donki in the market The new Donki store will open on 7 July at 10am on Paterson Street, Causeway Bay (CWB) - the first on Hong Kong Island. It will be much larger than the first  Tsim Sha Tsui  (2,137 sq m / 23,000 sq ft) and second Tsuen Wan (2,415 sq m / 26,000 sq ft) branches, covering 4,459 sq m / 48,...

Target is adding 750 grocery items to its store pickup services, Drive Up and Order Pickup. Available in 1,500 stores by the holiday season Target had initially announced plans to add grocery items to these services earlier this year. However, this programme was paused as the retailer responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented demand for its online services. Under this new pro...

Between 1 st and 31 st August, customers that use self-checkout at Lawson Japan can earn reward points worth 2% of each purchase. Encouraging contact-free The initiative aims to encourage shoppers to self-checkout at Lawson stores. There has been growing customer demand for contact-free solutions following the outbreak of COVID-19. Aeon, for example, recently launched Regi Go checko...

Whole Foods Market has opened its new store in Baltimore, having initially paused the launch to use the facility as a dark store to support demand for its online shopping service. Opening to the public The Baltimore store was one of three which the retailer held back on opening to the public earlier this year, along with locations in Austin and Castle Rock, Colorado. Along with existing sto...

The drugstore operator reported strong online sales performance during lockdown and shares its strategies to improve sales and efficiency in the second half of the year. Boost in beauty sales during lockdown Superdrug continued selling essential items during lockdown but greatly suffered footfall decline and is seeking reduced rent deals. Despite that, the drugstore operator was able to boo...

China was the first country to be hit by Coronavirus (COVID-19). Now with all eyes are on the recovery, we continue to update this article with the latest developments... June Second wave in Beijing : Beijing has reported more than 100 coronavirus cases in the past two weeks after going almost two months without an infection. The new cases might be linked to imported salmon. As a conseq...

Asda launched a new contact-free diagnostic virtual GP service in its Stevenage branch. Instant medical advice for shoppers The grocery retailer has rolled out another innovation this week at its Stevenage branch that allows Asda customers to access instant medical advice via a virtual appointment service. This part of Asda’s new partnership with Medicspot. The new virtual service can be...

In June 2020 Colombian retailer Grupo Éxito remodelled its Éxito Express store in the affluent El Poblado neighbourhood in Medellin. The 300 sq. m convenience store has been adapted to feature new initiatives aimed at protecting customer safety. Grupo Éxito invested a little over COP600m (US$158,000) into the concept. Source: Grupo Éxito Biosecurity measures used for a safer shopping...