Discount Retail Chain Lidl (owned by the German Schwarz Gruppe, privately owned) is putting pressure on the grocery retail sector by increasing retail prices for ten staple pork ranges from minced meat to ham schnitzels. The retailer declares that all additional funds obtained in this way will be transferred directly to the farmers. As reported by the German grocery retail magazine "Lebensmittel Zeitung", in the German Lidl stores, at the meat chillers next to price tags, pictograms depicting a farm tractor appeared, which is a direct reference to the recent protests of agricultural producers, and the words "Price deliberately increased". Lidl's representatives, quoted by LZ, emphasize that the campaign they organized "gives shoppers the opportunity to make an informed decision about supporting local agriculture." At the same time, they point out that producers, processors, traders and politicians must cooperate with each other, because only in this way it is possible to introduce sustainable regulations that will solve the problems of agriculture. Last week, the Schwarz Group donated € 50 million (US$61mio) to the Animal Welfare initiative, focusing on animal welfare and creating a more ethical and sustainable meat industry. Aldi Nord and Süd, also largely under pressure by farmers as several regional distribution centers in Germany were blocked and could not deliver or be delivered at all, voluntarily undertake to comply with all requirements of the EU directive "Against Unfair Trading Practices" (UTP). In addition, the discounter advocates an action plan for "fair trade for local agriculture". See here for more: https://www.wiadomoscihandlowe.pl/artykul/lidl-podnosi-ceny-miesa-o-18-proc-nie-chce-powiedziec-czy-podwyzka-jest-na-stale

Discount Retail Chain Lidl (owned by the German Schwarz Gruppe) recruited by far the most shoppers during this autumn. But average receipts and loyalty also rose sharply, again. "We are making a fantastic journey," says country manager Johan Augustsson. Grocery news, in collaboration with the research company GFK, reveals that Lidl advanced its position most in the grocery trade also in August-October. GFK's index is based on a nationally representative panel with just over 4,000 private households that scans all purchases of groceries. All key figures pointed strongly upwards: - Lidl has long been in a positive spiral and this three-month period showed another message of strength, says GFK's analyst Bo Engström to Dagligvarunytt. The customer base grew by 15% compared with the corresponding quarter in 2019 and 43% of households in Sweden bought groceries from Lidl at least once. The distance up to Ica Supermarket, with a marketshare of 45%, was thus only two percentage points. - In the past year, Lidl has expanded its store network by just over ten stores, which means that availability has increased a lot. The average receipts rose August-October by 13% to SEK 190 (US$22.36) and it is now higher than for the service formats of Coop, Hemköp, Tempo and Willys Hemma. The survey shows that loyalty improved by 14% and a Lidl customer now spends 15% of his grocery expenses with the chain. - Lidl's stronger key figures are also due to the much wider range than before. It is an important factor in getting bigger baskets and driving loyalty among households. If you do not have a relevant range, the customer instead makes the purchases in another store, says Engström. Johan Augustsson confirms the continued impressive trend for Grocery News. - We have fought hard for many years and have really picked up speed on the way to our long-term goals. We are very pleased that our sales development remains strong. It is gratifying to see that we continue to increase on all fronts, that we win over customers who have previously shopped at our competitors, that shoppers shop more in our stores and that loyalty increases. This is in line with our objectives. In November, Lidl reached the milestone of 200 stores in Sweden by opening in Sigtuna north of Stockholm. Since then, three more stores have been opened, in Järfälla, Luleå and Uddevalla. We now continue to invest going forward. Our employees are well deserved for our success, says Johan Augustsson. See here for more: https://www.dagligvarunytt.se/ekonomi/forsaljning/lagprisjattens-nya-styrkebesked-alla-nyckeltal-pekar-uppat-har-fatt-upp-farten-rejalt/

Discount Non-food Retail Chain Poundland (owned by Steinhoff International) managing director Barry Williams reveals he is opening half a dozen new stores and already has his eye on more to add to his existing 856. 'There's a lot of space coming available on the high street,' he says candidly, with no small hint that he wants to move fast. The pandemic hasn't stopped Poundland sales hitting almost £1.8billion (US$2.4) to the end of September and Williams says 'depending on the availability of sites that could accelerate quite dramatically'. Poundland was one of the prime beneficiaries of Woolworths' demise a decade ago and despite some 'life-threatening' events for the business along the way, it has continued hoovering up sites left empty by struggling retailers. 'We occupy the most ex-Woolworths stores out of any retail brand 130 or 140,' says the former Asda executive and Liverpudlian retail veteran. 'We've also taken quite a lot of M&S stores, a significant amount not far off 100. Now we're moving into ex-Next stores and a couple of former Debenhams stores.' He ponders the demise of so many chains and his assessment is unlikely to endear him to those who have sought to apportion blame on to everything from Government tax policy to the painful four-week lockdown in November just as Christmas was approaching. 'It's like someone has pressed fast forward to the end of the movie for these businesses,' he says. 'I feel for the colleagues tens of thousands of retail workers are now facing a pretty bleak future. But, let's be clear about this, those businesses had a problem pre-Covid and all the lockdown has done is accelerate that. Each one of those businesses was waving the white flag long before the November lockdown took place.' He suggests the problem was 'too much retail space' on the high streets which now 'needs to be reinvented'. Basic services must return to bring back visitors 'the doctor, the dentist, whatever it may be. Then, if you look above all the retail shops, there is a load of vacant space up there. So let's convert that to affordable living and put people back in. The minute you do all that, you start to regenerate.' Speaking from his new office in Walsall a former HMRC regional office where Poundland moved four weeks ago Williams, 50, accepts more can be done to help shops. 'The lockdown has exposed the disparities between physical and digital retailers. If anything I think people should be calling for a windfall tax on Amazon given the benefit that they've had from this. 'We've traded all the way through but it hasn't been a walk in the park,' he says, referring to the chain's 'essential status' that allowed it to remain open thanks to its food ranges. 'It's been lonely and it's been challenging. You visit shops on some high streets and you feel like you're on the set of a disaster movie there's nobody about.' Poundland typically serves seven million customers a week, dropping to just 'three or four' million at the start of the first lockdown before slowly building again as those who arrived bought more to save on trips. He talks of the 'resilience' of the chain whose name has become part of the national lexicon. But he insists Government support was 'much needed' and he would have faced 'much more different and difficult decisions if that level of support wasn't available'. The pandemic wasn't Poundland's first brush with disaster in recent years. In December 2017, just months after he was promoted to managing director a year after arriving, it faced what he refers to as its first 'Black Swan Event' a change that threatened to kill the business off, when an accounting scandal saw parent Steinhoff implode. 'We were having the office Christmas jumper competition and there were people in suits from PwC in reception,' he remembers. But, now on a more sure footing, Poundland is growing more frozen and chilled food as well as an increase in pets ranges. Its Pep & Co clothing brand, launched just five years ago and now in 300 stores, has quietly hit the top 20 biggest high street clothing brands by volume. Meanwhile, the average size of each new store has doubled to 12,000 sq ft (3,600m2) since he joined. But he insists that variety on high streets, including pound shops, 'works'. 'No one wants that more than me. I've been sat on those high streets being the only one open, we work well together to draw in customers.' He bristles when he thinks of those that 'take our name in vain' and insists Poundland is part of the solution not the problem: 'I get a little frustrated. Even with high streets closed, we attracted three or four million customers. Everyone in the UK knows who Poundland is. 'So when I hear people talking about the demise of the high street and complaining, "It's just coffee shops, charity shops, and pound shops," I feel like grabbing them by the scruff of the neck and saying, "Hang on a minute; what is it about our business, the customers and the general population of the UK that you just don't get?" 'Because pound shops equal amazing value and that's what customers are after. 'When people look down their nose a bit at these brands or these people that work in these jobs, I think that partly the levelling up that this country is going to go through is to look at these people a bit differently.' See here for more: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-9021205/Poundland-boss-Barry-Williams-hunt-bargain-sites.html

They are considered to be corona crisis insurance: FMCG Consumer goods giants like Nestlé and P&G are steadily increasing sales despite the pandemic. The global shelf fillers are also refining their business model: in future they will communicate directly with their customers and their refrigerators. Crisis winners: Consumer goods giants like Nestlé are benefiting from the Corona crisis and are driving up profit margins through digitization. People always eat: While the stationary retail trade pays for the "lockdown light" every further day with severe sales losses and former greats such as Metro or Karstadt Kaufhof fear for their future, consumer goods giants such as Nestlé, Procter & Gamble and Unilever are still adding a shovel despite the pandemic. Nestlé boss Mark Schneider, for example, promises shareholders 3% organic sales growth for 2020 and thus defines the word "crisis-proof". With sales of around US$ 93 billion, Nestlé is not only by far the largest and most important FMCG supplier to grocery retail and trade. Digitization, which has gained enormous momentum due to the corona pandemic, will also fundamentally change the business model of the Swiss FMCG giant. Already today, hardly any supermarket customer can get past Nestlé products on the shelf. Plays with soluble drinks (Nescafé, Nesquik), water (Vittel, Perrier), ready meals (Wagner pizzas, Maggi soups, Buitoni noodles), dairy products and ice cream (Mövenpick, Schöller, Nestlé LC) and pet food (Purina, Dentalife) the company from Vevey with almost all basic needs of the household. In the Corona year 2020, the coffee, dairy products, and cat and dog food segments in particular recorded strong growth; only the confectionery division (Kitkat, Smarties) suffers from the weak "on-the-go business" at the kiosk. More profit with coffee and cat food Since the coffee and pet food businesses are particularly high-margin, Nestlé expects a further increase in return on sales in 2020, which is currently around 14%. Since taking office in 2017, Nestlé boss Mark Schneider has pushed the group up again with a major restructuring: For shareholders, a promise for the future and a reason that the share has risen by more than 40% to almost 100 Swiss francs since the beginning of 2019 and is listed just below the record high. Increasing sales and increasing returns on sales despite Corona: For many large asset managers, the Swiss multi is a must in the portfolio, especially after the former Fresenius boss Schneider took office. Nestlé keeps US giants at a distance and the German competition all the more. In the ranking of the largest food suppliers in the world, Nestlé keeps the US giants at a distance, as the latest ranking by strategy consultants OC&C shows. The front runner from Switzerland (US$ 93 billion in sales) is followed by the US corporations P&G and Pepsico, with US$ 67 billion each in second and third place, Tyson Foods (US$ 42 billion in 7th place) and Coca-Cola (US$ 37 billion) , Rank 8 does not even generate half of Nestlé's sales. Only the Dutch conglomerate Unilever (US$ 59 billion dollars, 5th place) keeps the front runner at least in sight. German companies are lagging behind in the ranking, the German DAX listed group Henkel lands on 34th place with around US$ 12 billion in sales. Nestlé is already generating sales of this amount with its online sales. The unlisted family company Oetker does not appear in the OC&C ranking because Oetker does not publish any balance sheets. In any case, Germany only plays a minor role for Nestlé: the most important markets for the Swiss are the USA, China, Brazil and France. Coffee, water, frozen pizza, ice cream and dog food for the world: Nestlé's business model sounds a lot like old school. Nevertheless, digitization is likely to change the business model of the food giants rapidly and permanently: Like almost no other company, global consumer goods manufacturers depend on smoothly functioning supply chains. The use of cloud technology makes it easier for Nestlé, P&G and the like to organize which goods are delivered, stored, processed and resold to supermarkets around the world, when and where. Optimized supply chains, increasing e-commerce But it's not just the smoother supply chains. Online sales directly to customers are growing rapidly among the food giants: In the third quarter of 2020 alone, e-commerce sales at Nestlé grew by almost 50% and reached a share of 12% of total sales. Coffee, cat and dog food were also the top sales figures here: For manufacturers, e-commerce has the enormous advantage that it can sell directly to the end customer and retain the retailer's margin. Digitization is a "key factor for business success", as the annual report says: It touches all aspects of business, from supply chain management to production to marketing and sales. Maggi Chat Bot: Talk to customers directly - and with the fridge Perhaps the greatest return driver in the future: Digital technologies enable Nestlé to interact directly with millions of customers worldwide. At the end of 2019, every fifth contact with consumers was personalized. Nestlé aims to achieve a share of 40% by the end of 2020. Various social media channels and the Maggi chatbot, an artificial intelligence that gives (mostly young) consumers cooking tips via Whatsapp chat and also introduces them to the wonderful world of Maggi kitchen aids, should help. While parents and grandparents used to watch the episodes from the Maggi cooking studio on TV, the chatbot does it much more efficiently today and creates thousands of valuable, personalized customer contacts. Even after the corona pandemic, Nestlé's head of media Tina Beuchler wants to further expand the digital communication and sales channels. For Nestlé, digital transformation is much more than e-commerce and social media: According to Beuchler, the intelligent networking of devices ("Internet of Things") opens up great opportunities. When the refrigerator can tell the pizza and ice cream manufacturer directly that its freezer compartment urgently needs replenishment - that is the best of all worlds for a global food giant. Nestlé has already set up such a kitchen of the future in its development department: In the Corona year, the food business is not only proving to be crisis-proof, but also a bet on the future for many investors. See here for more: https://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/lebensmittel-hersteller-nestle-profitiert-als-corona-krisengewinner-von-digitalisierung-a-c20629b6-fd9f-48d7-9bb2-554ec51945b7

Discount Retail Chain Penny (owned by German REWE Group) sees the year 2020 as a year with important changes, including in terms of image. Marius Obreja, Purchasing Manager at Penny Romania, explains in an interview with Progresiv how they managed to maximize growth opportunities, how important local partnerships are for Penny and, last but not least, what is the retailer's strategy for the near future. Right now, at the end of a year that came with an unpredictable situation - the pandemic, what do Penny's priorities look like? Regarding the assortment approach, there are three categories that represent by far our top priorities: meat, dairy including cheeses, vegetables & fruits. Even if we have Romanian meat on the shelf, for example, 100% does not mean that our goal is met. We will deepen this product development by integrating farmers, live animal producers in our procurement contract so as to shorten the supply chain. On the other hand, we will also focus on other topics, for example, animal welfair, animal welfare, including employees in the production chain because there have been some discussions and in the future we will have to make sure that the animals are raised and transported accordingly. We will focus all our efforts on the vegetable & fruit categories to make the same integration of producers in the procurement contracts because we want to increase the period in which we can have Romanian vegetables and fruits on the shelf. Regarding tomatoes, for example, we want to extend from 5-6 months to 8-9 months the presence of these vegetables from local production on the shelf. Regarding fruits, we are looking for solutions for the apple segment in Romania. I foresee a future in which we can grow apples in Romania, special varieties that withstand storage conditions, which we harvest at the end of autumn, store them in specially created spaces, under controlled temperature conditions and have them available for sale. until the next harvest season. When you talk about special storage spaces, do you mean new investments made in dedicated warehouses or about the logistics spaces of the manufacturers? It's about producers' warehouses. We can provide these entrepreneurs with clear data about the quantities they can sell with our help in March - April, quantities that we now cover with imports. In January we sell, for example, 2,000 tons, in February 1,500, in March 2,500 and so on. This quantity is available and a producer has to commit to a certain month, respectively quantity. I will not be able to sell more than 2,500 tons of apples in November because that is the demand. From here we have to leave, from the consumer who we know wants Romanian apples in April, in what quantity, what quality, how we can ensure the storage of those products, their packaging conditions and their transport and so on. These are large quantities. We also make a commitment to provide the necessary turnover. For example, if someone comes and tells us that they have apples for a certain period, we sign a document, a firm contract by which we agree that we will buy those quantities and the supplier will deliver them to us. In the area of ​​processed products, what does the situation look like now? You said that 90% of the range of sausages on the shelf is made in Romania, but that "made in Romania" is not similar to a product of Romanian origin. We have this situation with sausages: most of the imported meat goes to the sausage industry. In the future, it will be a very difficult step to select the best-selling items, taking into account that the main ingredient, meat, is of Romanian origin. Which means that we are no longer just talking about products made in Romania, but of Romanian origin. Regarding the dairy category, the situation is a bit more relaxed in the sense that most of the production in Romania is made with milk from the local market. But I would like to draw attention to some categories that are produced in Romania only very little or not at all, such as UHT milk. It is a sought after milk, demanded by Romanian consumers, but it is not produced in sufficient quantities in Romania. In a similar situation is the triangle melted cheese. There is only one manufacturer with limited quantities, but the demand is much higher. Or certain yoghurt types that consumers associate with dessert if fruits are added, for example. Likewise, we have to resort to imports because local production is limited and does not cover demand. How important are local partnerships to Penny and how do you support local producers? First of all, I want to emphasize one thing: we focus on local production not for nationalist reasons, but for practical reasons. A product made in Romania is easier to supply, if sales increase or decrease sharply, we can adapt quickly. An engineer in the food industry understands better what a salami means for Romanians than an engineer who works in a factory abroad. The Romanian engineer understands exactly what the Romanian consumer wants and can produce a product exactly like that. At the moment, Penny has about 600 Romanian suppliers and they generate about 85% of the PENNY turnover. But this does not mean that the products are also manufactured in Romania or that they are of Romanian origin. Our goal, an ambitious one, is to get 60% of the assortment to be of Romanian origin, i.e. processed in Romania and the main ingredient to be of Romanian origin. At this moment, approximately 50% of Penny's assortment is of Romanian origin. We made a detailed analysis and identified the way in which we can meet our goal of having 60% assortment of Romanian origin in the next three years. For Penny it is more advantageous to buy sausages made of Romanian meat versus sausages made of imported meat even if they are produced locally, respectively to sell a Romanian apple compared to an apple from Poland because it is easier to interact with the producer, you can convey concrete details about your needs. In the case of import orders, you cannot make last minute changes because they are already on their way to you. In addition, supporting local production will lead to growing economic activity and, implicitly, economic growth. A circle closes, practically: you generate economic growth, the disposable income for the consumer increases, the demand for local products increases and the cycle repeats itself. And last but not least, we can be much more sustainable with these shorter supply chains. 2019 ended with a turnover of 3.96 billion lei (US$1Bn). What does 2020 look like and what are your plans, where do you think the growth opportunities will come from? I do not know if 2021 will bring a change in terms of the pandemic, probably not, however our relations with producers will continue their pace of development. Regardless of the pandemic or not, our strategy will be to continue supplying Romania. Versus the retail market, I believe that 2021 will be about the same line as 2020 in the sense that these consumer behavioral changes will continue next year. I am referring here to the impulse category was highly affected by the fact that people came to shopping less often and spent less time in stores. But overall, 2020 was a very good year, with certain categories exploding in sales at least at the beginning of the pandemic, such as staple foods. Categories that had a downward trend in previous years, such as flour, sugar, rice, corn, this year sales exploded. In the frozen area, people discovered that they could have at home the pastries they normally took from the dedicated section of the store. This branch of the home baking category was practically born. In our case, we stopped bake-off products in the first two months after the emergency, customers still asked for them, so we thought about how we could sell them. We packed them and sold them frozen, the demand was very high. Then we came up with products more adapted to consumption, adapted to household ovens, with clear recipes and adapted packaging. Today we have a freezer located next to the bake-off shelf with eight permanent products, made 100% in Romania. Some of them will be developed under our own private label brand 'Hanul Boieresc'. Among the best selling products are buns and pies with cheese, cherries, and saltines. See here for more: https://revistaprogresiv.ro/articole/marius-obreja-director-achizitii-penny-avem-600-de-furnizori-romani-si-ei-genereaza-85-din

Discount Retail Chain Aldi Netherlands (privately owned) has published a wine special, the discounter is promoting 25 award-winning wines for less than € 5 (US$6). The wines that Aldi promotes are 'Good Tested' in the respected Dutch wine expert 'Grote Hamersma' book or in the book 'The tastiest omfietswijnen 2020' by Dutch wine writer Nicolaas Klei. Magister vini Aldi introduces magister vini Dirk Vanhorenbeeck and category wine buyer at Aldi Netherlands in the wine special. 'Wine. What do you have to pay attention to? The taste, the smell, that color? Aldi has been selling high quality wine for years and has one of the largest fair shares in this category. Thanks to Aldi's test team led by Dirk Vanhorenbeeck, the goal is keep this position. And the price? It remains low. See here for more: https://folder.aldi.nl/fixed/week/wijnspecial-2020/?page=1

Discount Retail Chain Lidl (owned by Germany Schwarz Gruppe) generates 200 new jobs and continues with its network of stores in Spain by opening 10 new stores in Catalonia, the Community of Madrid, the Basque Country, Castilla y León, Andalusia, the Balearic Islands and Galicia. The German discount chain, which reports in a statement that it has invested more than 60 million euros (US$73mio) in these 10 projects, thus continues with its expansion plan throughout the national territory with the aim, the company highlights, "to bring each day more its offer to Spanish consumers, whose impact translates into the creation of nearly 200 new jobs". The 10 new stores have all the hygiene and safety measures that the company has implemented in recent months and which have recently been endorsed with the Aenor certification. After discounter Aldi Spain accelerated its store openings with 35% (with 23 additional stores in 2020) and Discount Retail Chain DIA refinanced itself and successfully launched its new store instore format, the grocery discount market in Spain is becoming the new European battle field. Expected is that the non-food discounter will follow soon. See here for more: https://www.foodretail.es/retailers/Lidl-nuevas-tiendas-noviembre-Espana_0_1497750224.html

Discount Non-food Retail Chain Dollarcity (owned by Canadian Discount non-food Retail Chain Dollarama and Bain Capital) advances its expansion plan in Colombia. In his most recent bet, he announced that he is arriving at the Plaza Claro shopping center, located west of Bogotá, with its 142nd store in the country. As part of its commitment to generate employment and bring Colombians closer to affordable products, today the company already has more than 1,400 people hired nationwide. Although its expansion plans have been kept silent, the truth is that at this time it already has more than 230 stores located in Colombia, El Salvador and Guatemala. Dollarcity is a firm that in the last 10 years has revolutionized the way of buying products at low cost. This project was conceived by Marco Andrés Baldocchi Kriete, current nephew of Avianca's majority shareholder, Roberto José Krierte. However, in 2019 50.1% of the company was sold to the Canadian firm Dollarama for a sum amounting to 95 million dollars. Since then, the company has set an ambitious expansion plan that has spread to these three countries. “We are pleased with this union with our strategic partner, Dollarama, with which from this moment Dollarcity strengthens to continue consolidating its growth platform in Latin America, since in the next 5 years we will be opening more than 225 new stores and investing in key processes of our business, such as the construction of our own distribution centers ”, said at the time Rogelio Sánchez, Dollarcity's CFO. See here for more: https://forbes.co/2020/12/03/negocios/dollarcity-abre-su-tienda-142-en-colombia-en-el-centro-comercial-plaza-claro/

The fashion designer Wolfgang Joop has created selected items of clothing and accessories for ALDI. The fashion for men and women belonging to the label "LOOKS by Wolfgang Joop" will be available in all stores of ALDI NORD and ALDI SÜD throughout Germany. For the first time, fashion designer Wolfgang Joop is designing women's and men's fashion exclusively for ALDI. In the past, Joop has already launched various interior collections for the discounter, all of which were a success. This is followed by clothing and accessories that are part of the "LOOKS by Wolfgang Joop" clothing line: contemporary and wearable fashion for him and her. The products were designed exclusively for ALDI and are only available in over 4,200 stores. With the ALDI cooperation, the fashion designer wants to address a broad target group: "I am happy every time I meet people who wear my fashion. Because fashion is also communication," says Wolfgang Joop. "When I see my designs on people, it feels like I've been understood." Beautiful looks to give away For men, Joop has designed elegant sweaters made from real wool, fine shirts, pajamas and chic business socks. Women can also look forward to stylish pajamas and cozy maxi scarves. In the accessories area, different colored scarves, solar wristwatches and fashionable reading glasses with cases complete the collection. And last but not least: stylish mouth and nose masks in various designs for women and men complete the range. In line with the Christmas season, ALDI is offering all parts in elegant gift packaging. When it comes to design, Joop has relied on current trends: cozy knitwear, oversized scarves, check and diamond patterns. Classic cream colors, gray and blue tones ensure a timeless look. All parts of the collection are also coordinated and can be combined in many ways. In terms of price, the various parts range between 39.99 euros (solar wristwatch, US$49) and 7.99 euros (US$9.70). The men's items are available in sizes M to XL (sweaters and pajamas) and 39 to 43 (shirts). The socks are available in sizes from 39/42 to 43/46. The sizes of the women's pajamas range from S to L. The collection is accompanied by a TV spot. Further information on "LOOKS by Wolfgang Joop" can be found on the websites of ALDI NORD and ALDI SÜD. A week later "LOOKS by Wolfgang Joop" will also be available at supermarket chain Kaufland, owned by discount retail chain Lidl's mother the German based privately owned Schwarz Gruppe. See here for more: https://www.presseportal.de/pm/112096/4771061

Discount Retail Chain Aldi UK (privately owned) had the most successful Christmas advert this year according to a study which used artificial intelligence facial coding technology to track people’s emotions as they watched. Kantar has unveiled its list of the most successful UK Christmas campaigns of 2020, evaluating more than 3,000 consumers’ emotional reactions against key dimensions of effective advertising. Aldi’s “Long Way From Home” Christmas advert, featuring its recurring favourite Kevin the Carrot, came third overall in Kantar’s list, after coming first last year. It was ranked third overall in two categories including “long-term return potential” and “is the ad enjoyable” thanks to its incorporation of humour and its ability to “build warmth for the brand and to differentiate it from others”. The next retailer on the list was M&S Food, coming in fifth place for its advert featuring Olivia Colemand. Tesco also scored highly, being ranked first in the “how emotional do you feel” category ahead of Amazon which came in second. “Some of these ads have played a real role in lifting our spirits and making us feel better,” Kantar UK’s head of creative excellence Lynne Deason told Marketing Week. Less successful were Amazon, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s adverts, according to Kantar. Amazon’s “The Show Must Go On” advert scored poorly across three categories, including just four for whether people would remember the brand. “It’s unfortunate for Amazon from an effectiveness point of view, although maybe they don’t need it this year given they’ll probably win out anyway, that the brand is very recessive,” Deason added. See here for more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL56Z5StIUY

Discount Non-food Retail Chain Dollar General (listed NYSE: DG) willl again bring significant store expansion for the new year as the discount retailer continues to rollout its DG Fresh food offerings along with other merchandising initiatives. The discounter, in announcing its third quarter earnings, said that it plans to open 1,050 stores in 2021, remodel 1,750 stores and relocate 100. Dollar General operates roughly 17,000 stores in 46 states, employing approximately 140,000 associates. “We are excited to once again accelerate our real estate growth plans in fiscal year 2021,” said Jeff Owen, Dollar General’s chief operating officer. “Our portfolio of high-return real estate projects continues to be a top priority for capital allocation as we look to continue delivering long-term shareholder value. With a robust pipeline in place and plans to execute an average of nearly eight real estate projects per day in fiscal year 2021.” NEW INITIATIVES CEO Todd Vasos also highlighted other initiatives that promise to play big roles for the retailer in 2021. That includes the ongoing roll-out of its newest retail store concept Popshelf, with the retailer's signature bright-yellow branding nowhere to be found. The company opened the first two Popshelf stores in Nashville this fall. According to Dollar General, the new banner aims to engage customers with a fun, affordable and stress-free shopping experience where they can find on-trend seasonal and home décor, health and beauty must-haves, home cleaning supplies, party goods, entertaining needs, and more with approximately 95% of items priced at $5 or less. “During the quarter, we also continued to make great progress advancing our key strategic initiatives, including the rollout of DG Pickup across nearly our entire store base, and the launch of our newest store format, Popshelf,” Vasos said. “In total, we executed 765 real estate projects, further laying and building the foundation for future growth. Overall, our ongoing operating priorities, coupled with our key strategic initiatives, position us well to continue delivering value and convenience for our customers, along with long-term sustainable growth and value for our shareholders.” The expansion push also includes food. "We are in the process of building, expanding or opening a number of distribution centers across our dry and DG Fresh networks. And while we expect these investments will enable us to drive even greater efficiencies going forward and further support future growth, these investments will pressure gross margin rates in Q4," said John Garratt, EVP and chief financial officer, during the post-earnings conference call with investors. The retailer also is building out other infrastructure related to food retail. "During the first three quarters, we added approximately 49,000 cooler doors across our store base," said Jeff Owen, chief operating officer. "In total, we expect to install more than 60,000 cooler doors this year, the majority of which will be in our higher capacity coolers, creating additional opportunities to drive higher on-shelf availability and deliver an even wider product selection." He also talked about longer term DG Fresh planning. "In addition, we recently began construction on our first ever ground up combination DG Fresh and dry distribution center in Blair, Nebraska," Owen said. "We anticipate this facility will be completed in early 2022 enabling us to drive even greater efficiencies as we move ahead. The team is also executing against additional opportunities to enhance gross margin, including further improvements in shrink as we continue to build on our success with electronic article surveillance. We plan and continue to believe DG Fresh could provide a potential path forward to expanding our produce offering to even more stores in the future," he said." In total, we were self distributing to more than 13,000 stores from eight DG Fresh facilities at the end of Q3. We expect to capture benefits from this initiative in more than 14,000 stores from 10 facilities by the end of this year, and are well on track to complete our initial roll-out across the chain in 2021." CONSUMABLES GROWTH The fresh clarity about 2021 came as Dollar General reported a strong Q3, with growth driven by consumables. Net sales Increased 17.3% for Dollar General in the third quarter, reaching US$8.2 billion, while same-store sales Increased 12.2%, driven by an increase in average transaction amount, partially offset by a decline in customer traffic. The retailer said same-store sales increased in each of the consumables, seasonal, home products and apparel categories, with the largest percentage increase in the home products category. The retailer said it believes consumer behavior driven by COVID-19 had a significant positive effect on net sales and same-store sales. Dollar General’s operating profit increased 57.3% to $773.1 million. “I want to thank our associates for their tireless work over the past several months in helping our customers and communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Vasos. “To further demonstrate our appreciation and support, we plan to award a total of up to US$75 million in appreciation bonuses to eligible frontline employees in Q4, which includes our recent announcement to double our initial plans for second-half bonuses by approximately US$50 million, bringing the company’s full-year investment in employee appreciation bonuses to approximately US$173 million.” Gross profit as a percentage of net sales was 31.3% in the third quarter of 2020 compared to 29.5% in the third quarter of 2019, an increase of 178 basis points. This gross profit rate increase was primarily attributable to a reduction in markdowns as a percentage of net sales, higher initial markups on inventory purchases, a greater proportion of sales coming from the non-consumables product categories, which generally have a higher gross profit rate than the consumables product category and a reduction in inventory shrink as a percentage of net sales. These factors were partially offset by increased distribution and transportation costs, which were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the form of increased volume and discretionary employee bonus expense. As a result of the significant increase in sales, the retailer said it believes consumer behavior driven by COVID-19 also had a significant positive effect on gross profit dollars. For the 39-week period ended Oct. 30, net sales increased 23.0% to US$25.3 billion. This net sales increase included positive sales contributions from new stores and growth in same-store sales, modestly offset by the impact of store closures. Same-store sales increased 17.5% from the 2019 39-week period, driven by an increase in average transaction amount, partially offset by a decline in customer traffic. Operating profit for the 2020 39-week period grew 69.6%. See here for more: https://progressivegrocer.com/dollar-general-sets-2021-expansion-plans

Discount Retail Chain Aldi Nord (privately owned) recently notified the French Competition Authority of the proposed acquisition of assets belonging to the French retailer Casino group (EURONEXT: CO). These assets include 545 stores under the Leader Price brand (out of a portfolio of nearly 640 stores in France) and 2 stores under the Casino brand. Aldi and Leader Price are two maxi-discount (or hard-discount) food distribution chains. Aldi has at the moment 883 stores in France. No (serious) competition problem Given Aldi's and Leader Price's cumulative low market shares on the national grocery retail market, the Authority considered that the transaction was not likely to significantly strengthen Aldi's purchasing power vis-à-vis suppliers. After having consulted the suppliers of Aldi and Leader Price as part of a market test, the Autorité also noted that the transaction did not place them in a situation of economic dependence on the new entity. At the end of its analysis, however, the Autorité raised competitive risks in the areas for the Leader Price stores located in l'Argentière-la-Bessée (05), Bar-sur- Seine (10), Bort-les-Orgues (19), Brassac-les-Mines (63), Lanton (33), Marle (02), Rambervillers (88), Saint-Félix (74) and Sézanne (51). In these areas, the operation was likely to reduce competition, and risked causing price increases or impoverishing the diversity to the consumer, given the cumulative market share of both parties (greater than 40%) and/or the creation of a duopoly in the area. 9 stores will be sold In order to remedy these competition concerns, Aldi has undertaken to sell 9 Aldi and/or Leader Price stores located in these areas to one or more competitors. These commitments will ensure that sufficient competition is maintained and the interests of consumers in the markets concerned will be protected. See here for more: https://www.pointsdevente.fr/fil-info/2020-11-17-aldi-va-racheter-leader-price/ And Casino's press release: