All articles by Planet Retail – Page 38
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Fast Retailing to increase network of Uniqlo stores
Japanese clothing group Fast Retailing aims to increase its network of Uniqlo stores in South Korea to 300 by the 2020 financial year from its current estate of 64.The retailer hopes the openings will boost South Korean sales to KRW3 trillion (£1.64bn). The plans were revealed by Fast Retailing chief ...
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Sales decrease for department store group Myer
Department store group Myer’s first-quarter sales fell by more than 5.1% on a like-for-like basis in the first quarter ended October 29.The retailer’s sales for the period totalled AUD680m (£437.1m), down 3.5% on the comparable period last year. However, the retailer was pleased with the results as sales during the ...
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Kroger tests new checkout system
Grocery retailer Kroger is testing a new type of checkout system called Scan-Bag-Go at a store in Kentucky. It is a handheld wand that shoppers wave at product barcodes as they shop, tallying the total amount at the same time. A smartphone version is also being tested, enabling customers to ...
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Euroset withdraws from Ukrainian market
Russian mobile phone retailer Euroset has withdrawn from the Ukrainian market, closing all its stores.Euroset has been reducing stores numbers in Ukraine since 2009. The biggest disposal was in the summer of 2010 when the company shut 150 shops. In December 2010, Euroset had 275 stores in the country and ...
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Shoppers Drug Mart reports sales increase
Drugstore operator Shoppers Drug Mart has reported a sales rise of 2.1% to CAD3.11bn (£1.92bn) for the third quarter ended October 8.On a like-for-like basis, total sales increased 1.5%, with prescriptions up 1.1% and front-store sales (products sold separately from the pharmacy) up 1.8%. During the quarter, total prescription counts ...
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Yamada Denki posts drop in net sales
Electronics retailer Yamada Denki has posted a 2.6% drop in net sales to ¥987bn (£8.04bn) for the first half. Operating profit rose 33.8% to ¥63bn (£518.3m), while net profit increased 44.6% to ¥40.9bn (£333.5m).During the period the company introduced electric vehicles, solar panels, household lithium batteries and energy-saving equipment in ...
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Sales rise for Grocer Delhaize Group
Grocer Delhaize Group’s sales in the third quarter of 2011 rose 6.6% at identical exchange rates, to E5.33bn (£4.57bn).Growth in the US reached 3.5% in dollars and 1.9% like-for-like. Operating profit increased 1.8% at identical exchange rates to E238m (£204.1m). Operating margin decreased to 4.5%, mainly due to the consolidation ...
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Sears launches mobile shopping walls
Department store group Sears has launched mobile shopping walls across the country at airports, malls, movie theatres and bus shelters.The walls allow customers to buy Sears and Kmart toys through their mobile devices using QR codes. They feature the company’s top toys and corresponding QR codes deliver shopper product information, ...
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Amazon offers to handle sales tax for sellers
Amazon is offering to handle sales tax for its sellers despite years of fighting state regulators. The internet retailer aims to profit by claiming a fee equivalent to 2.9% of the taxes collected. The optional service is to roll out on February 1, 2012 and will be offered to Amazon ...
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Abercrombie & Fitch reports net sales increase
Casualwear retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has reported net sales of $1.1bn (£685.4m) for the financial quarter ended October 29. That represents a 21% increase from net sales of $885.8m (£551.9m) for the same quarter in 2010.However, the retailer said that sales fell at European flagship stores last quarter as a ...
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Lidl denies withdrawal from Switzerland
Schwarz Group-owned discounter Lidl has denied it plans to withdraw from Switzerland. Following the recent demise of its long-standing country director Andreas Pohl, it has been reported that his successor, Matthias Oppitz, has been asked to place the Swiss operations under close scrutiny and freeze costs. Lidl is reportedly lagging ...
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Woolworths initiates strategic review of electronics business
Woolworths has initiated a strategic review of its Dick Smith consumer electronics business. Woolworths said that the electronics sector has been undergoing challenges, particularly because of tightened consumer spending on discretionary products and because of the effects of the high Australian dollar.
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BIM reports net profit increase
Turkish hard discounter BIM has reported that net profit in the third quarter of 2011 climbed 21.7% to TRL78m (£27.4m) compared with the same period last year.Preliminary sales at continuing operations grew 25.6% to reach TRL2.16bn (£758.2m) while operating profit rose 19.9% to TRL93.8m (£32.9m). As of November 2011, BIM ...
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US clothing retailer Gap accelerates China expansion
US clothing retailer GAP has announced that it expects China to become a $1bn (£623m) business in three to four years as the company accelerates expansion there. Gap aims to grow its store network to 15 by the end of this year, including opening its first outlet in Hong Kong. ...
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Sale of Galeria Kaufhof in the offing
A sale of Metro-owned department store chain Galeria Kaufhof could be in the offing, as local press reported interest from billionaire Greek investor George Economou.Meanwhile, Nicolas Berggruen, owner of rival department store chain Karstadt, has also tabled a bid, according to reports. It is not known whether Berggruen is interested ...
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Metro halts sale of Real hypermarket operating division
Retail conglomerate Metro has called a halt to the sale of its Real hypermarket operating division for the time being. The plans have been put on hold because of the resignation of Metro chief executive Eckhard Cordes, according to reports.Until recently, UK-based private equity firm Apax Partners had been in ...
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Aldi Nord to embark on major investment programme
Aldi Nord, the more austere of Aldi’s two main operating companies, is about to embark on the biggest investment programme in its history with plans to refurbish all its European stores.A model unveiled in the Belgian town of Ghent is to serve as the blueprint for the new store design. ...
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Potential to operate stores in existing countries, says TJX
Off-price retailer TJX has said that it believes there is potential to operate 4,200 to 4,500 stores in its existing countries versus the 2,913 estimated to be in operation by the end of this financial year.The company is looking to have between 300 and 325 stores in the UK and ...
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Sears announces launch of new digital local ad programme
Sears has announced the launch of its new digital local advert programme at Sightssearslocalad.com and Kmartlocalad.com.The sites offer shoppers current pricing and promotions as well as real-time stock checks for their local Sears or Kmart store. They also allow customers to shop by category and create item lists that can ...
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Woolworths reports overall sales increase
Woolworths’ overall sales for the first quarter of 2011 were up 4.9% to AUD14.6bn (£9.6bn). Net sales at its supermarket division including fuel grew 5.8% to AUD12.56bn (£8.27bn), bolstered by a 17% rise in revenue from fuel.Its Australian food and liquor sales increased 4.4% compared with the same period last ...