Russia's food processing sector is still burgeoning, with a
recently published report from the USDA's agricultural service
indicating that in 2002 it grew an estimated 14 per cent to reach a
total value of $25.9 billion....
Baltic Beverages Holding has revealed its full year 2003 and fourth
quarter results, showing the company has continued to maintain its
growth in the maturing beer market.
East European consumers are enjoying an ever wider choice of soft
drinks as markets open up and purchasing power increases. And
growth in the market shows no sign of slowing, as popular local
brands continue to hold their own against...
Flavours and fragrance company Quest continues the battle to
restore lost business as UK parent company Imperial Chemical
Industries (ICI) reports a continuing drop in earnings for the
flavours house.
The packaging sector is becoming increasingly important in the
accession countries, according to a new report from MINEFI -
DREE elargissement. And leading the way is the agrofood and
mass retailing industry - the mainstay of the...
Edeka, the German food retail group, has reported an increase in
turnover for 2003, a good performance in a market still struggling
to lift itself out of recession. The improvement came as a result
of the company's major cost...
Swedish food retail and wholesale group Axfood is to supply a
further 105 convenience stores under the terms of a new agreement
worth SK100 million. Meanwhile, Finnish counterpart Kesko has
shrugged off a relatively poor performance...
Consumer concern about BSE, eggs and the safety of meat is
declining but awareness about fruit, vegetables, and salt
consumption is on the up, cites the fourth annual food survey from
the UK's food watchdog.
Since 1998, the Observatory on Loyalty Cards at the University of
Parma in Italy has been monitoring the progress of 40 loyalty card
schemes operated by retailers across Europe. In a report for
M+M Planet
Retail, Cristina Ziliani...
Like its larger compatriot Carrefour, French supermarket group
Casino
ended 2003 with sales slightly ahead of the previous year but
continued to suffer at the hands of adverse currency exchange
rates.
At the end of a successful year for Estonian food retailers, all
indications are that the number one player is now the Saastumarket
chain of discount stores - however, the market still remains
fragmented.
With tough rules on new store development curbing the growth of
hypermarkets in Spain - designed to protect traditional retailers -
most of the dynamism in the market has come from supermarkets,
which have, ironically, been just as...
Sluggish market conditions in France were weathered well by
Hyparlo, the Carrefour franchise operator, in 2003. And a strong
progression in Romania, helped by store openings there, gave an
extra boost to results.
The chances of growth returning to the French dairy market in the
medium term are extremely slim, according to a recent report from
French market analysts Xerfi.
Russia increased imports of alcoholic drinks by around 30 per cent
in 2003 and is likely to lift imports by a further 20 per cent in
2004, according to the latest information from the National Alcohol
Association.
Hypermarkets may be the domain of foreign rather than domestic
retailers in the Czech Republic but this does not appear to concern
most consumers there when it comes to their weekly shop.
Most of Europe's leading supermarket groups have published trading
figures in the last few weeks, covering both the key Christmas
period and the whole of 2003. Today we look at three more groups,
based in the UK, Finland and...
India looks set to consolidate its somewhat unexpected position as
the world's largest whisky market in 2003, stretching further ahead
of its nearest rivals, according to a new report from market
analysts Canadean. ...
Carrefour,
Europe's biggest food retailing group, has continued to prove that
growth can be achieved by companies with a major international
spread despite ongoing currency exchange rate concerns.
Migros and Coop, the two leading co-operative food retailers in
Switzerland, have reported solid gains for 2003, despite continuing
tough conditions in the Swiss market as a whole.
Preliminary sales figures for 2003 released by Dutch retailer Ahold
today will make for broadly encouraging reading after a turbulent
year marked by fraud revelations and major restructuring moves.
Some 47 per cent of UK parents regard their children's diet and
exercise as one of the top three things they worry about, and for 8
per cent this issue is their biggest cause for concern, according
to the findings of a recent...
The spectacular growth rates of the late 1990s may be a thing of
the past, but the functional energy drink market in western Europe
shows little sign of running out of steam, according to a recent
report.
Spain's food companies are broadly happy with the support they
receive for marketing their products on export markets, but most
would still like to see more financial backing and a greater degree
of co-ordination from the various...
Hame Slovakia, a subsidiary of the Czech-based Hame Babice group,
has upped its estimates for growth in the 2003 financial year,
claiming that it now expects sales of its canned vegetables, purees
and meat products to improve by 5...
The EU food and drink industry proved highly resilient in 2002,
increasing overall volume sales by 1.8 per cent at a time when the
bloc's industrial output as a whole declined.
In the wake of terrorist attacks in the US on September 11, 2001
Europe's manufacturing industries have taken a knock but figures
released this week reveal that the food industry is managing the
course, registering a 'light...
Britain's biggest supermarket group Tesco has today reported third
quarter sales growth of 17.5 per cent, figures which beat all
analysts' forecasts and showed once again the ever widening gulf
between Tesco and rivals such...
A sluggish market hit by falling exchange rates, unrest in the
Middle East and SARS in Asia all contributed to a drab organic
revenue of 2 per cent for the year, Danish ingredients company Chr.
Hansen reported this week. But the tide...
Safeway, the British retail group, has reported first half sales
growth of 1.2 per cent, a good performance given the uncertainty
surrounding its future ownership. But a rapid conclusion of the
negotiations with Morrisons will be...
Belgian retail group Delhaize has raised its growth forecasts for
fiscal 2003 after an excellent third quarter performance hampered
only by adverse currency exchange rates. A rapid turnaround for a
company badly affected by adverse...
Efforts by the Spanish government to counter what it believes are
excessive price increases for a number of fresh products appear to
be paying off, with a sharp fall in price for chicken, seafood,
green beans and lettuce. But other...
Marks & Spencer, the British retail group, has reported first
half sales growth of 4.3 per cent, helped by a 6.9 per cent gain in
the UK food retail business during the period. Food will continue
to play an important role in the...
Spain's retail sector showed solid if unspectacular growth in
September, with sales rising 6.6 per cent compared to the same
period a year earlier. Food was the main driver of growth, with
turnover from this sector ahead 7.7...
Food and drink producers such as Kristall and Nestlé are suffering
from the ever-rising tide of counterfeit goods in Russia. A recent
survey shows that as much as 90 per cent of the goods bought by
shoppers in Moscow were fake - a...
Metro, the German wholesale and retail group, has scrapped plans to
sell its extensive property portfolio after lengthy negotiations
with the prospective buyer ended in failure. The decision came as
the group announced solid sales...
The addition of 13 new denominations of origin helped lift Spanish
sales of DO food products by 8.1 per cent last year. Cheese is the
biggest single category to benefit from the quality mark -
excluding wines and spirits, that is.
Casino has reported good growth in like-for-like sales for the
first nine months of the year, driven mainly by its domestic
discount and convenience store operations. But international sales
continued to feel the force of exchange...
Hot weather in France pushed down Q3 sales at Guyenne &
Gascogne, but the same phenomenon helped lift turnover at the
company's Spanish joint venture, Centros Comerciales Carrefour.
Carrefour, the world's number two retailer, has made no secret of
its ambitious expansion programme, and with new stores giving a
significant boost to third quarter sales, the company's strategy
cannot be faulted - especially...
Marks & Spencer's first half performance was helped
considerably by the roll out of its Simply Food format during the
period, the company has announced. Meanwhile, troubled retailer
Ahold has confirmed that information about...
Many Britons are earning more money than ever before - which means
they generally work longer hours but also spend more time on
leisure activities. All of which has altered the food and drink
consumption patterns in the UK, and had...
Price competition in texturants put pressure on Danisco ingredients
results for the first quarter of 2003/2004 but flavours and a long,
hot summer went some way to boosting the underlying performance.
Sales and profits at Jeronimo Martins continued to grow in the
first half, despite the weak economic conditions in Portugal and
Poland. The disposal of loss-making businesses appears to have paid
off, but the company is not completely...
Hypermarkets and supermarkets dominate food sales in Spain, a new
report has confirmed. But the complaints of traditional retailers
there are nothing compared to their counterparts in Germany, France
and the UK, where the major retailers...
Casino, the French retail group, is hoping to benefit from an
improvement in exchange rates in the second half after a first half
of steady growth driven by its domestic discount store operations.
Europe's biggest food retail group Carrefour has reported sales
growth of 1.3 per cent for the first half of 2003, even after the
impact of negative currency exchanges. Second quarter sales grew at
current rates for the first...
