Germany-based retailer Metro has taken Kellogg's products off
its shelves after the cereal company attempted to pass on
higher commodity costs through price hikes.
UK supermarket ASDA has declared that it will swallow some of the
costs associated with rising food prices. Where increases are
unavoidable it will balance these out in the shopping basket by
keeping non-commodity-linked foods as...
European private label food and beverage brands are likely to
increase their penetration in most markets over the next five
years, says a new report, but lessons could be learned from the UK,
where the potential has been most extensively...
A little piece of Fairtrade Fortnight touched the UK dairy industry
this week as the head of the Sainsbury's supermarket told farmers
he was willing to pay more for their milk.
Market research group TNS Worldpanel report that the British
grocery market grew at 11 per cent on last year, in what was a
successful Christmas for supermarkets.
Marks and Spencer is the latest British supermarket out to catch
the ethical shopper, this week announcing a new £200m (€304)
eco-plan, including a change to sustainable packaging.
Carrefour's end of year results reveals mixed messages for the
French retailer, with like for like sales dropping by 4.9 per cent
in the fourth quarter.
FoodandDrinkEurope.com takes a look at what we can expect to see on
supermarket shelves this year as food retailers race to keep ahead
of growing trends.
The battle of wills between the UK food watchdog and industry
heavyweights over nutrition labelling threatens to destabilise the
balance of power between industry and government.
Leading British food retailer Tesco is expecting it to be a green
Christmas, and is preparing itself to meet demands for organic and
eco-friendly produce, in line with consumer trends.
Tesco-Global stores has announced that it will create more than 700
new jobs in Hungary as part of an expansion in the food retail
market, despite what it describes as a difficult market.
Discount retailing is still on the rise in Europe, as international
expansion and increasing consumer acceptance are set to push sales
up 36 per cent by 2010.
Britain's leading supermarket Tesco is being accused of stalling
the Competition Commission's (CC) grocery sector inquiry by asking
for extra time to provide evidence of its business practices.
The European e-tail sector is likely to grow 186 per cent by 2010,
but supermarkets should work to maximise market share by tackling
consumer barriers such as stock availability and allocated delivery
times, says analyst.
Casino, the ailing French supermarket chain, has sold its Polish
operations to Tesco and Metro Group as it strives to repay debts in
excess of €2bn euros.
Ahead of today's Tesco annual general meeting - which will analyse
ten environmental and social pledges set out by its CEO in May -
Friends of the Earth has accused the grocery chain of misleading
shareholders and customers with...
At a time when consumer perceptions of famous brand names are at an
all time low - and private label goods are taking an ever
increasing market share - retailers must start acting more like
brand managers to improve their bargaining...
Waitrose has become the first British supermarket to accept
imperfect fruit from suppliers, selling items at discounted prices
to persuade shoppers to try them.
Britain's Competition Commission (CC) has pledged to act quickly on
its supermarket investigation, appealing to aggrieved parties to
forget general grocery sector gripes and come forward with specific
evidence of anti-competitive...
British grocery giant Tesco has announced expansion plans for
Turkey to double retail space and push out from the core city base
of Ismer, as international competition mounts.
Asda Wal-Mart and Tesco have managed to sew up the competitive
British grocery market, as close contender Sainsbury's struggles to
keep up with their low pricing strategies.
Retailers and manufacturers across Europe are losing out to store
and brand switching as consumers substitute products which are
unavailable or difficult to find, says a new survey from the
Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD).
More than 20 members of Nisa-Today's buying group have joined
forces to fight the proposed merger with Costcutter, fearing the
deal will jeopardise the co-op's decision-making powers.
Until recently China was the favourite destination for foreign
retailers, but the country has slipped to fifth place as market
saturation has made trading more difficult. Meanwhile the stakes
have been raised in Vietnam thanks to...
American behemoth Wal-Mart has become the second foreign retailer
to exit the difficult South Korean retail market this month,
selling its chain to local rival Shinsegae.
Tesco and Wal-Mart are the undisputed champions of the
international grocery market, but little-known fringe grocers may
rise to eat into their margins over the next decade, says a new
report.
Britain's fifth largest supermarket chain Somerfield today
announced a new advertising campaign with the slogan "giving you
what you want", but has taken the unfashionable step of sidelining
ethical practices.
Following nearly four years of pressure, Britain's Office of Fair
Trading (OFT) has finally agreed to refer the grocery sector to the
Competition Commission (CC) for an in-depth enquiry.
As the American retail sector struggles to compete with Wal-Mart's
discount strategy, Marsh has become the latest in a string of
supermarkets to sell out to a private equity firm.
UK department store and grocer Marks & Spencer has posted a
sales rise of 3.4 per cent for the year to April 1, supported by a
seven per cent growth in food sales as a yearlong supermarket
makeover pays off.
Despite the saturation of the UK's grocery market and a gloomy
Scottish retail price index, Sainsbury's and Waitrose have
announced expansion plans north of the border.
Britain's number two supermarket chain has announced plans to spend
£400m on a series of store extensions and new openings, in keeping
with parent company Wal-Mart's vision of continuing global
supremacy.
As Tesco prepares to take its lucrative convenience store blueprint
to the American west coast, it may find stiff competition waiting
from a Japanese retailer busy establishing a similar niche empire.
Declining European food retail performance is set to fall further
in 2006 as retailers get caught between consumer demands for
cheaper prices and manufacturers demands for greater returns.
UK food retailers have been split by the All Party Small Shops
Committee report calling for a new retail watchdog and a halt to
further mergers and acquisitions pending government guidelines.
As the two retailing giants prepare to battle it out in America,
Tesco and Wal-Mart have both announced plans to expand operations
further in the Czech Republic and Hungary respectively.
Following years of poor performance Dutch retailer Laurus has
announced it will sell its two largest supermarket chains,
attracting interest from acquisitive domestic and foreign rivals.
Britain's second largest supermarket Asda has announced a £102
million investment to lower prices on key products so far this
year, turning up the heat on rival chains.
Following months of price disputes Albertsons supermarket chain has
agreed to sell the entire company to a syndicate, consisting of
rivals Supervalu, CVS and investor group Cerberus Capital.
The changing nature of risk in global retail is forcing companies
to move away from traditional financial risk assessment to address
a different set of issues, says a new report.
Britain's largest off-licence chain Threshers will transform a
third of its stores into franchises and rival Bargain Booze has
been sold to venture capitalists as supermarket dominance takes its
toll.
Speculation is mounting that Rewe, Europe's fourth largest
retailer, will pull its supermarkets out of Poland following an
influx of foreign retailers.
