US: Hannam Chain, popular Korean supermarket, opens in Torrance
Hannam Chain, a popular Korean supermarket that offers fresh produce, an on-site butcher, a seafood counter and cold storage filled with miso, radish wraps, kimchi and other food items, has opened its doors in Torrance. The market, at 21303-21305 Hawthorne Blvd. in the Village del Amo shopping center, will host a grand opening from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday, June 28 with City Council members and executives from DJM Capital, the owner and operator of the retail center.
Source: ocregister.com
Canada: Newly rebranded Buggy acquires Ninja Delivery
Online grocery service Inabuggy Inc. (which recently changed the name of its customer-facing service to Buggy) is growing with the acquisition of ultra-fast delivery service Ninja Delivery. Terms were not disclosed. Established in 2021, Ninja had operations in its home market of Waterloo and Toronto, promising customers delivery of grocery staples within as little as 10 minutes. It used so-called “dark stores”, essentially mini warehouses, to house products, with e-bike riding “Delivery Ninjas” delivering to customers within a five-kilometre radius.
Source: canadiangrocer.com
Italy: Conad Adriatico celebrates 50 years with continued sales growth
Conad Adriatico is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a nationwide market share of 18% and a turnover of €1.85bln in 2021 (+7.7%, year on year). The Italian cooperative and retailer is forecasting further sales growth in 2022, targeting €1.92bln.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: Asda plans new convenience store format
Asda has revealed more plans for a new store format, as it continues to recruit for its convenience and wholesale business. In a job listing for a property acquisitions surveyor, the supermarket chain said: “As an acquisitions manager with Asda, you will be integral to our significant growth plans and be at the forefront of our ambition to grow existing formats and spearhead our plans to develop a convenience chain, a new format for the business”.
Source: betterretailing.com
France's Amethis sells Kenyan retailer stake to Mauritius-based IBL
France's Amethis investment fund said it will sell its stake in Kenyan general retailer Naivas to Mauritius-based IBL Group. Amethis bought a stake in Naivas for an undisclosed amount in 2020. A source with knowledge of the transaction had told Reuters the purchase amounted to 30% of the retailer at that time. "This marks IBL Group's first investment as part of their expansion strategy in East Africa. This agreement is still subject to regulatory approvals", Amethis said in a statement. The statement did not reveal details of the terms of the sale. Naivas, which was founded three decades ago and has 84 stores across Kenya, became one of the top three retailers after the collapse of Nakumatt, a local supermarket chain that had dominated the sector.
Source: reuters.com
Potato Corner opens stores in China
Food kiosk Potato Corner has expanded its presence in China with the opening of stores in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Potato Corner opened its first store in South China at the Comic City in Guangzhou last May.
Source: philstar.com
India: DMart and JioMart are unable to keep pace with Dunzo, Swiggy Instamart, Ola Dash
The stores are coming to the consumers - figuratively. The local kirana store or India’s largest retail chain, all of them are keen on getting a piece of the online grocery delivery market. DMart, for instance, has set up its app and pick-up centers for home delivery after handling its bulk delivery orders during the pandemic. Reliance Retail too stepped into this delivery business with its app, JioMart with little success, though it has also invested in Dunzo.
Source: businessinsider.in
SPAR Austria introduces eco-friendly packaging for organic potted herbs
SPAR Austria has been working to reduce plastic and deploy more sustainable solutions across its store network for years. The pots of SPAR Natur*pur Tyrolean potted organic herbs are made from 100% recycled material. The casing of the herbs, which was previously made of plastic, has now been replaced by paper.
Source: spar-international.com
Australia: Woolworths launches rapid delivery app Metro60
Capitalising on the growing demand for fast deliveries, Woolworths has launched a new grocery delivery app dubbed Metro60, in partnership with Uber. The service offers door-to-door grocery delivery in 11 eastern Sydney suburbs including Bondi, North Bondi, Bondi Beach, Vaucluse, Bellevue Hill, Darling Point, Double Bay, Rose Bay, Dover Heights, Point Piper, Darling Point, Double Bay and Bondi Junction. Woolworths says it will expand its service to more Sydney neighbourhoods and then move interstate during the coming months.
Source: insidefmcg.com.au
UK: Sainsbury’s under new pressure to pay living wage for all workers
The Queen’s bank, Coutts & Co, and the Coal Pensions Board have joined a group of investors backing a resolution calling for Sainsbury’s to pay the independently set living wage for all staff and contracted workers. The vote at the UK’s second-largest supermarket’s annual shareholder meeting on 7 July will be the first on a resolution committing a UK company board to pay the living wage.
Source: theguardian.com
India: Ant Group-backed Zomato beefs up quick delivery game with bigger Blinkit stake
Indian food-delivery firm Zomato Ltd is set to buy local grocery-delivery startup Blinkit for 44.47bln rupees ($568.16mln) in an all-stock deal, in a bid to step up its game as competition in the quick-delivery market gets fierce.
Source: reuters.com