Discount Retail Chain Lidl Sweden (owned by the German Schwarz Gruppe) is committed to setting climate goals within the framework of the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). This means that the food chain's climate emissions must be reduced in accordance with the Paris Agreement by avoiding, reducing or compensating for greenhouse gas emissions from the business and the supply chain. By letting scientific goals form the basis for its own climate goals, Lidl will now expand its climate work. Lidl Sweden's commitment has come about through Lidl's owner Schwarz Group, with 12,500 stores in 33 countries, joining SBTi. More specifically, Lidl Sweden will set goals and measures to avoid, reduce or compensate for greenhouse gas emissions from the business and the supplier level. The goals are based on what according to the latest science is required to achieve the Paris Agreement's goal of keeping global warming well below 2 degrees celsius. We are constantly working to streamline and reduce our own environmental impact, it is a very important issue for us. Since we started measuring greenhouse gas emissions in 2016, we have reduced them by 22% despite increased sales during the same period by 31%. This is an important milestone because it shows that you can have strong growth and at the same time reduce emissions, says Johan Augustsson, Sweden manager at Lidl. Lidl Sweden has already implemented a number of measures to reduce the company's carbon footprint. Switching to a higher proportion of climate-smart fuels and focusing on achieving smarter logistics has been particularly effective. The next step in the commitment is that in the next few months, Lidl will specify climate goals and level of ambition for the entire business and supplier level, and then undergo revision and approval of SBTi. Climate change threatens humanity and our future and therefore real measures are required at all levels of society. For many years, Lidl Sweden has focused on reducing its own emissions. By setting goals within SBTi, we take the next step and set an even more effective climate strategy. We will tell customers what we do and how it goes, because we know it is important to them, Johan Augustsson continues. About Science Based Targets The Science Based Targets initiative was founded in 2015 and is an international collaboration between the UN Global Compact, the World Resources Institute (WRI), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). The aim is to meet the Paris Agreement's goal of keeping global warming well below 2 degrees celcius. More than 1,000 companies have today joined the initiative. See here for more: https://via.tt.se/pressmeddelande/lidl-sverige-satter-vetenskapliga-klimatmal?publisherId=2265114&releaseId=3289984

Discount Retail Chain Aldi USA (part of privately owned German Aldi Süd) and on-demand delivery platform Instacart are accepting federal benefit payments for online orders at nearly 1,000 more stores. Aldi and Instacart launched a program to accept federal Electronic Benefit Transfer and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (EBT SNAP) as payment for online orders filled via Instacart’s same-day delivery and pickup services across more than in Georgia in November 2020. Now, the companies are taking EBT SNAP payments at stores in 23 states and Washington, D.C. EBT SNAP benefits (popularly known as food stamps) are growing in acceptance as a form of payment for online purchases by an increasing number of grocers. Midwestern grocery chain Hy-Vee launched a pilot in August, and retailers including Amazon, Walmart, and Kroger also accept SNAP payments for online groceries in some locations. As part of the Aldi/Instacart program, EBT SNAP participants in eligible areas will be able to shop from Aldi via the Instacart online site and mobile app by entering their EBT food card information as a form of payment in their profile. Customers will need a secondary form of payment for non-food items such as taxes, tips and fees per SNAP guidelines. After filling their online shopping carts, customers can choose grocery delivery or pickup for their order and determine how much of their SNAP benefits they would like to allocate to the order. Aldi delivery and pickup via Instacart will be available daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. New with this expansion, during a 90-day period, Instacart will waive delivery fees on up to the first three EBT SNAP orders for each Aldi customer with a valid EBT card associated with their Instacart account. Aldi pickup via Instacart costs $1.99 for orders over $35. Once an order is placed, an Instacart personal shopper will pick and pack the order within the customer's designated time frame – whether they choose to receive their order as quickly as possible or schedule their delivery or pickup days in advance. Aldi began offering delivery service via Instacart back in 2018, and Instacart currently delivers nationwide from more than 2,000 Aldi stores. “Aldi is proud to be the first grocery retailer to accept EBT SNAP benefits as a form of payment online via Instacart for grocery delivery and curbside pickup,” said Scott Patton, VP, national customer interaction services for Aldi U.S. "This service is now available at nearly 90% of ALDI stores, across 30 states, following successful pilots in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Texas.” “Our mission is to create a world where everyone has access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together. Today, we’re proud to further our mission and continue our commitment to being a long-term solution for EBT SNAP households across America,” said Andrew Nodes, VP of retail at Instacart. “As the country continues to grapple with COVID-19, we recognize the important role Instacart and its retail partners play in making same-day grocery delivery and pickup available to more people nationwide.” The 2014 Farm Bill authorized USDA to conduct and evaluate a pilot for online purchasing prior to national implementation. The pilot phase is intended to ensure online transactions are processed safely and securely. USDA anticipates all eligible and interested retailers who can meet the requirements to process online SNAP transactions will eventually be able to take part, though the timeline is dependent on the progress of the pilot and any regulations which may need to be issued. See here for more: https://chainstoreage.com/aldi-expands-same-day-snap-delivery-program-instacart?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWVRoak5UWmtZemxrTldaaiIsInQiOiJseUt5U2FlOHlpXC9LRFROblcwa1RRSHVLejJKcldIRkZwNkZINHZuMExsQytINEJyNVF4Qyt2OG1hVUpmTll1YVBKWDhnUkcxbXlCS1ArN2tsNk9DSUdId2dVT3Z0R1JXd3NpU1oyOXNaQ24xMncrWHRcL1RIZEl3T280eDVcLzhHOCJ9

E-commerce retailer Amazon (listed: NYSE) one step further in the competitive market for food deliveries and is canceling the fees for the delivery service Fresh, as the German grocery media platform "Lebensmittelzeitung" first reported. Previously, customers had to take out a monthly subscription for the service in the amount of 7.99 euros (US$9.8). Starting Wednesday, all Prime customers with a minimum order value of 80 euros (US$98)or more can order everyday products such as fruit and vegetables from Amazon free of charge. If the shopping cart value is lower, the customer pays shipping costs of 3.99 euros (US$4.90) per order. So far the service is available in Berlin, Potsdam, Hamburg and Munich. However, customers still have to have a Prime membership to use Fresh. With the adjustment of the fees, Amazon wants to give the Prime members even more flexibility for weekly shopping on the net, the company said to the “Lebensmittelzeitung”. E-food market as winner of the corona crisis Amazon is thus further positioning itself in one of the largest growth markets of the Corona year 2020. In times of contact restrictions, social distancing and now especially in lockdown, food deliveries are now becoming increasingly popular. As the management consultants from EY Parthenon told the “Wirtschaftswoche”, the market segment was “the absolute online shooting star of the crisis”. Experts expect the current sales volume to double from 1.8 to 4.3 billion euros (US$2.2-5.3Bn) by 2024. The e-food market is booming, Corona has given wings to the market that has been growing slowly in the years before. In this country, Amazon and the grocery e-commerce market leader REWE Lieferservice were the first large providers, but more and more foreign providers are pouring into the market. For example, the Dutch competitor Picnic or the Czech grocer Rohlik, who want to start their German branch Knuspr.de in Munich in early 2021. See here for more: https://www.businessinsider.de/wirtschaft/handel/lebensmittel-kostenlos-liefern-lassen-amazon-fresh-streicht-abo-gebuehr/?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTXprNFl6VXpNMlV6WkdaaCIsInQiOiIxM29ZYktuTHEwdFJuQzAzU0diT21JZWZyU21NamQ0MnJxeHRHUmFYcmxGcE9LemswQmFGS1NUOUZwWmZhK2NsOHp1Z2V6c3JpdXcrOGY2SHR4NFBERG9IKzhcL1RcL052czVURnVSY3BDZ2gydE9cLzNBYXRaWlFvcW5UeTlWWWdKTiJ9

Discount retail Chain Aldi Hungary (part of by privately owned Aldi Süd) collects used cooking oil in some of their stores. Thanks to the biofilter Zrt. According to the agreement, a test system will be put into operation outside of 11 Aldi stores in Hungary. Excepted is that there is a profitable business case for Aldi behind this recycling model. Today around 25,000 tons of used edible oil are produced in Hungarian households, of which only about 2%, about 500 tons, is collected. Used deep-frying oil represents a considerable burden on the environment, as it inhibits its air permeability when it enters the ground and, when disposed of in municipal waste, it mixes with household waste as a difficult-to-decompose material. The situation is no better, even if it gets into the sewer, as on the one hand it increases the load on sewage treatment plants and on the other hand it inhibits the auto-oxidation processes of natural waters. A single drop of used cooking oil can contaminate up to 1,000 gallons of living water. Used cooking oil is valuable because the purified waste oil produced after sedimentation and decanting is practically 100% recyclable. Biofilter Zrt. transfers the refined vegetable oil into biodiesel production. According to the current regulations, 8.2% of the biodiesel in Hungary is mixed with diesel, so that the cooking oil collected can be reused for cars or to players in the logistics sector for transport use. Collecting and delivering used cooking oil is easy, as it is sufficient to pour the cooled cooking oil into a plastic bottle and then toss it into the containers in the stores. Biofilter Zrt. takes care of transportation and recycling. After a successful test the further role out at Aldi will be planned. See here for more: https://www-portfolio-hu.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.portfolio.hu/short/20201217/atveszi-a-hasznalt-etolajat-az-aldi-462206?amp

Discount Retail Chain PENNY Romania (owned by the German REWE Group) has a store chain of 268 stores, 2020 will end with a double-digit increase and many investment plans. Some of them will see the light of day next year, a year that Daniel Gross, CEO of PENNY Romania, considers more difficult than 2020. In 2019, PENNY Market Romania registered a turnover of 3.96 billion lei (US$1Bn), increasing by 15% compared to the previous fiscal year. In all this time, over two million customers visited the 256 stores open by the end of 2019 in Romania. For this year, the retailer had established an expansion plan of 20 new locations. All 20 stores opened this year have the new PENNY store format. The emphasis in the store is on the new and welcoming design, and the shopping session for customers is improved due to the large area for fresh products, own A-brands and private label for Romanians, but also due to the more visible signage of promotions and main food categories. The stores integrate all the elements of the new PENNY Punct visual identity and of the new communication concept. "We save money, not love" means for PENNY customers the possibility to make smart purchases without giving up the joys of life, generosity, quality products and their freshness or pleasant moments spent with loved ones. PENNY is the successful concept of the German group REWE and one of the most active retailers in Romania, with the first store opened on the local market in 2005. The discount chain serves their stores via three logistics centers located in Ștefăneștii de Jos, Turda and Bacău. Currently, the PENNY Market network in Romania consists of 276 stores nationwide and a dedicated team of over 4,800 employees. See here for more: https://www.retail.ro/articole/stiri-si-noutati/penny-7-noi-magazine-in-decembrie-retailerul-incheie-anul-cu-o-retea-de-276-de-magazine-3273.html

Discount Retail Chain HOFER's (owned by Aldi Süd) overall sustainability initiative “Today for Tomorrow” includes the “HOFER Packaging Mission: Avoid. Reuse. Recycle.” This initiative is progressing steadily and numerous successes have already been recorded. The discounter is currently working on the gradual conversion from conventional plastic trays to recycled plastic trays for fruit and vegetables. With this initiative, HOFER makes an important contribution to making packaging more sustainable and reducing it to a minimum. The discount store has set itself ambitious packaging goals for this implementation. In the case of fruit and vegetables, the amount of packaging is always saved and reduced, taking product quality and food losses into account. Strengthening the circular economy is a central theme of the HOFER packaging mission. An important measure to achieve this is the use of recycled material in our packaging. The increasing demand for recycling material gives the disposed plastic a value and, as a result, promotes the development of the circular economy. The gradual conversion of the plastic trays to completely recycled PET is currently underway, the conversion has already been completed, as far as possible, for pears and grapes. Step by step, all other product groups such as stone fruit, peppers and tomatoes are now being converted to the more resource-efficient packaging. Recycled PET represents a more environmentally friendly alternative to the use of "primary plastic". This conversion and the use of recycled PET enable HOFER to save 418 tons of "primary plastic" annually. In the spirit of the circular economy, plastic trays made of recycled PET are available again for the manufacture of products in Austria after disposal and thus help to substitute primary materials. PET is generally a plastic that is very easy to recycle. The closed cycle of PET bottles, new bottles are made from used PET bottles, has been firmly established for years. In contrast, PET packaging such as bowls, drinking cups and lids can currently only be recycled to a limited extent. This is exactly where the research project initiated by the FH Campus Wien comes in. Its aim is to optimize collection, sorting and recycling processes for the previously non-recyclable PET packaging in such a way that a closed material cycle is achieved. This allows new packaging to be made from used PET packaging. HOFER supports this project both financially and with technical expertise and is available as a partner for the implementation. The project, which started in November 2019, makes an important contribution to the implementation of the European district economic package, which stipulates the recycling of 50% of plastic packaging by 2025. See here for more: https://www.fruchtportal.de/artikel/sterreich-hofer-stellt-im-bereich-obst-gemse-auf-recyceltes-pet-um/047243?i=e00ae77e

Discount Retail Chain Aldi Australia (part of Aldi Süd and privately owned) sold its four Australian distribution centres. A joint venture between Charter Hall and insurance giant Allianz acquired them in a sale-and-leaseback deal A$648 million (US$ 488mio). As real estate investors navigate the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, they are hunting for defensive strategies that are more likely to see them safely through the downturn. This is particularly true of tenants in the grocery and non-discretionary industries, which are at the forefront of changes in consumer behaviours, leading to increased long-term demand, says Tony Iuliano, head of industrial capital markets and logistics. “This portfolio owned by global discount retailer Aldi had all the right investment ingredients: institutional grade distribution centres in the sought after food sector, triple net leases, seven-year lease covenants, and total income of A$30.1 million (US$ 22.7mio) per annum,” he says. The volume of capital looking to be placed in industrial assets is significant, Iuliano said on the JLL Perspectives Podcast. “From our recent experiences, particularly with the Aldi process, we went far and wide around the globe with that process, and what we identified were probably an additional 10 to 15 other groups that weren’t in the market previously. So the demand will continue to grow.” Australia’s dominant grocery retailers have benefited significantly from lockdown measures throughout March and April. Unprecedented demand for non-discretionary goods in stores and online as shoppers stocked up and panic-bought, led to a revenue increase at Woolworths of 10% in the most recent quarter. Coles saw sales go up by 13% over the same period, while Australia has since been identified as one of the worst panic buying nations in the world. As stockpiling behavior escalated, supermarkets opened pop-up distribution centres in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland to cope with the surge in demand, while Coles and Woolworths had to shut down their home delivery services until they could mobilise resources. While German discount retailer Aldi has also benefited from increased demand for food, its sales long term are expected to be boosted by its relative value proposition as consumers feel financially uncertain following the crisis, according to the Aldi: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Company impact report. The four distribution centres in the Aldi portfolio are located along Australia’s eastern seaboard, in Prestons and Minchinbury in Sydney, Dandenong, in Victoria and Brendale, in Brisbane. As economic uncertainty continues, sale and leaseback deals are expected to increase over the remainder of the year as some retailers leverage the opportunity to take capital out of their real estate assets and invest it in their core business, or online channels. “We have witnessed capital inflows opening and back in the market over the past four weeks looking for stabilised secure cashflows with the opportunity to grow and develop relationships beyond the initial purchase,” Iuliano says. “Corporates will continue to capitalise on the high demand for transactions involving portfolios that increase scale in the Australian industrial market through sale and leaseback deals.” The Aldi deal reflects a return of confidence to the industrial and logistics sector, says Jamie Guerra, head of industrial and logistics in Australia for JLL. “What we’re now seeing is some return to a more normalised market. But it’s led to some behavioural changes and some increased demand as a result of circumstances. That’s linked to the way shoppers are behaving online, and also to suppliers wanting to have greater certainty, so greater holdings of stock, following all the supply chain disruption we saw at the height of the pandemic.” Investors have renewed focus after the disruption of the pandemic, says Fergal Harris, head of Australia Capital Markets, JLL. “This deal demonstrates the depth of capital locally and internationally for high quality assets, in spite of the challenges that have prevailed over the past few months.” See here for more: https://www.theinvestor.jll/news/australia/industrial/record-aldi-deal-evidence-of-supermarket-strength/

Discount Wholesale Retail Chain Costco (listed on NYSE: COST) published its first quarter key figures. The success of Costco explains how Americans’ spending habits have changed during the coronavirus pandemic, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Friday. First quarter key numbers Net sales increased 16.9% to US$42.4bn Comparable stores sales (ex-fuel and currency impacts) increased 17.1%, with US up 17.0%, Canada up 16.8% and other international up 17.7% Ecommerce comparable sales were up 86.2% Net income increased 38.2% to US$1.2bn Frequency and transaction size up These results reveal another incredible quarterly performance for discounter Costco, with sales remaining at a significantly elevated level. As consumers continue to stock-up due to the pandemic, its bulk pack formats and larger, expansive clubs, have made it a key destination for many consumers. While most major retailers have seen traffic decline but basket size increase, Costco has seen both improve. In Q1, shopping frequency increased 5.5% globally and average transaction was up 9.4%. Sell-through completed on some holiday items Many of the pandemic-led product trends continue to be evident at Costco. Grocery, fresh and health and beauty sales remain strong. Spending in home categories continues to benefit as consumers spend less on travel, hotels and restaurant dining. Demand continues to grow ahead of supply for key items in categories such as fitness equipment, electronics and homewares. While the retailer has adopted a prudent approach to seasonal items for Christmas, some have already sold through, suggesting some additional sales opportunities have been lost. Ecommerce up to 7% of sales Ecommerce sales almost doubled in the quarter, with growth led by food and sundries, housewares, pharmacy, health and beauty, small electronics and TVs. Online grocery increased almost 300%. The channel currently represents around 7% of sales, with profitability lower than its core clubs. This is driven in part by the merchandise mix, with limited high-margin categories such as fresh foods and clothing, and high penetration of low-margin electronics. Currently, there are no plans to introduce store pickup beyond the small program it runs for high value items. See here for more: https://retailanalysis.igd.com/subscriber-home/news-article/t/costco-bucks-trend-with-traffic-and-basket-growth/i/27324?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=retail_analysis&utm_content=Stewart

It started with the VAT cut. For weeks, Aldi and Lidl have been fighting a bitter advertising battle in which they are trying all imaginable tricks and marketing gags to outdo their competitors. The conflict culminated in the fact that Aldi and Lidl both printed a shopping cart comparison in their handouts, in which each competitor claims to have better prices than the competitor. It is about nothing less than the price sovereignty among the discounters, the crucial question: Who is the cheapest discount store in Germany? See also this German video supporting this articles: https://youtu.be/k6_wlBFC8-Q Aldi vs. Lidl: With these advertising tricks, the discounters are currently fighting for the lowest prices. So that you don't have to rely on the statements and advertising of the companies, the independent journalist Maximilian Nowroth quickly made a shopping cart comparison himself and published it on his YouTube channel. He went shopping in Düsseldorf, in the Lidl store on Königsallee, the Aldi-Süd store is directly opposite. He acquired 15 basic basket products such as long-life milk, toilet paper, butter, bread, jam, cucumbers, apples, bananas, chocolate, orange juice and pasta. He buys all of these from the discounters' own brands. There were also seven products from well-known brands, such as Iglo fish fingers, Funny Fresh Chips, Krombacher beer, Nutella and Coca-Cola. Nowroth selected these because they are available from both Aldi and Lidl. The journalist made sure to only buy the products when they are not on special offer so that price competition is not distorted. In addition, 5 products from the organic range such as carrots, eggs and tomatoes were tested, as well as the three trend products oat milk, veggie burger patties and high-protein pudding. The result At Lidl Nowroth paid a total of 44.02 euros (US$53.32). At Aldi Süd, the same purchase cost 42.07 euros (US$50.95). This makes Aldi 4.43% cheaper than its main competitor, Lidl. Why is that? With many individual basic products there was either no price difference at all or Lidl was a cent cheaper, according to the result of the receipt comparison. Lidl was only seven cents cheaper with butter. The bottom line was that all of Lidl's basic products were 87 cents more expensive than Aldi. How can that be? The reason: cucumbers, apples and bananas were significantly cheaper than food at the discounter, even if the products were highly comparable. The apples (both Braeburn and New Zealand types) cost about 1.83 euros (US$2.22) at Aldi and 2.55 euros (US$3.09) at Lidl. In contrast, the prices of the discounters hardly differ for branded products. Here the FMCG brand producers are influencing and dictating the price levels. Fruit and vegetables make the difference When it comes to organic products, the vegetable counter is again important: the prices of the trend products are almost identical, the difference is made by organic carrots and tomatoes. In summary, it can be said that fruit and vegetables were almost a quarter more expensive at Lidl than at Aldi. As the German retail sector magazine “Lebensmittelzeitung” revealed last week, Lidl had also increased the prices of the items from the shopping cart comparison again after the promotion. Nowroth confronted Lidl with its result and the price increase after the shopping cart comparison advertising. The answer from the press office: “In principle, sales prices are subject to continuous fluctuations due to their dependence on various factors such as supply and demand or raw material prices. Customers can always find the current price transparently on the receipt and in the branch on the price tags of the respective products." When the reporter asked whether the trickery in the advertisement was tantamount to deceiving consumers, the Lidl spokeswoman did not answer. Consumers are more likely to emerge from this price battle as winners. At the same time, the following applies: Don't rely too much on advertising and flyers, rather check and compare the prices yourself if this is important to you. As a conclusion: "Don't let yourself be fooled, especially not when it comes to the price." See here for more: https://www.businessinsider.de/wirtschaft/handel/preisvergleich-aldi-lidl-wer-ist-billiger-test-r2/

Discount Retail Chain Lidl Denmark (owned by German Schwarz Gruppe) launches an offensive in Denmark with a million investment in re-modelling all the current 133 stores. At the same time, the supply of products with a greater focus on Danish food is increasing. The upgrade from Lidl Denmark is taking place, at the same time as the chain, in line with the competitors in the grocery market, is reporting record sales through 2020. The corona crisis with closures, more Danes in home offices and at times forcibly closed restaurants has increased sales of groceries. “We will not close the financial year until February, but it has been a good year for us with sales growth and gained market share. In the coming period, we will increase the investments in the stores, which will be designed according to a completely new and modern concept," says CEO Dirk Fust, Lidl Denmark. He continues: “We are and will be a discount chain. But in the future, we want to make things even smarter. Therefore, we change the concept and expand the range so that we become even more Danish. At the same time, we can draw on products from our international colleagues at Lidl. " The Danish discount market The Danish chain is part of the German Lidl group with approx. 11,000 stores in 34 countries. In the Danish market, Lidl is the smallest discount chain together with German discounter Aldi measured in number of stores. Netto owned by Salling Group, Fakta owned by Coop Denmark and Rema 1000 Denmark are the big ones in this country. For some years, Coop has had challenges with Fakta and therefore launched a new chain of low-cost supermarkets under the name Coop 365 a few months ago. Both Netto and Rema 1000 also have ambitions to expand. At the same time, the Netto chain is in the process of modernizing the now 515 Danish stores. Michael Løve, head of Netto International in Salling Group, told Finans a few months ago that the chain has "a good grasp of our new concept and sees potential in new stores, so we will reach 600 within a number of years". He also stated: "Corona has been growing the market for a while. But there will soon be a day when we have to fight from store to store again. We are ready for that. " The discount war flares up during the crisis In addition to the new concept, Lidl Denmark will grow with new stores. The chain has ambitions to expand annually with 10 new stores and within an undefined number of years reach the 200. At the same time, the new store concept, which has initially been rolled out in three places in the country, must be built into all the existing stores. According to Dirk Fust, it will be completed during 2022. Lidl Denmark has an annual investment budget of DKK 1 billion (US$160mio). In the recent period, in addition to new stores, investments have been made in a new logistics center in Køge, while construction is underway on a new headquarters for the chain in Aarhus. Dirk Fust will not specify how much is spent on rebuilding the stores to the new concept. However, he states that this is a large million investment. The instore concept includes changed decor, new colors and materials. The goal is for the stores to have a more Scandinavian look than before. At the same time, the range will be expanded with 200 new products over the coming year, so that the number will reach 2,820 in the fixed range. Many of these must be Danish. “We want to capture even more market share. A changed store concept and more goods are important elements in that strategy. We focus on consumers and experience that they to a large extent want Danish goods. In recent years, we have had rapid growth in sales of fresh goods i.a. ecology," says Dirk Fust. See here for more: https://finans.dk/erhverv/ECE12621499/discountkaede-gaar-til-angreb-paa-det-danske-marked-og-ombygger-alle-butikker/?ctxref=ext

Discount Retail Chain Lidl Belgium (owned by German Schwarz Gruppe) presents a new store concept in Lokeren with a completely new layout and decoration. For the time being it is a first test. Lidl changes its traditional shopping route. In the new store concept, customers walk through different "food worlds" that quickly take them to a fresh lunch or a fresh evening meal and provide inspiration. A special corner with recipes from "De Keuken van Lidl" (translated The kitchen of Lidl) should inspire the customer in terms of dishes. In another corner you will find a fresh orange press and a cooled furniture with simple and fast salads, ultra-fresh meals and smoothies. New decoration In the dining world you will of course also find the fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as the fresh meat, poultry and the veggie and vegan products. Then you walk on to the breakfast world with a more extensive fresh bakery and a healthy nut corner. All frozen products and non-food can be found at the checkout at the back of the store. Six self-scan checkouts make it easy for customers with little time to pay for a limited amount of items quickly. The decoration of the store is also completely new. Wooden furniture gives the store a warm but light atmosphere, which makes it extra pleasant not only for the customer, but also for the employees. Shop quickly With the new concept, Lidl wants to meet the expectations of the Belgian consumer even better: offering fresh food at competitive prices that we can find easily and quickly. “We have noticed that shoppers have been in a hurry in recent years and do not always feel like spending a lot of time on the necessary shopping. Still they want to eat fresh and healthy food. With this new test concept we want to make shopping efficient but pleasant and above all inspire our shoppers about what is on their plate ”, says Isabelle Colbrandt, spokesperson for Lidl Belgium. “For the time being there are no plans to expand the store concept further to other stores. We want to test it first and measure the experiences of shoppers and employees. ” See here for more: https://www.gondola.be/nl/news/lidl-test-gloednieuw-winkelconcept-lokeren?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWmpGak1UUTBNVGM0TkdaayIsInQiOiJ4aURTQUFwZzN1NGVuNUs1U0tcLzd5SUpUcnlOQnBvRDI1eElsUURUOThZekt2cmc5XC95aWR5SEJvTlpNeGNzdmM1eGk4Tm5VTlhvekFobUNVbVBPT3NYYTRmcytCXC8xZWpycXc5SHEyUFVxZngyeml3NVVSdnNPRzVWOW1pXC9ZSTkifQ%3D%3D

Discount Retail Chain Aldi Nord (privately owned) has modernized many stores in recent years to the ANIKo (Aldi Nord Instore Konzept) concept. Now the company is making adjustments to align with the German Aldi Süd instore concept and customer expectations. The discounter Aldi Nord wants to rearrange its stores layout again, for the second time in just three years. It starts with a store in Essen, which Aldi opened this Thursday. "We want to roll out this concept in all 2,200 stores by autumn 2021," says Reinhard Giese, managing director of the Aldi Nord regional sales & distribution center in Herten, to which considerable parts of the Aldi Nord stores in the German Ruhr region belong. The Essen-HQ-based company is thus continuing to develop its so-called Aldi Nord in-store concept, called Aniko, a five billion euro (US$ 6.05Bn) modernization program that they started in 2017 and "have now almost completely rolled out throughout all countries in which Aldi Nord is present," said Giese. At that time, they reacted to the fierce competition and converted many stores in need of renovation. Now the adaptations are not that significant but necessary to keep the change process ongoing. "The implementation effort this time is nowhere near as high as in the Aniko project," says Giese. "The stores will close for less than a day for this further development." For example, the new concept no longer provides for transversely aligned shelves. Instead, Aldi Nord wants to set up all shelves only length ways in the future in line with Aldi Süd and competitor Lidl. In addition, the discounter wants to differentiate more clearly between the in&out action areas with special offers and the standard assortment range. In line with the German customer shopping pattern. Too much and too emotionally driven: in the future there will only be 1,700 different SKUs in the assortment range Aldi had expanded its assortment range in recent years, including adding more brands to its assortment. The company now sees a limit being exceeded here. A target size of 1,700 different SKUs has been drawn also more focussing on own private label products, says Giese. Aldi is are currently above this number and need to reduce its number of SKUs to remain operational efficient and offer in all stores the same assortment. With the new store in Essen-Schonnebeck, the story of the very first Aldi store for 107 years, which Karl Albrecht sr founded in 1913 about 200 meters away, comes to an end. Aldi recently closed the parent's store for good, but the building will of course also belong to the company in the future. "There is a bit of sadness that we cannot continue to operate the very first Aldi store on the spot," admits Giese. But the original store had become too small with just over 500 square meters. With a good 1,260 square meters of sales area, the new store is now comparable to an average Edeka supermarket store offering more than 20,000 SKUs. The store is equipped with a modern color, light and energy concept. The obligatory photo voltaic system on the roof and an integral climate / chiller system that regulates the climate in the building will of course not be missing. See here for more: https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/aldi-nord-filialen-sortiment-1.5142577