All articles by Planet Retail – Page 4
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Falabella's chief executive Juan Benavides Feliú to exit
Multi-format operator Falabella’s chief executive Juan Benavides Feliú is to step down. According to the retailer’s supervisory board, Feliú is to leave with “immediate effect”. No reasons for the exit were given.
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Walmart bribery allegations likely to incur losses
Walmart is likely to incur losses relating to bribery allegations in Mexico. The allegations surfaced last year and centred on company representatives reportedly bribing officials in Mexico in support of new store openings. The disclosure was made in Walmart’s recently filed annual report.The matter cost Walmart $157m (£103.5m) in the ...
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Department store JC Penney revives abandoned pricing strategy
Department store group JC Penney has revived the pricing strategy it had abandoned, which involves increasing prices of private label lines then discounting them as a means of improving sales and margins.The retailer began changing merchandise prices in March and will complete the process this month, according to a JC ...
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Multichannel retailer Otto Group reveals preliminary figures
Multichannel retailer Otto Group has revealed preliminary figures for the year to February 28.Consolidated revenues rose 1.7% to E11.8bn (£9.94bn).The group’s multichannel retail earnings rose 0.4% to E10.07bn (£8.48bn). Ecommerce revenues increased 7% to E5.7bn (£4.8bn), representing 57% of total retail turnover.In Germany, online sales were E3.7bn (£3.12bn).Chairman of the ...
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Delhaize Group to introduce electric vehicle charging stations
Grocery retailer Delhaize Group is to introduce electric vehicle charging stations at 12 stores.The retailer has linked up with car manufacturer Nissan on the project. Use of the stations will be free during the first half-year of the operation. Owners of a Nissan e-car can use the service free for ...
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Polish businessman Mariusz Switalski to compete for control of Mercator
Polish businessman Mariusz Switalski, co-founder of the Eurocash, Biedronka and Zabka retail chains, as well as Czerwona Torebka, aims to acquire grocer Mercator.A fund associated with Switalski has started negotiations with Mercator and signed a confidentiality agreement.There has been no official comment from Switalski or his team.However, sources say he ...
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Central Retail Corporation buys Copenhagen department store
Thailand-based multi-format operator Central Retail Corporation has entered Denmark by acquiring Illum, a famous Copenhagen department store.The company plans to invest THB2bn (£45m) to renovate the store over the next four years. Central Retail chief executive Tos Chirathivat said the renovation would help Illum boost its income from THB5bn (£112.6m) ...
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Drugstore operator CVS launches iPad app
Drugstore operator CVS has launched an iPad app that enables customers to explore a virtual 3D CVS/Pharmacy store and shop from their tablet. The app is the first of its kind and incorporates an interactive interface using gesture-based movements.Brian Tilzer, senior vice-president and chief digital officer of CVS/Pharmacy, said: “Our ...
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Ahold completes sale of ICA stake
Grocer Ahold has completed the sale of its stake in Scandinavian retailer ICA to Hakon Invest of Sweden.Ahold held 60% in grocer ICA and jointly shared a controlling interest with Hakon Invest.In February, the latter agreed to buy Ahold’s stake for SEK21.2bn (£2.14bn) in cash.
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French retailer Auchan gets green light for Real hypermarkets acquisition
French retailer Auchan has been given the green light for its acquisition of Metro Group’s Real hypermarkets in Ukraine, along with its property division.Metro Group only has two Real stores in Ukraine, one in Kiev and the other in Odessa.
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Sales rise at off-price retailer Ross Stores
Off-price retailer Ross Stores’ sales in the fourth quarter ended February 2 rose 15% to $2.76bn (£1.81bn) and like-for-likes advanced 5%. Net earnings rocketed 23% to $236.6m (£155.7m).For the full year, sales increased 13% to $9.72bn (£6.39bn) with like-for-likes climbing 6%, while net earnings soared 20% to $786.8m (£517.8m). Michael ...
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Stong performance for homewares retailer Williams-Sonoma
Homewares retailer Williams-Sonoma’s net revenues increased 8.7% to $4.04bn (£2.66bn) in the year ended February 3. Performance was driven by a 14.5% increase in direct-to-customer revenues and like-for-like growth of 6.1%.Net earnings rose 8.4% to $256.7m (£168.9m).
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Walmart to develop global ecommerce platform
Walmart is developing a global ecommerce platform called Pangea. Speaking to investors at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Consumer & Retail Conference, Walmart chief financial officer Charles Holley said: “We want to have a common global platform that can flex to the market.”The US retail giant also aims to ...
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Metro Group reports decline in net profit
Metro Group reported a sharp decline in net profit by 86.3% to E101m (£86.1m) for the full year ended December 31.EBIT (before special items) suffered a double-digit decline across all formats with the exception of Galeria Kaufhof and real estate.Metro Group’s net sales rose 1.2% to E66.7bn (£56.8bn), supported by ...
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Carrefour appoints Eric Uzan to head Italian operation
Carrefour has appointed Eric Uzan to head its Italian operation, effective from April 2.Uzan has been working for the group for more than a decade. He oversaw the development of the Americas region and, more recently, worked in Indonesia, where the French retailer spun off its operation last year.The appointment ...
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Casino adds grocery offer to its Cdiscount website
Casino has added a grocery offer to its Cdiscount website. Shoppers receive free home delivery in metropolitan areas on orders over E20 (£17).Cdiscount is one of the most visited websites in France, and for the launch of the grocery service the etailer offered its cardholders a refund on their first ...
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H&M suffers lower than expected first-quarter sales
Fast-fashion retailer H&M said its first-quarter sales did not reach expectations because of unfavourable weather and a tough economic climate.In the three months to February 28 sales increased 6%. However, when taking into account calendar and currency effects, sales rose 2% to SEK28.39bn (£2.87bn). Like-for-like sales fell 3% in the ...
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Group sales increase for DIY retailer Hornbach
DIY retailer Hornbach’s group sales increased 0.8% to E3.23bn (£2.75bn) in the year ended February 28.The Hornbach-Baumarkt fascia achieved growth of 0.6% to E3bn (£2.5bn) year on year. Consolidated like-for-like sales dropped 1.4% from the previous year’s level of 2.8%.
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Convenience store operator Couche-Tard reveals revenue increase
Convenience store operator Couche-Tard revealed net earnings rocketed 64.2% to $142.5m (£93.8m) in the third quarter ended February 3. Revenue increased to $11.6bn (£7.6bn) from $6.6bn (£4.3bn). Like-for-likes were up 1.7%in Canada and 0.8% in the US.President and chief executive Alain Bouchard said: “Our recent acquisitions continue to contribute significantly ...
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Supervalu completes sale to AB Acquisition
Supervalu has completed the sale of its Albertsons, Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s and Star Market banners.The disposal to AB Acquisition, an affiliate of an investment consortium led by Cerberus Capital Management, is a stock deal valued at $3.3bn (£2.17bn), which includes $100m (£65.8m) in cash and $3.2bn (£2.1bn) in debt assumption.