All articles by Planet Retail – Page 20

  • News

    Lowe’s aims to acquire Canadian competitor

    2012-08-10T07:00:00Z

    Home improvement retailer Lowe’s aims to acquire Canadian competitor Rona for C$1.8bn (£1.15bn).Rona has already publicly rejected the offer stating that “it is not in the best interest of the company and its stakeholders” and that it would prefer to remain focused on executing its business plan.Rona is implementing its ...

  • News

    Discount retailer Dia reports gross sales growth

    2012-08-09T07:00:00Z

    Discount retailer Dia’s gross sales rose 6.9% in the first half of 2012, to E5.75 billion (£4.57bn).The retailer’s adjusted EBITDA reached E261m (£207.6m), up 5.2% on the same period last year. The performance was driven by the operations in Iberia as well as in Argentina and Brazil.Despite a challenging economic ...

  • News

    Central Retail plans first Central Department Store

    2012-08-09T07:00:00Z

    Central Retail plans to open its first Central Department Store in Jakarta in 2014, taking advantage of the country’s growing retail market.It will have four floors, totalling 230,000 sq ft, and be in the Grand Indonesia shopping centre in central Jakarta.The retailer plans to open five more department stores in ...

  • News

    El Corte Inglés to join buying group AMS Sourcing

    2012-08-09T07:00:00Z

    El Corte Inglés will join buying group AMS Sourcing from next January.Its inclusion will give AMS 14 retail members including Ahold, Delhaize Group, Esselunga, Jerónimo Martins and Morrisons in 28 European countries and with combined annual retail sales of approximately E130bn (£103.39bn).AMS managing director Bert Swartsenburg said: “We are more ...

  • News

    Aldi Süd’s Hofer cuts Coca-Cola prices

    2012-08-08T09:47:00Z

    Discount retailer Aldi Süd’s Hofer has cut retail prices for Coca-Cola products by a third, just weeks after introducing the brand.The change is believed to be a reaction to market leader Rewe Group’s Billa supermarket division. Billa recently launched its latest ‘best price guarantee’, promising loyalty card holders it would ...

  • News

    Tap 09 to acquire Austrian Schlecker stores

    2012-08-08T09:44:00Z

    Drugstore operator Schlecker has found a buyer for its stores in Austria and markets affiliated to the Austrian business. Private equity company Tap 09 is to acquire 1,350 drugstores in Austria, Italy, Poland, Belgium and Luxembourg.Tap 09 intends to convert the shops to a neighbourhood store concept called ‘daily’. Sale ...

  • News

    Grocer Edeka updates marketing campaign

    2012-08-08T09:41:00Z

    Grocer Edeka is changing its marketing strategy. With new advertising partner Jung von Matt, Edeka has changed its year-old campaign ‘Wir lieben Lebensmittel’ (‘We just love food’) to a more emotional approach.The strapline now includes a heart symbol in its corporate colour yellow. The co-operative grocer said it “wants to ...

  • News

    Amazon introduces instant video app for iPad

    2012-08-08T09:40:00Z

    Amazon has introduced an instant video app for iPad. It will enable customers to stream or download movies and TV episodes from their Amazon library directly to the device.Amazon previously offered this service for its Kindle Fire tablet, but the latest initiative broadens the service to a wider audience and ...

  • News

    Apple posts net sales growth

    2012-08-03T07:00:00Z

    Apple posted net sales of $35bn (£22.29bn) for its third quarter ended June 30, up from $28.6bn (£18.21bn) in 2011.Net profit rose from $7.3bn (£4.64bn) last year to $8.8bn (£5.6bn).International sales accounted for 62% of the quarter’s revenue. Apple sold 26 million iPhones, representing 28% unit growth, while 17 million ...

  • News

    JCPenney to stock discount apparel brand

    2012-08-03T07:00:00Z

    Department store group JCPenney will stock Canadian grocer Loblaw’s discount apparel brand, Joe Fresh, in 700 stores starting in April 2013. The areas, designed by the Joe Fresh team, will range from about 1,000 sq ft to 2,500 sq ft, and debut with women’s apparel. Joe Fresh products will also ...

  • News

    Amazon records increase in sales

    2012-08-03T07:00:00Z

    Amazon recorded a 29% increase in sales to $12.83bn (£8.17bn) in its second quarter ended June 30. That was slightly below Wall Street expectations and compared with a record 51% growth for the corresponding quarter last year.Operating profit declined to $107m (£68.1m) from $201m (£128m). Revenue at the company’s North ...

  • News

    LVMH’s Selective Retailing division reports organic sales growth

    2012-08-02T07:00:00Z

    Luxury group LVMH’s Selective Retailing division reported organic sales growth over the first half-year of 16% to E3.6bn (£2.81bn), while profit soared by 30% to E373m (£191.1m). The retailer said it benefited from sustained growth in Asia and North America.The group will open three concessions at Hong Kong airport by ...

  • News

    Coles releases full-year results

    2012-08-02T07:00:00Z

    Coles released its full-year results for the 12 months ended June 30. Headline food and liquor sales of Aus$26.2bn (£17.51bn) were 4.6% above 2011, while like-for-like sales increased 3.7%.That was a better performance than rival Woolworths, which posted a full-year Australian food and liquor sales increase of 3.8%.

  • News

    H&M to close flagship Hong Kong store

    2012-08-02T07:00:00Z

    Swedish fashion retailer H&M plans to close its flagship store in Hong Kong, according to the The Wall Street Journal.The 30,000 sq ft shop will shut in autumn 2013 and be replaced by one operated by rival clothing retailer Zara.H&M spokeswoman Cher Chui said the retailer had been unable to ...

  • News

    Fnac reports sales decrease

    2012-08-01T07:00:00Z

    Fnac, PPR’s books, music and electronics business, reported sales were down 1.1% for the first six months of this year to E1.77bn (£1.38bn). Like-for-like sales fell 1% and the retailer recorded an operating loss of E7.5m (£5.8m) compared with an operating profit of E6.7m (£5.2m) for the same period last ...

  • News

    Drugstore group Schlecker begins clearance Sales

    2012-08-01T07:00:00Z

    Insolvent drugstore group Schlecker has begun clearance Sales in the remaining 358 Schlecker XL and 367 Ihr Platz shops. Products have been discounted by between 30% and 50%, according to administrator Werner Schneider.The Schlecker XL shops will be closed in August. Schneider is still searching for buyers of the remaining ...

  • News

    Hudson’s Bay plans store closures for Zellers

    2012-08-01T07:00:00Z

    Hudson’s Bay plans to close most of its 64 remaining Zellers stores, according to local press. They are locations that are not being converted to Target shops. The closures will be completed by March 2013.A spokeswoman said: “After a lengthy review and numerous discussions with various parties, it became apparent ...

  • News

    Media-Saturn acquires electronics etailer 003.ru

    2012-08-01T07:00:00Z

    Germany-based Media-Saturn, part of the Metro Group, has acquired Russian electronics etailer 003.ru from founder Vladislav Oulendeev, subject to approval by anti-trust authorities.Media-Saturn chief executive Horst Norberg said: “Our objective is to position our new subsidiary in Russia as an inexpensive online retailer, similar to Redcoon in Western Europe.”

  • News

    Amazon reveals exclusive agreement with Warner Bros

    2012-07-27T07:00:00Z

    Amazon has revealed an exclusive agreement with Warner Bros Domestic Television Distribution to add popular TV shows to its Prime Instant Video catalogue.These titles – including shows like Fringe and The West Wing – will be available to Amazon Prime members this summer, adding to its Prime offering of more ...

  • News

    Ikea to use augmented reality in 2013 catalogue

    2012-07-27T07:00:00Z

    Ikea is to use augmented reality in its 2013 catalogue. The new features will let consumers access films, interactive experiences and photo galleries using their smartphones, it has been reported.A digital version of the catalogue will be released in the US on July 31 and the print version will be ...