All articles by Planet Retail – Page 32
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News
Woolworths reports sales increase
Woolworths’ sales rose 11.1% to R14.2bn (£1.22bn) in its first half to the end of December 2011. Food sales increased by 11.7%while clothing and general merchandise was up 10.1%. Operating profit rose 27.8% to R1.4bn (£120.7m). While strong sales growth was recorded in the second quarter, Woolworths attributed part of ...
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PPR reports net sales increase
PPR’s net sales rose 11% to e12.2bn (£10.6bn) in 2011 while net income soared 40% to e999m (£866m), driven by its luxury brands brands including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and Puma.PPR said it is now ready to divest non-core operations Redcats and Fnac and has 10 investment banks ...
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Inditex to open stores in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Inditex has announced that it will open its first stores in Bosnia and Herzegovina this year. The company plans to introduce its Zara, Bershka and Pull & Bear brands, unveiling its first Zara unit in the Brodomerkur-Mepas shopping centre, Mostar. The mall will open in March and will be one ...
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Lekkerland to offer new Barpay ecommerce payment system
Wholesaler Lekkerland is to offer a new Barpay ecommerce payment system at the over 18,000 stores it supplies. Shoppers who order products via the internet but do not want to pay with credit cards or use any other online payment method simply print a barcode along with their receipt. In-store, ...
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Amazon’s Kindle Fire grabs share of US tablet market
Amazon’s Kindle Fire has overtaken Samsung to grab the second largest share of the US tablet market, according to research firm IHS. It estimated that Amazon had a 14% share of the market during the fourth quarter after releasing Kindle Fire in November. That compared with a 57% share for ...
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X5 Retail to launch first Kopeyka convenience store
Grocer X5 Retail is to launch its first Kopeyka convenience store and will increase its focus on private-label at its Pyaterochka supermarkets. The group plans to develop the convenience store network through its Express Retail subsidiary in the Moscow region. Express Retail has been developing Perkrestok Express convenience stores in ...
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Sears reduces price of more than 5,000 items
Sears has reduced the everyday price of more than 5,000 items across all departments. The cuts are accompanied by promotions and a new weekly special called Wow. The retailer aims to better align its in-store merchandising with promotions found in its ads.Sears Canada president and chief executive Calvin McDonald said: ...
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SuperValu reveals plans to cut its nationwide workforce
Grocery retailer SuperValu has revealed plans to cut its nationwide workforce by around 800. The majority of the redundancies will be made by the end of the company’s financial year on February 25. The decision is part of a strategy to remove permanent expenses from the business and reduce overall ...
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Carrefour appoints three directors
Carrefour’s hypermarket business in France is to be reorganised with the appointment of three directors to manage it. Patrice Lespagnol, Philippe Lartigue and Frédéric Duranton will be responsible for the division, under the leadership of Noël Prioux, head of Carrefour France. Guillaume Vicaire, who has been executive director of French ...
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Amazon signs licensing agreement with Viacom
Amazon has signed a licensing agreement with Viacom that allows Amazon Prime members to stream television shows from a multitude of channels. The deal, which gives customers access to programmes from MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, TV Land, Spike, VH1, BET, CMT and Logo, boosts Amazon’s online library by 15% to ...
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Lidl works on streamlining product ranges
Discount supermarket chain Lidl is working on streamlining its product ranges in Germany. Fewer articles but higher profitability is the objective for all departments, from buying to logistics and distribution. Chief executive Karl-Heinz Holland and buying director Robin Goudsblom hope that the change will reduce handling costs at stores and ...
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Pick n Pay’s chief operating officer to leave
Pick n Pay’s chief operating officer Nick Badminton will leave the retailer by the end of this financial year, February 28. He will, however, assist the company during transition. Pick n Pay chairman Gareth Ackerman will become executive chairman, responsible for strategy, and deputy chief executive Richard van Rensburg will ...
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Fast Retailing introduces brand to the Philippines
Japan-based Fast Retailing is confident that introducing the brand to the Philippines will help it achieve its goal of being the number one clothing retailer in Asia, and the world by 2020. Naoki Otoma, group executive vice-president of Fast Retailing and managing director of Uniqlo Asia and Japan, said the ...
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Seven & I to enter Russian market
Japan-based Seven & I plans to enter the Russian market. The convenience store group is expected to set up a joint venture or franchise agreement with local partners, however, it has not yet commented on the development. Russian Franchising Association head Yuri Mickle said: “We have studied the strategy of ...
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Sobeys’ chief exec to retire
Grocery retailer Sobeys’ chief executive Bill McEwan will retire during the next financial year for health reasons. A search for his successor is currently under way. McEwan has been president and chief executive of the retailer since 2000, and will remain in the role until a successful transition is made. ...
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Walmart Canada sets out ambitious expansion schedule
Walmart Canada has set out an ambitious expansion schedule for its 2012 financial year in which it hopes to complete a company record of at least 73 new projects. The various initiatives include building new stores and expanding, remodelling or relocating existing outlets. The retailer currently operates 333 stores, including ...
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36.6 to convert stores to discount-oriented format
Pharmacy Chain 36.6 intends to convert half of its stores to a discount-oriented format in order to increase customer traffic by 30%. In the first half of 2012, stores in low-income regions will reportedly be remodelled under the banner Pharmacy Warehouse. The product assortment will remain the same, but prices ...
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Staples to launch tablet-optimised transactional website
Office specialist Staples is to launch a tablet-optimised transactional website. Shoppers using a tablet device will be automatically routed to the site at T.staples.com. Its user interface has been designed to keep typing to a minimum in order to ensure that as much content is viewable on the screen at ...
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Carrefour opens first hypermarket in Iraq
French grocer Carrefour has entered Iraq with the opening of its first hypermarket at Erbil’s Family Mall. The 107,640 sq ft store is the first of several Carrefour hypermarkets to open in partnership with Erbil-based Darin Group, Majid Al Futtaim Retail’s partners in Iraq.The opening of Iraq’s first Carrefour ...
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Spar Austria launches vegetarian private-label
Grocery retailer Spar Austria has launched a vegetarian private-label called Veggie in its home market. The product range comprises 43 vegetarian or vegan items such as spreads, tofu varieties and vegetarian cutlets. All Veggie products bear the V-label from the European Vegetarian Union. Tofu products can be traced back to ...