All articles by Planet Retail – Page 66

  • News

    Lianhua to open 500 stores this year

    2010-06-10T12:22:00Z

    Supermarket operator Lianhua plans to spend Yn600m (£60.66m) on opening 500 stores this year. They will include 15 shopping centres, 200 convenience stores and 285 supermarkets, mainly in the Yangtze River delta region. The retailer is looking to compete with the aggressive expansion of foreign players like Walmart and Carrefour.After ...

  • News

    Kopeika plans IPO

    2010-06-10T12:20:00Z

    Grocery chain Kopeika plans an IPO this autumn. It is thought the Moscow-based retailer will offer about 30% of its shares. Possible buyers include X5 Retail Group or Walmart.An acquisition of a minority stake in Kopeika would be a good move for X5, as Kopeika competes with X5’s Pyaterochka stores ...

  • News

    Pottery Barn to open in Kuwait

    2010-06-10T11:32:00Z

    Home furnishings retailer Williams-Sonoma will open its first Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids stores in Kuwait on June 16 as part of a multi-year deal with MH Alshaya Company. The 17,220 sq ft Pottery Barn and 8,070 sq ft Pottery Barn Kids stores will be located at The Avenues ...

  • News

    Ahold Q1 profits up 45.7%

    2010-06-10T11:30:00Z

    Dutch retailer Ahold posted a 45.7% rise in first-quarter net profit to reach €274m (£226.6m), mainly due to changes in its estimates for provisions for its former subsidiaries.It posted a 1% sales increase in its first quarter to reach E8.7bn (£7.2bn), a 3.4% increase at constant exchange rates. Operating income ...

  • News

    Hornback full-year sales rise 3.7%

    2010-06-03T16:51:00Z

    DIY retailer Hornbach has released its financial results for the year ended February 28, when sales rose 3.7% to €2.85bn (£2.42bn). EBIT fell 15.4% to €151.5m (£128.5m).In Germany, store sales increased 2.8%, and 1.8% on a like-for-like basis. Meanwhile, Hornbach’s international division grew 4.2%, although like-for-like sales contracted by 0.9%. ...

  • News

    Gap to enter India

    2010-06-03T16:40:00Z

    Gap has revived plans to enter the Indian market, according to the local press.Ron Young, senior vice-president of Gap International Strategic Alliances, was recently in the country, suggesting that the company is making preliminary moves to set up shop in India.Gap’s team has sounded out prominent Indian apparel makers including ...

  • News

    7-Eleven Australia to acquire Exxon Mobil petrol stations

    2010-06-03T16:38:00Z

    7-Eleven Australia has confirmed it is to acquire all 295 petrol stations belonging to Exxon Mobil in the country.The deal comes after Exxon Mobil’s agreement to sell the petrol stations to Caltex Australia was blocked by antitrust regulators on competition grounds. The deal will see the number of 7-Eleven stores ...

  • News

    Carrefour China in talks for Baolongcang outlets

    2010-06-03T16:37:00Z

    Carrefour China is in talks with local hypermarket operator Baolongcang to buy out its outlets, the local press has reported.Baolongcang has 14 hypermarkets in small cities in Hebei and Shandong province. It reported total sales of CNY3.16bn (£317.2m) in 2009.Wu-Mart and China Resources Enterprise are rumoured to also be interested ...

  • News

    Carrefour Poland to focus on franchise network

    2010-06-03T16:13:00Z

    Carrefour Poland is to switch its focus from large developments in big towns to its franchise network.The retailer will expand its network of 330 sq ft to 1,310 sq ft franchise shops in housing estates in smaller towns, according to local press. Carrefour said that 50 to 60 such shops ...

  • News

    Toys R Us plans renewed float

    2010-06-03T16:12:00Z

    Toys giant Toys R Us is set to become a public company again with plans to float for $800m (£548.6m).The retailer, which has 1,363 stores in 34 countries, including 75 in Britain, said it hopes to use some of the money raised to pay off a portion of its debt. ...

  • News

    Aldi to open first New York store

    2010-06-03T16:10:00Z

    US German hard discount retailer Aldi Süd is planning to open its first New York City store at the Rego Park II shopping centre in Queens, in early 2011.Aldi Süd operates more than 1,000 stores in 31 states in the US, primarily from Kansas to the East Coast. Last year, ...

  • News

    Abercrombie & Fitch Q1 sales up 14%

    2010-05-26T17:11:00Z

    Abercrombie & Fitch has reported first-quarter net sales up 14% to $687.8m (£457m). Total like-for-like sales increased 1%, while net loss for the quarter narrowed to $11.8m (£8m) from $59.2m (£38m) in the same period last year.During the remainder of the financial year, the retailer expects to open Abercrombie & ...

  • News

    Sears Q1 revenue flat

    2010-05-26T17:03:00Z

    Sears Holdings’ total revenue for the first quarter of 2010 has hit $10bn (£6.6bn), flat against 2009.Favourable exchange rate benefits from the Canadian stores and a 1.5% increase in domestic like-for-like sales, were offset by the effect of having 63 fewer Kmart and Sears stores in operation.The domestic like-for-like sales ...

  • News

    Foot Locker Q1 sales up 5.3%

    2010-05-26T17:03:00Z

    Foot Locker’s first-quarter sales increased 5.3% to $1.28bn (£900m) compared with the same period last year.Like-for-like sales increased 4.8%. Total sales for the first quarter increased 3%, excluding the effect of foreign currency fluctuations. Net income was $54m (£36m), compared with $31m (£20m) last year.

  • News

    Reliance Retail in push for value formats

    2010-05-26T17:01:00Z

    Reliance Retail is implementing a five-year plan to grow its value formats, including Reliance Fresh, Reliance Super and Reliance Mart.Through the programme, the company is adopting the tagline ‘Aapki Khushi Hamari Khushi’ (your happiness is our happiness) and said it will strengthen the presence of multi-formats and other retail channels, ...

  • News

    Best Denki plans 10 Taiwan stores

    2010-05-26T16:59:00Z

    Japanese electronics retailer Best Denki has revealed plans to open 10 stores in Taiwan by the end of February 2011.At present the retailer operates through 13 shops in the market. The move comes as part of the its plans to increase its presence overseas with 15 to 25 new stores ...

  • News

    Woolworths aquires hardware businesses

    2010-05-26T16:58:00Z

    Woolworths has acquired Gunns Retail Division in Tasmania and, in a separate arrangement, the Becks Timber & Hardware business.The Gunns acquisition includes five hardware stores in Tasmania, one timber joinery centre, one truss manufacturing plant and a support office.The move is part of the joint venture between Woolworths and US ...

  • News

    KiK aims for 5,000 stores

    2010-05-26T16:56:00Z

    Tengelmann-owned clothing discounter KiK is planning to increase its number of stores across Europe from more than 2,900, to about 5,000 within the next five years. This will involve growth in the existing markets such as Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, as well as new market entries. ...

  • News

    No rush to sell PPR retail operations

    2010-05-26T16:53:00Z

    According to chief executive François-Henri Pinault, PPR isn’t in a hurry to sell off its retail operations — entertainment and electronics retailer Fnac, household goods retailer Conforama and mail order specialist Redcats.He said: “I will take the time that is necessary to sell off our operations at good conditions.” When ...

  • News

    Gap posts £2.2bn Q1 sales

    2010-05-26T16:47:00Z

    Gap has posted net sales of $3.33bn (£2.2bn) in its first quarter, a rise of 6% on the same period last year. Like-for-like sales increased 4% and net income rocketed 40% to $302m (£200m).Chairman and chief executive Glenn Murphy said: “Fuelled by our strengthened economic model, we are in a ...