All articles by Planet Retail – Page 23
-
News
Best Buy to increase staff training levels
Electronics retailer Best Buy plans to increase the levels of training given to its sales associates and Geek Squad technology experts this summer.The retailer hopes to increase sales in its stores by combatting ‘showrooming’ – where customers browse items in stores then purchase online – by increasing the level of ...
-
News
Lidl responds to negative publicity
Schwarz Group-owned discounter Lidl has advertised in high-profile local newspapers stressing a commitment to Greek suppliers.The retailer is responding to negative publicity resulting from politicians and official investigators accusing the German retailer of charging higher prices for products in crisis-struck Greece than it does in other European markets.In the ads, ...
-
News
Seiyu to cut prices across 1,400 items
Walmart’s Japanese business Seiyu plans to cut prices across 1,400 grocery, clothing and homewares items by the end of the year.The reductions are designed to reflect changing consumer needs after the March 2011 earthquake.In the initial stage the retailer has lowered the price of 500 items in daily essentials and ...
-
News
Metcash to step up its game in hardware sector
Grocery wholesaler Metcash is stepping up its game in the competitive hardware sector.The business currently holds a 50.1% stake in DIY network Mitre 10 and will purchase the remainder of the chain if the DIY retailer’s financial performance for the year to June 30 meets expectations.The acquisition will set it ...
-
News
Supermarket operator Hero to build Indonesia’s first Ikea store
Supermarket operator Hero will begin building Indonesia’s first Ikea store by the end of the year.A franchise agreement, signed in March, allows Hero to operate Ikea stores from 2014 to 2021 with an option to extend the licence and add more stores later.The first shop will be in Alam Sutera, ...
-
News
Drugstore operator dm shows interest in Schlecker
Drugstore operator dm has shown an interest in insolvent retailer Schlecker.It is likely that dm is interested in Schlecker’s ecommerce operation.At present dm offers its private labels via Amazon, rather than operating its own online operation – a move it doubts would be profitable.
-
News
Carrefour to experiment with discount zones
Carrefour is to experiment with discount zones in five of its French hypermarkets as part of changes implemented by new chief executive Georges Plassat.The discount areas will initially comprise just one or two aisles in each hypermarket. They will display nationally branded manufacturer products and will not be a showcase ...
-
News
Abercrombie & Fitch identifies 180 stores to close
Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has identified 180 stores to close over the next few years as it seeks to improve margins in US shops.The retailer will instead emphasise international expansion as part of its growth strategy. It will mainly close eponymous stores as well as Abercrombie children’s shops, though ...
-
News
Inditex reports net profit increase
Clothing giant Inditex reported a 30% rise in net profit to E432m (£374.7m) for its first quarter, on revenues up 15.4% to E3.4bn (£2.95bn).The retailer posted its highest-ever gross margin, which rose by 140 basis points to 60.2%.During the quarter Inditex opened 91 new stores in 26 countries. The retailer ...
-
News
Costco to take full ownership of Mexican subsidiary
Costco is to take full ownership of its Mexican subsidiary after reaching an agreement to purchase Comercial Mexicana’s 50% share for pesos10.65bn (£529m).In addition, Costco Mexico has declared a cash dividend of approximately pesos4.8bn (£238.4m), 50% payable to a subsidiary of Costco and the remaining 50% to Comercial Mexicana. The ...
-
News
Amazon to launch Amazon Cloud Player app for iPhone and iPod Touch
Amazon is to launch an Amazon Cloud Player app for the iPhone and iPod Touch, which will allow US customers to stream or download content purchased on Amazon to their mobile devices.Amazon will compete directly with Apple’s iTunes for downloads of music and videos. Previously Amazon’s Cloud Player was only ...
-
News
Woolworths to reduce number of self-checkouts
Woolworths plans to reduce the number of self-checkouts in city stores, ZDNet.com has reported.The retailer has already installed about 2,000 NCR Selfserv Checkouts throughout its store portfolio but is expected to remove them from inner-city locations. They will be replaced by a single-line queue.Woolworths said the change was “about customer ...
-
News
Media Markt to test zones dedicated to women
Metro’s Media Markt consumer electronics chain is testing zones dedicated to women in its 31 superstores in Austria.The retailer has introduced Woman’s World departments offering household and electronic items, such as hair styling appliances and a range of gadgets available in feminine colours. The departments feature a modern look with ...
-
News
Carrefour to sell stake in joint venture with Marinopoulos Group
Carrefour is to sell its stake in its joint venture with Marinopoulos Group. The move will make Marinopoulos the exclusive franchisee of Carrefour in Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria and the Balkans. Carrefour is likely to incur a charge of approximately E220m (£183.7m) relating to the discontinued activities. Marinopoulos reportedly plans to ...
-
News
Sporting goods retailer Oxylane opens flagship Decathlon store
French sporting goods retailer Oxylane has opened a flagship Decathlon store in Taiwan.The new store is 53,800 sq ft in size and will be expanded to 86,000 sq ft. It will be one of the largest Decathlon stores in Asia, aiming for annual sales of T$500m (£16.9m). Decathlon Taiwan plans ...
-
News
Fast Retailing to open 49 Uniqlo stores in Greater Manila area
Fast Retailing is to open 49 Uniqlo stores in the Greater Manila area over the next three years. The details came as the fashion group opened its first store in the country’s Mall of Asia in Pasay City.Fast Retailing Philippines chief operating officer Katsumi Kubota sees great growth potential in ...
-
News
Drugstore operator dm expresses interest in Platz stores
Drugstore operator dm has expressed an interest in acquiring 60 to 80 Ihr Platz stores from Schlecker, after a potential deal between Schlecker and investor Dubag broke down.Chief executive Erich Harsch said that the stores could be taken over and converted into dm’s store layout. Dm is currently on an ...
-
News
Ahold’s chief executive anticipates profit boost
Ahold’s chief executive Dick Boer has said that he anticipates linking the retailer’s bricks-and-mortar operations to bol.com in future, as a means of boosting profit at the recently acquired online retailer.Boer told newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad that he sees possibilities to work together in categories such as cooking and home ...
-
News
Walmart teams up with Procter & Gamble in month-long promotion
Walmart has teamed up with Procter & Gamble in a month-long promotion of online and mobile shopping in New York City.A lorry covered with QR codes for several P&G products, including Bounty paper towel, Head & Shoulders shampoo and Lams dog food, will tour the city. New Yorkers can use ...
-
News
El Corte Inglés launches price drop on 4,500 grocery products
El Corte Inglés has launched a price drop on 4,500 grocery products available in the food halls of its department stores, Hipercor hypermarkets and Supercor supermarkets.The items included are all basic grocery products from all sections, including fresh produce.