All articles by Planet Retail – Page 45
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News
Borders Group US lives on
Borders Group US is preparing for a sale that could see its brand live on despite liquidators clearing books from its shelves and shutting its stores. Executives plan to auction off the company’s intellectual property, including the Borders.com website, on September 14. The move follows other now-defunct retailers such as ...
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Grocery retailer Spar launches pilot convenience store
Grocery retailer Spar has launched a convenience store pilot intended for busy inner city locations in Vienna. The 2,690 sq ft store is located right in Babenbergerstraße 9, and employs a staff of 22.The new concept is called Food in the City and offers takeaway food as well as fresh ...
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DIY retailer Bauhaus launches drive-through concept
DIY retailer Bauhaus has launched a drive-through concept, which has been rolled out at its major stores.Customers can drive through a special area of the store designed to accommodate cars and small vans, and will be directed to the relevant products.Mobile scanners are used for checkout and staff members are ...
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Chinese authorities investigate copycat Apple stores
Chinese authorities in the southwestern city of Kunming have launched an investigation of electronics stores after media reports said one retail outlet seemed to be copying Apple’s store format.The inspections follow media attention around a Kunming store that appeared to be nearly identical to Apple’s highly stylized Apple Stores, including ...
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Carrefour Italy inaugurates first Carrefour Planet hypermarket
Carrefour in Italy has inaugurated its first Carrefour Planet hypermarket at Paderno Dugnano in Milan.The store covers an area of almost 140,000 sq ft and uses the concept already developed in France, Spain and Belgium.Together with lower prices, the new store features specialist offers organised by sector, and services including ...
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Walmart de Mexico reports net profit decrease
Walmart de Mexico has reported net profit of MXN4.5bn (£232m) for its second quarter, down 3.4% on the previous year.Net sales increased 9.1% to MXN87.9bn (£4.53bn). EBITDA for the quarter amounted to MXN7.7bn (£397m).Executive president and chief executive of Walmart de Mexico Scot Rank said the quarter was characterised by ...
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Fnac outlines new strategy for growth
PPR-owned book and music retailer Fnac has outlined a new strategy for growth, encompassing store openings, an overhaul of its product offer and a redesign of its ecommerce site.By 2015 the company expects to open 80 new stores in France, including 50 in a smaller format. It will reorganise stores ...
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Rewe Group in negotiations with Conad
German grocer Rewe Group is negotiating with Conad about the disposal of large parts of its loss-making Billa supermarket and superstore division in Italy.Besides Conad, Rewe Group’s partner in the Coopernic buying alliance Coop Italia is also reported to be interested in the 190-store network.Billa in Italy recorded a sales ...
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Rossmann experiences sales rise
AS Watson-owned Rossmann experienced a sales rise of 4.2% in 2010 to CZK2.3bn (£77.9m), according to documents filed at the Register of Companies.The company edged into the black with a net profit of CZK22.7m (£820,000), up from just CZK1.16m (£41,000) in 2009.The company attributed the rise mainly to a change ...
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Grocery chain Woolworths posts sales increase
Grocery chain Woolworths posted a 4.7% increase in net sales to AUD54.1bn (£36bn) for its financial year ended June 26.Excluding fuel, sales rose 4.1%.Food and alcohol sales increased 4.6% to AUD36.18bn (£24bn) or by 3% on a like-for-like basis.The company said that its price knockdown campaign contributed to this growth.In ...
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Tata Group proposes to open Massimo Dutti stores in India
Tata Group’s retail arm Trent has entered into an initial agreement with Spanish retailer Inditex to open Massimo Dutti stores in India.The proposed joint venture will be 51% owned by Inditex’s Zara Holding, while the rest will be owned by Trent. Trent and Inditex have a similar joint venture to ...
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Indian government panel recommends easing restrictions
An Indian government panel is said to have recommended easing restrictions on Foreign Direct Investment in Indian retail, which could allow international companies to own as much as 51% of multichannel retailers if they invest a minimum of $100m (£61.3m). This would allow retailers such as Walmart and Carrefour access ...
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DocMorris Apotek records a loss
DocMorris Apotek has recorded turnover of SEK205.4m (£19.9m) and a loss of SEK121.5m (£11.7m) during its first 10 months of trading to end of December 2010.The company said that its strategy was to invest only in new locations and to establish a brand, which meant that there would be no ...
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Shoppers Drug Mart announces increase in sales
Shoppers Drug Mart announced a 1.4% increase in sales to CAD2.39bn (£1.55bn) for its second quarter ended June 18.Growth was driven by increases in non-pharmacy sales in all regions of Canada. On a like-for-like basis, total sales increased 0.8%.Prescription sales decreased 1% to CAD$1.15bn (£746m) during the quarter, as growth ...
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Borders Group to liquidate the chain
Borders Group is to liquidate the chain after failing to receive any offers to save it. The book chain said liquidation of its remaining 399 shops could start as soon as this week, and it is expected to go out of business for good by the end of September.Borders filed ...
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Euroset acquires 446 stores
Mobile phone retailer Euroset has acquired 446 stores from rival Svyaznoy. The company will immediately proceed with rebranding the stores, which include 70 in Moscow, to Euroset and Beeline.Euroset president and chief executive officer Alexander Malis said: “Our goal was to acquire the most attractive Svyaznoy stores that generate most ...
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Sales increase for 99¢ Only Stores’
99¢ Only Stores’ total sales increased 6.3% in its financial first quarter ended July 2, aided by like-for-like growth of 5.9%. The retailer said total sales reached $368m (£228m), a 6.3% increase from the same quarter last year. The Easter selling season provided a key boost.The retailer plans to open ...
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Fast Retailing plans opening of up to 100 Uniqlo stores
Fast Retailing, Japan’s largest clothing retailer, has said that it plans to open up to 100 Uniqlo stores in Taiwan as part of its plan to become the world’s top fashion brand by 2020. This figure is double the goal set out in September 2010, which was to establish 50 ...
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Costco reveals Australian expansion
On the eve of opening its second Australian store in Sydney, Costco has revealed it is looking to expand in the country.Costco Australia managing director Patrick Noone said: “We are looking at all the big cities, as well as looking at additional buildings we could do in Sydney and Melbourne, ...
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Spar Australia launches new store concept
Spar Australia has launched a new store concept called Jardin Fresh Life. The format has a larger sales area than a traditional Spar, with a strong focus on fresh produce.The first Jardin Fresh Life store displays products in a market-style atmosphere in the 11,625 sq ft space. The shop also ...