All articles by Planet Retail – Page 70
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News
Schlecker to close 32 stores in Belgium
German drugstore group Schlecker expects to close 32 of its 36 stores in Belgium by the end of this year.The decision comes after it was revealed that Schlecker will also axe its stores network in the Netherlands.Schlecker’s online store for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg was axed in late February. ...
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Harvey Norman profits up
Non-food retailer Harvey Norman reported that net profit in the six months to December 31 rose to Aus$158.9m (£95.4m) from Aus$99.3m (£59.6m) the year before.Profit from continuing operations soared 47% to Aus$237.8m (£142.7m). Consumer electronics performed strongly, despite the unwinding of one-off government stimulus cheques paid to consumers at the ...
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Gap to open first Italian store in Milan
Gap is to open its first Italian store in Milan this year, with another planned for Rome next year.The retailer will open Gap and Banana Republic stores side by side on Corso Vittorio Emanuele in Milan’s shopping district; the exact launch date has yet to be revealed. Each of the ...
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Walmart to reduce supply chain greenhouse gas emissions
Walmart wants to eliminate 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from its global supply chain by the end of 2015.The target figure represents 1.5 times the retailer’s estimated global carbon footprint growth over the next five years and is the equivalent of taking more than 3.8 million cars ...
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Soriana sales down 5.5%
Mexican grocery retailer Soriana posted a like-for-like sales decline of 5.5% in its 2009 financial year.Net consolidated profit soared 66.4% to MXN2.9bn (£152.4m) against 2008, while net sales fell 4% to MXN91.8bn (£4.8bn). During the period, the retailer managed to make savings of MXN1bn (£52.6m) through its efficiency plan.By the ...
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Kohl’s sales up 4.8%
Department store operator Kohl’s achieved net income of $991m (£664.6m) last year compared with $885m (£593.5m) the previous financial year.Net sales climbed 4.8% to $17.2bn (£11.5bn) and comparable store sales increased 0.4% against the previous year. Kohl’s ended the year with 1,058 stores in 49 states; it opened 56 outlets ...
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ITM sales reach €34bn
Sales at grocery group ITM hit €34bn (£30.8bn), including petrol, for the 2009 financial year.In France, its Intermarché chain achieved sales growth of 1.5%. Globally, excluding petrol and its industrial production facilities, it increased sales 0.7% to €25bn (£22.7bn), and expanded its total sales area by 1.94 million sq ft.ITM ...
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Carrefour to close 21 Belgian stores
Carrefour plans to close 21 stores in Belgium and cut 1,672 jobs in the country.14 of its 56 Belgian hypermarkets and seven of its 378 Belgian supermarkets will close by June 30. An additional 30 stores will be sold. In total, nearly a third of the hypermarkets and nearly half ...
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Mercator revenues down 2.4%
Local retailer Mercator generated revenues of €2.6bn (£2.4bn) in 2009 - a 2.4% decrease, which it attributed to the depreciation of the Serbian currency.The group’s profit plummeted 48.2% year on year to €21.1m (£19.1m), which it attributed to the economic turmoil.Mercator’s expenditure halved to €159.2m (£144.4m) in 2009, yet it ...
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Woolworths H1 profits up
Woolworths posted an 11.4% increase in first-half net profit to Aus$1.09bn (£654.2m).The Australian retailer is planning an Aus$400m (£240.1m) share buyback, which it described as a modest start to capital management, now that the worst of the economic turmoil has passed.Woolworths forecast sales growth in the upper single digits, marking ...
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Toys R Us in IPO talks
The private-equity owners of Toys R Us are in talks with investment banks about the possibility of underwriting an initial public offering this summer, the New York Post reported.It is understood Bain Capital, KKR and Vornado Realty Trust are talking with banks including Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase. ...
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Ica to enter growing Swedish convenience market
Ahold-owned grocer Ica has announced that it is to muscle in on the growing convenience market with the launch of a city concept to cater for urban customers who want easy access to fresh food.The new concept, called Ica to Go, will sell branded and private-label ready-meals and other products ...
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Carrefour profits plummet
Carrefours profits plummeted 70% to €385 m (£343m) in 2009, largely due to restructuring charges.In France and Western Europe sales fell 2.7% and 5.4% respectively. However, the French retail giant boasted market share gains in its home market.Meanwhile, Carrefour’s Latin American and Asian divisions posted sales growth of 11.9% and ...
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Edeka considering expansion abroad
Grocery market leader Edeka is considering expansion abroad with its recently strengthened Netto discount banner, The Financial Times Deutschland reported.The retail group is said to be planning to open stores in foreign markets “in five years’ time at the latest”, preferably in Central and Eastern Europe but not necessarily in ...
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Loblaw net income up 19.3%
Loblaw reported that net income soared 19.3% to C$550m (£309m) for the financial year to January 2, 2010. Total sales declined 0.2% to C$30.8bn (£17.3bn) while same-store sales slid 1.1%.Executive chairman Galen Weston said: “As we enter 2010 we continue to expect sales and margins to be challenged by deflation ...
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Walmart reports sales up 1%
Walmart has reported net sales of $405bn (£260bn) for its financial year to January 31, 2010 - an increase of 1% on the previous year.Income from continuing operations attributable to Walmart increased 8.8% to $14.4bn (£9.2 bn). Full-year net sales from the international division were $100.1bn (£64bn), a 1.3% increase ...
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Lidl prepares for stagnating German sales
Lidl is preparing for sales growth to flatten out in its domestic market.Sales in Germany are reportedly stagnating as new stores cannibalise sales. Lidl has opened over 80 stores in the past year in Germany.However, according to German trade paper Lebensmittel Zeitung, the group is close to acquiring Tengelmann’s Plus ...
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Future Group in talks for foreign tie-ups
Future Group - which runs the country’s largest listed retailer Pantaloon Retail - is in talks for a foreign tie-up and hopes to file papers for an IPO in its investment arm soon, said chief executive Kishore Biyani.He would not name the overseas retailers being considered for a tie-up, although ...
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Loblaw launches discount brands
Following a similar move by Tesco in the UK, grocer Loblaw - whose chief operating officer Dalton Philips has just been revealed as Marc Bolland’s replacement as chief executive of Morrisons in the UK - has launched a new line of discount brands in Canada.The range features category-specific brands such ...
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January US retail sales beat expectations
January sales at US retailers beat analyst expectations, improving prospects for first-quarter economic growth.Commerce Department figures showed retail sales rose 0.5% as consumers stepped up spending not only on essential goods but luxury items as well.Stores specialising in electronics and appliances, sporting goods, hobby-related items, books and music all experienced ...