Discount Retail Chain Tiendas 3B, is a NYSE listed proximity discount chain that has managed to gain a foothold in key regions such as Mexico City, State of Mexico, Puebla, Veracruz, and Michoacán, covering areas of high population density and low income. Tiendas 3B has emerged as a key player in the hard discount sector, positioning itself as a competitor against consolidated chains such as Walmart's Bodega Aurrera Express and Chedraui's Supercito. With a business model focused on low prices, proximity and own brands, the chain led by Anthony Hatoum closed September 2024 with 2,634 units, surpassing the 151 branches of Supercito and the 1,386 of Mi Bodega Aurrera Express. In the third quarter of the year, Tiendas 3B opened 131 new branches, reflecting an aggressive expansion strategy that seeks to consolidate its presence in Mexico. During a call with analysts, Hatoum highlighted that the Mexican market has the potential to sustain up to 20,000 units of this type of business. "It's natural to think that we'll focus on increasing the pace of store openings over time, but for now, we're very comfortable sticking to the guidelines," he said. This geographic expansion, based on "organic and circular" growth, has allowed Tiendas 3B to gain a foothold in key regions such as Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Puebla, Veracruz, and Michoacán, covering areas of high population density and low income. Proximity and low prices as a competitive advantage The success of the chain lies in its value proposition: a restricted offer of approximately 700 essential products that include food, beverages and general merchandise. The combination of private labels with competitive prices allows the company to reduce operating costs and increase profitability. "Proximity is one of the keys to its success. Consumers do not have to travel long distances to buy what they need, which was especially relevant during the confinement due to the pandemic," explains Ángel Méndez, business consultant and academic at the Banking and Commercial School (EBC). Julián Fernández, CEO of Ferdez Business Consulting, highlights that this model responds to the needs of a specific niche. "There is a significant proportion of the population that depends on low prices and frequent purchases. Tiendas 3B occupies a space that the large chains do not always serve." Between January and September 2024, Tiendas 3B reported sales of 41,092.4 million pesos, a growth of 29.4% compared to the previous year, and an EBITDA of 2,002.3 million pesos. These figures reflect the consolidation of its business model in a challenging economic environment. Although Tiendas 3B has consolidated its position, its path is not without challenges. The hard discount market in Mexico is competitive, with players such as Mi Bodega Aurrera Express and Supercito trying to gain share in the segment. However, Hatoum is optimistic. "The Mexican market is very competitive, but due to its territorial and market size, there is room for up to four players in the same business segment. This benefits the customer at the end of the day," he said in a previous interview with Expansión. Read more: The keys to the successful business model of Tiendas 3B, the low-cost chain #smartdiscount #mexico #tbbb #nyse #listed #tiendas3b #growth #expansion #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google

Discount Retail Chain Lidl USA is rolling out a shopping experience more tailored to its American customers, but what does that look like in practice? To find out, the magazine Progressive Grocer (PG) spoke with Frank Kerr, Lidl US’ chief customer officer on the occasion of the deep discounter’s long-awaited debut in the Fresh Meadows neighborhood of Queens, a borough of New York City.  PG: I’m sure. Earlier this year, I spoke to Joel Rampoldt (CEO Lidl USA), and he told me a lot about how Lidl in the U.S. is sort of Americanizing its experience for the U.S. consumer. So what are the new store features, products and technologies here in this store that are meant specifically to appeal to American consumers in general, and to Fresh Meadow shoppers in particular? Frank Kerr (FK): I’ll start with the first piece of the question, on Americanizing the assortment, or what the customers expect from a really high-performing U.S. retailer. That starts with getting our assortment right. That’s really been our primary focus of this calendar year is to get our assortment right to meet the U.S. consumer’s expectations. A great example of that is some things that we’ve done in the bakery .  There are some fantastic European products, like the croissant that is crafted in France, shipped over, and we bake it fresh daily multiple times a day in our store. But what we were really missing was a big, decadent American-size doughnut, so we brought them in. These are all-new products, all made in the U.S., all up to U.S. consumers’ expectations. A really exciting one is our New York-produced fresh bagel. It’s fermented for 12 hours, so it’s genuinely an authentic New York bagel. We retail it every day. It’s buy one, get one free, but every day, it’s 79 cents. The quality of the product is absolutely phenomenal.   Lidl is renowned worldwide for its bakery offering, which in the United States offers a mix of European and American treats. PG: These bagels are made on site? FK: They are baked fresh daily, multiple times a day, in the store, after being]shipped from a New York supplier to our stores chainwide. Then another big thing that we were missing, we were completely devoid of muffins as well. We now have two new muffins, a blueberry muffin and then a chocolate muffin that we brought in. So, in our bakery department, we now have a perfect mix where you’ve got U.S.-produced products that the U.S. consumer expects, and then you have a great unique blend of some European products that, quite frankly, are just unmatched by any of our competitors within the market. My personal favorite is the Rosemary Olive bread. PG: How do you determine which features to include in stores? Do you do a lot of consumer research? Do you survey consumers? FK: I’m lucky enough to work with the consumer insights team as part of the chief customer officer role, staying very connected to the customer understanding what they’re telling us and where we can improve and what we know that we’re doing really well. Our customers appreciate our value proposition, our pricing, but what we have to work on is some of the layout of the store and some of the adjustments of the adjacency to improve that shopping experience to really get to the ethos of who we are as an organization of simplicity. Do you know this value equation? It’s price, quality and then what you provide to the shopper that’s coming into your store each day. We have time studies that we’ve done and some heat-map analysis of our stores. A consumer can come to any one of our locations, and on average, they could do a completely full shop, save up to 40% against national brands on prices, and (what we think is really important as well) save 17 minutes of their time during that shop in one of our stores. We view that complex value proposition as delivering on price, delivering on quality, not sacrificing on either one of those, but then also the value of giving them time back to their days, because it’s a busier world than ever. PG: It sounds like you’re constantly fine-tuning that experience and looking at what your consumers are telling you, or what you’ve gleaned from their shopping patterns. Do you use individual stores, or have you used individual stores, as testing grounds for particular programs? FK: There are definitely some things that we test in individual stores. I won’t name the store in particular, but we do have one store that is kind of our test for our new layout, our new flow of our store, our new adjacency. We do have some really exciting stuff coming up in the pipeline that I’m sure we’ll talk to you guys about soon. PG: We’re eagerly awaiting that. FK: One thing we launched nationwide this week is [an enhancement of] the customer shopping experience both offline and how it relates to online. We made some upgrades to our myLidl app. It's our loyalty program. Our customers can typically, on average, save a couple hundred dollars a month by going through it, and so take advantage of even better prices. It has now allowed us to make that customer journey much more simple for them on that app to where they see the myLidl deals for all members, but then there's also the element of personalized offers that come in on time. We have made a lot of improvements on the back end to really enrich our customer data to provide a better personalized offer to the customer.  That went live this past week, and another enhancement that we have [is] quick signup on our registers. It’s really important for any new stores, particularly like Fresh Meadows here, where we don’t have a full pool of customers already signed up on the loyalty platform. We’ll be able to do a quick register right at the point of sale here, type in their phone number to take advantage of all the myLidl rewards, and then we’ll have a follow-up journey with them to go through and do the full-profile buildout and sign up to take advantage of more personalized offers going forward. That wasn’t something that was there before. For the customer to get signed up to the app on site, they’d have to download it. It’s not a cumbersome process, but it still holds up the line and it can be a little bit stressful on the customer. We wanted to completely eliminate that, make it as quick and easy, seamless and painless as possible for the customer to be able to take advantage of all those myLidl rewards and personalized offers.  The "Middle of Lidl" general merchandise section provides a treasure-hunt experience for shoppers. PG: You mentioned changes to the store layout. Are there particular things that an American customer would expect in terms of store layout that might not be the case in Europe or elsewhere? FK:  Yeah, that’s definitely one thing that we’ve looked at. This store is very reflective of it. It’s a little bit of a smaller store, but we still have the core principles of what we want to do, and that’s lead with our fresh products. A lot of retailers say, “Yeah, we want to win on fresh,” but when we say that, we actually mean that and believe that we can and will win on fresh. That’s everything from, right when you walk in the door, getting the fresh smell of our bakery, to walking into our phenomenal produce deals that we have running every week. Like today, we got the 89-cent-per-pound strawberry pack, which is like 2016 prices. So, great value and fresh right at the front of the store when the customer walks in, and then we’ll throw them right into our protein category, which we’ve done a lot of work on. We’ve done a major revamp to our entire fresh meat offering. It just, quite frankly, wasn’t the cuts or the packaging that the U.S. consumer expected. It was very much a European program that was taken here to the U.S. We’ve completely overhauled that program and seen really great customer response from it. It is a bit of a change operationally for our stores, but it’s allowed us to deliver on a much fresher product, a much more valuable product to the customer as well, and much more in line with what they expect from us. PG: I know that a lot of American stores open with fresh, but I think Lidl might be unique in opening with bakery, which is a strong suit of yours. Why was it particularly important for Lidl to fine-tune the shopping experience for the U.S. shopper? Did you feel like you weren’t giving them the optimal experience previously? FK:  I wouldn't say we weren’t giving them the optimal experience previously. It’s maintaining those loyal customers we already have in the United States, but also appealing to the mass American consumer. We’re a private label-forward discounter, but at the end of the day, we are a grocery store where a customer can come to save 40% on their grocery shop every single week and do a complete full shop with us. A lot of what I mentioned earlier, just about adjacency, where items are expected to be within the store, that’s the one biggest thing to navigate. We’ve done a consumer poll on bananas to see purchase frequency and things like that. Often, it’s on every consumer shopping list, but sometimes they just forget it. We ensure that some of those key items are really prominent to the customer. They know exactly where to find navigational signage across the store, because we’re making sure that’s really clear and a seamless shopping experience.  Then also, we highlight some of the really cool in-and-out products that we have and the “Middle of Lidl” general merchandise section. That’s also kind of what sets us apart as a bit of a surprise-and-delight element, that treasure-hunt experience. It’s making sure that those areas of the store stand out to the customers, because every single week that they come into our store, they’re going to find something new and exciting.  Read more: EXCLUSIVE: Lidl Fine-Tunes U.S. Shopping Experience One Store at a Time | Progressive Grocer #smartdiscount #lidl #usa #development #assortment #local #adapt #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google

Discount Retail Chain Lidl US will open a new location in New York City on Jan. 29 at Brooklyn's Gateway Center. New York is one of three strategic markets where Lidl US is focused on growing its footprint. The discount grocer recently opened locations in the Bronx , Pelham and Glen Oaks. Lidl US also has plans to open its third location in Manhattan , with a store located at 408 Grand Street. This location is expected to debut in summer 2025. Lidl US’ other strategic markets include Atlanta and Washington D.C.  Amid its expansion across the East Coast, Lidl US also recently unveiled a new brand campaign. The Super-EST   Market campaign spotlights Lidl’s curated collection of private label picks, global imports and everyday name brands.  During Progressive Grocer’s Grocery Impact 2024 event , Managing Editor Bridget Goldschmidt spoke to Lidl US CEO Joel Rampoldt about the new campaign. “We needed to relaunch the brand,” he explained. “We had changed so much from]the last time we did a major brand campaign, which was several years ago. When you think about what’s inside the four corners of our stores, particularly fresh fruit and veg, fresh bakery, fresh protein – it’s actually quite different. Our research supported the idea that there are a lot of customers out there who had been to our stores but hadn’t been in a long time. We wanted to reintroduce ourselves to the market, to customers who might have tried us and hadn’t been back for a while.” To that end, Lidl stores carry fewer SKUs, but ones that have been deemed high quality, whether it’s the 0.49 USD croissants made with dough from France, or produce that’s fresher due to the logistics of more local pickups. In another example, Rampoldt shared how he and his team also worked to elevate the quality of the fresh beef available in the store by working with suppliers and updating the packaging and a store brand, Butcher’s Specialty.   Looking to the future, Rampoldt said that Lidl is well positioned in a competitive grocery arena: “Given our scale, we will never be the biggest marketer in the U.S., but we can be the most talked about.” Lidl operates more than 12,000 stores and is active in 31 countries, employing more than 360,000 employees globally. Lidl US operates more than 170 stores across nine East Coast states and Washington, D.C. The Arlington, Va.-based  grocer  is No. 91 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the  top food and consumables retailers in North America. Read more: Lidl Expands Footprint in Key Market Areas | Progressive Grocer #smartdiscount #lidl #usa #nyc #newyork #expansion #growth #eastcoast #development #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google

The Discount Retail Chain phenomenon keeps brands, traditional supermarkets and local shopkeepers (tiendas) awake at night in Colombia. The discount format during 2024 not only confirmed that it is redefining the behaviour of the Colombian shopper, but it is challenging commercial brands and traditional shopkeepers to rethink their value proposition. If you thought the Hard Discount was just a place to save, think again! This format continues to break paradigms and tighten belts, both for shoppers and brands. Here are some of the insights that 2024 left us:  Price variation: While inflation tried to set the market on fire, the Hard Discount brought out the fire extinguisher. With an annual variation of -0.47%, this format continues to show that saving is not out of fashion. (Dec/24 vs Dec/23) Categories that lifted the mood (and prices): Table chocolate (+38%) decided to be the "luxury" of breakfast, while salt (+9.6%) and alcoholic beverages (+9.6%) make even the party cost more. Of course, milk cream (+9.4%) also contributed! Categories in bargain mode: Eggs (-25.6%) are so cheap that they seem to be in permanent supply. Flours (-14%) and liquid milk (-10.4%) remind us that there is still relief for the basic basket... at least in this format. The shopper speaks clearly: Proximity, good prices and practical formats are the winning trio for the Hard Discount to remain the king. Of course, supermarkets and neighbourhood stores are claiming their share of the pie. Hear this English podcast from Olivia Gonzalez on how the Colombian retail market is evolving: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/oliviagonzalez-_insights-del-hard-discount-2024-el-fen%C3%B3meno-activity-7282386334185394176-DVkd?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop #smartdiscount #d1 #ara #isimo #tiendas #valueformoney #value #perception #ripple #inflation #privatelabel #democratizing #pricelevels #colombia #traditionalretail #modernretail #disruptive #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google #shoppers #proximity

Discount Retail Chain Tiendas TuTi continues to grow with the opening of two stores in the cities of Huaquillas and Guaranda. This retail has experienced impressive growth since it opened its first store, 5 years ago, due to the extremely low prices, variety and quality of its products. Tiendas Tuti, a company of the economic group Corporación El Rosado, which opened its first store in Guayaquil in April 2019, and already operates with about 297 stores, according to its website, which offers the location of the stores. TuTi is one of the first supermarket chains to arrive in Huaquillas and Guaranda , in order to reactivate the economy and deliver a variety of foods to both cantons. During the opening of the premises, several citizens expressed satisfaction. El TuTi opened stores in Huaquillas and Guaranda Evelyn Murillo commented "we were anxious for the arrival of TuTi in Huaquillas". For her part, Carmen Jimbo described the arrival of TuTi in her city as excellent. "You always get cheaper prices, especially now that the economy is very difficult, this news has fallen wonderfully on us," he said. Discount Format TuTi Stores offer low prices every day. The stores sell products of all categories: groceries, bakery, pets, dairy, candy and snacks, personal care, frozen, beauty, beverages, pets, among others. The products are displayed inside cardboard boxes as if they had just arrived at the commercial premises. Most of its brands are its own and prices are usually lower than in other retail chains. The discount chain has a presence in 55 cantons and nine provinces of the country: Guayas, Manabí, Bolívar, Cañar, Chimborazo, Los Ríos, Santa Elena, Pichincha and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas. In Guayas alone there are 168 Tuti stores, mostly in Guayaquil. The second province with the most establishments is Manabí, with 65. And, in third place, Pichincha, with 30 stores in Quito, including rural parishes. Cost savings TuTi offers a "small assortment" of products, which includes the most important items of daily consumption. In addition, it avoids any type of cost, which can increase the sale price of a product: "Our stores are not very large and are simple (...), the presentation in our products is simple, our marketing expenses are very low." Another characteristic of this retail chain is that it does not accept customers to pay with debit or credit cards, only in cash. According to the notes to the 2022 financial statements published in the Superintendence of Companies, payments are solely in cash. Avoiding "credit risk", which are financial losses in the event that a customer does not comply with their credit card payments. In addition, this modality saves expenses for the company, as it does not use points of sale (POS) for card collection or have to pay fees to the financial institutions that issue the cards. Buying Strategy The commercial strategy that Tuti has implemented in Ecuador is known as 'discounter', a retail channel that are growing in Latin America, in which products are offered at lower prices than traditional retail chains. A characteristic of this model is the strong presence of own brands, that is, those that are produced exclusively for that retail chain. Tuti's own brands have different commercial names, although they are only available there, as is the case with those of other supermarkets. The products are made by different mass consumption companies, such as La Fabril, which manufactures margarines and oils under the Gutti brand. Another supplier is Dulcenac, which makes cereals, Muky brand. They also offer well-known commercial brands that are found in other supermarkets, including Bimbo. According to the market consultancy Kantar World panel, the 'discounter' strategy is based on three pillars: more than 70% of the portfolio are own private label brands, limited assortment of products and low prices every day, without promotions. This strategy "democratizes" the consumption of certain categories, which previously did not reach lower strata of the population. For example, mature cheeses, nuts or wines. Tuti sells wines for USD 3.00. According to Kantar, the 'discounter' is changing the dynamics of consumption in all strata. This has happened faster in Guayaquil, where 8 out of 10 consumers are shopping at TuTi. For the first quarter of 2023, the average expenditure for each purchase made by a customer in this retail chain was USD 8, according to Kantar, which measures real consumption in different sales channels. In the process of expansion Tiendas Tuti shares the same shareholders as Corporación El Rosado. These are the U.S. companies Upper New York Investment Company, with 51% of the shares, Upper Hudson Investment Company LLC, with 49%, and North Park Avenue Investment Company LLC, with 1%. In 2022, the company obtained revenues of USD 240 million, that is, USD 154 million additional to what was obtained in 2021, according to information published in the Superintendence of Companies. In addition, by the end of 2022 it had assets of USD 99.5 million and liabilities of USD 122.5 million. "Being a new company, in the process of expansion, during the 2023 financial year the company's strategy has not changed with respect to 2022 and continues with financing with own and third-party funds," reads the notes to the 2022 financial statements. Tuti operates with leased premises. According to its website, it is looking for "land" and "commercial premises", of 350 square meters or more and only on the ground floor, to continue its expansion in the country. Read more: El TuTi opened stores in Huaquillas and Guaranda Discount Retail Chain El Tuti store #smartdiscount #ecuador #latinamerica #expansion #growth #privatelabel #assortment #prices #valueformoney #drc #discoun #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google

Trader Joe’s went through a major growth spurt in 2024, opening a whopping 34 new stores coast-to-coast.  Last year’s uptick in store openings amounts to more than five times the amount opened in 2022 and triple the number the grocer debuted in 2023. Trader Joe’s is keeping up the rapid pace of store growth, with plans already in place this year for around a dozen locations.  In 2024, Trader Joe’s primarily concentrated store growth to the back end of the year, with 23 locations, over half of the total openings last year, coming between October and December. New store openings spiked in October The number of stores Trader Joe’s debuted each month of 2024. Trader Joe’s expansion strategy centred around bolstering its presence in existing markets rather than entering new states. Eighteen of the 42 states and Washington, D.C., where the grocer already operates welcomed new locations last year. A state-by-state look at where Trader Joe’s opened stores in 2024.  A closer look at California In 2024, California was the state where the company debuted most of its new locations. Looking ahead, Trader Joe’s already slated three more for the Golden State. So far, Trader Joe’s has announced three upcoming locations in the Los Angeles area. The grocer opened 10 new stores in California last year. These upcoming stores located in the Tarzana, Northridge and Sherman Oaks areas around Los Angeles are scheduled to open sometime in 2025. Trader Joe’s has not yet provided the exact dates for these openings.  Expansion in California in the past year has taken place almost exclusively in the state’s central and southern regions, mainly around major cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. The grocer opened one location further north in Roseville, which is near Sacramento. Trader Joe’s focus on California isn’t surprising considering it’s home to nearly 200 of the grocer’s locations, representing slightly more than one-third of the grocer’s entire U.S. store fleet. Where to next?  Trader Joe’s started this year with a store count of 579 locations stretching across 42 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., and the grocer doesn’t appear to be slowing its expansion momentum. Trader Joe’s already has a dozen stores slated to open in 2025. A majority of the stores are near major cities of their respective state. So far, the grocer has announced a dozen new stores slated to open sometime this year. Trader Joe’s upcoming locations are currently focused on both coasts, with a store planned for New York City’s Tottenville neighbourhood and three in the greater Washington, D.C., area as well as two scheduled for Washington state and three in California. Read more: Mapping Trader Joe’s ambitious store growth | Grocery Dive #smartdiscount #traderjoes #usa #expansion #growth #development #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google

Discount Variety Retail Chain DAISO USA, this Japanese retailer has 6,000+ stores worldwide. 4,000 stores just in Japan. After a few years in the U.S., it now hsd 150+ stores. DAISO are ready to start a major expansion throughout the country. DAISO's goal is 1,000 stores in the U.S. Recently Dasio announced 10 new stores for January.  DAISO carries over 76,000+ SKUs, with an average price of $1.75. This fun, treasure hunt dollar store concept has stationary, kitchenware, cosmetics, home goods, food, etc…  Next to DAISO the variety discounter Five Below as new competition is also moving in quickly! MINISO USA you are not alone, and Asia-based retailers aren't just online. Chinese internet discounter Temu will get its first store in Tampa, Florida on February 1st, 12,026 sq ft. One thing very unique to DAISO, they ask customers to provide new store locations. With an estimated thousands of retail stores scheduled to close in 2025 that may not be very difficult. #smartdiscount #daiso #fivebelow #temu #miniso #usa #expansion #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google

Among the big five European markets, two distinct patterns stand out: 🔹 Southern Europe: highly fragmented, with a mix of strong national champions and numerous regional players. 🔹 Northern Europe: a stark contrast, where the top 5 retailers control ~80% of FMCG sales. The 10 FMCG Retailers that expanded their customer base the most in Europe In the top 5 European markets, only 10 brick-and-mortar  retailers  selling FMCG managed to gain more than 1pt of penetration in 2024, meaning they got at least 1% more shoppers than in 2023. But here’s what’s even more interesting: Most of these retailers fall into two key categories: Retailers that acquired competitor stores, largely driven by the recent ownership changes of Casino, Cora, and Match stores, which explains why so many French banners appear in the ranking. Discount food and variety retail chains still have massive room for growth. Take variety discounter Action  in France as an example: this discounter attracted 3% of new French shoppers who hadn’t visited the banner a year ago. Despite slowing inflation, this ranking highlights one key trend: European consumers are still prioritizing budget control more than ever. Market research institute  NielsenIQ  consumer panels show, that the food retail landscape in EU5 remains largely stable, with  Mercadona  as the undisputed leader. Not only does it hold the #1 spot, but it has also continued to increase its penetration vs. 2023, a remarkable achievement in such a competitive market. Mercadona  as the undisputed leader. Not only does it hold the first spot, but it has also continued to increase its penetration vs. 2023, a remarkable achievement in such a competitive market. Further three key trends emerge among the top European retailers: again Discounters  are gaining ground, 7 out of the top 20 are discount retailer. The winning combination: multi-format presence & strong ecommerce  – The retailers with the largest customer reach are often those excelling in both physical and digital channels. Their success comes from combining various store formats (convenience, supermarkets, hypermarkets) and can be reinforced with a strong online presence —like  E.Leclerc  or  Tesco Retail consolidation is accelerating 20 retailers in EU5 now attract over 60% of households in their country, reflecting the growing concentration of brick-and-mortar retail, a direct consequence of flat or declining FMCG  volumes and the continued shift to  online . That's particularly visible in France, Germany & the UK, whereas Italy remains quite fragmented #smartdiscount #europe #research #nielsen #iq #mercadona #aldi #lidl #action #leading #fmcg #digital #physical #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google

Discount Retail Chains Biedronka and ARA's owner Jeronimo Martins pointed out that EBITDA exceeded EUR 2 billion, the company paid over EUR 1 billion in taxes, of which EUR 883 million in taxes in Poland. The company's capital expenditures in 2025 will amount to EUR 438 million in Poland and will be used to open new stores, modernize older outlets and launch the 18th distribution center. "We believe in our business, in our business and its development, which is why we invest so much to keep consumers happy and to stay ahead of the competition," said Pedro Soares dos Santos, CEO of Jeronimo Martins. We grow, earn more and pay more taxes Jeronimo Martins is the 37th largest retailer in the world and its position has grown by 10 points over the year. Among food retailers, the company ranks 25th in the world, and in Europe, Jeronimo Martins is in 14th place (up 5 positions).The company employs 88,000 people in Poland and is the largest employer in the country. Last year, the company spent €354 million on bonuses for employees, up 13% year on year. Strategy until 2030 Jeronimo Martins is currently creating a strategic plan for the next 5 years of development. It assumes the achievement of EUR 50 billion in sales by 2030. The company notes and monitors all challenges that affect individual markets. "I am full of good expectations for the Polish market. Poland has a huge potential and great economic indicators. The challenge is the fertility rate, demography, economic pressure due to interest rates, inflation rates and uncertainty related to the situation of the Polish consumer, who is trying to save more and more instead of spending money," pointed out Luis Araujo, CEO of the Biedronka chain. "We are facing geopolitical challenges, announcements of tariffs from the US, but our business is local, which means we source from local producers in Portugal, Poland or Colombia. And it should be noted that a retailer cannot develop without strong, local suppliers. For this reason, we believe that tariffs will not affect us too much. However, we have to wait and see what comes out of the current announcements. We try to prepare for storms and obstacles, because we see that the situation poses new challenges to us. That is why I believe that it is important to find a common voice for the whole of Europe on the most important issues. Without this, we will not be able to achieve a joint European success," concluded Pedro Soares dos Santos. Slovakia as a new element "Slovakia is one of the elements of our future growth. Our results in Slovakia after the first weeks of operation show that we have managed to create a proposition that is unique for European customers. The Slovak consumer is very similar to the Polish one, so we know how to promote ourselves there. We have a good feedbeak, the stores are full, consumers know us from shopping in Poland and ask about products they know from the Polish market, e.g. a selection of dumplings or alcohol," pointed out Luis Araujo, CEO of Biedronka. The company has high hopes for this market, so far it has observed less competition than on the Polish market and a good reception of the offer by Slovak consumers, whom it wants to get to know better. - What is important is the fact that the expansion is carried out by a Polish company, not a Portuguese one. This is an important element - said Luis Araujo. Read more: Właściciel Biedronki: Wierzymy tylko we wzrost! Utrzymanie status quo nas nie interesuje #smartdiscount #biedronka #expansion #growth #development #poland #slovakia #colombia #portugal #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google

Discount Retail Chain Lidl Germany recently introduced the new non-food product worlds. Lidl in Germany  has always tested new concepts around the Neckarsulm, their home town, and more specifically in Kupferzell. There are now 6 product category worlds visible: Parkside/DIY Children's World Sports/Lifestyle  Fashion Kitchen/Household  Living/Furnishing  Each product world begins at the end of the aisle at one side with the depicted product worlds and then continues. At the end of the aisle baskets are topped up with a minimum of 2 shelves, in the Christmas tree principle including signage and branding. In total, there are 64 moveable shelf and basket spots, with the size of an europallet, in the test store in Kupferzell just for non-food. The well known routing logic with the starting point in front of the dairy chiller with the most recent advertised in&out products, followed by the in&out assortment promos towards the cash register. As in category management, the new structure is aimed at customer needs and target groups. That fits well so far. The continuous superstructure with shelves allows for more items on the floor. The goods dividers ensure clarity. At the moment the branding of the new product worlds is not clear and present in the Lidl test stores with the exception for the Lidl Parkside brand. Now let's see when the new concept will be rolled out. #smartdiscount #lidl #germany #test #productworld #inout #nonfood #promotion #categorymanagement# #parkside #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google

Retailers’ own brands continue to expand their market presence across Europe, with total sales reaching € 352 billion in 2024, according to data from NielsenIQ. This marks a 0.11% point increase in market share from 2023, bringing private labels to 38.1% of the total grocery sector. The total grocery market, private labels and manufacturers' brands combined, now stands at € 924 billion, nearly € 100 billion more than in 2022. NielsenIQ surveyed 17 European markets for PLMA’s 2024 International Private Label Yearbook update and noticed an increase for retail brands in 9 out of the 17 countries. Europe remains a dominant global player in private label sales, with 10 countries exceeding a 30% market share and five surpassing 40%. The region's three largest grocery markets, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France, hold a collective private label share of 39.7%, up by 0.1% points from the previous year. Among the highest-growing markets, Spain leads with a 1.2% point increase in private label share, followed by the Czech Republic (+0.5 pp), Portugal (+0.4 pp), and France (+0.4 pp). Switzerland remains the strongest private label market, boasting a 52.0% share, making it the only country with a share higher than 50%. Read more: Value of private label sales in Europe grew to €352 billion in 2024 | PLMA #smartdiscount #privatelabel #development #europe #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google

Discount Retail Chain Tuti is the fastest growing retailer in the preference of Ecuadorians among the different shopping channels. In two years it already has 600 stores nationwide. The discounter Tuti, where a limited assortment of products is offered at very low prices, is the fastest growing and has already equaled hypermarkets (Megamaxi, Hipermarket and Coral) in the preferences of Ecuadorians. A study by the research firm Kantar shows how competition between the different mass consumption channels in Ecuador closed in 2024. The result: supermarkets, Tuti and butcher shops were the ones that Ecuadorians preferred the most when buying their products. Tuti, which is part of the Corporación El Rosado economic group, and which opened its first store in Guayaquil in April 2019, already has 643 stores, according to the Internal Revenue Service (SRI). Data from the Superintendence of Companies show that in 2023 it totaled USD 446.6 million as total revenues. Miguel le la Torre, country Manager of Kantar Ecuador's Worldpanel division, explains what happened, "Hypermarkets lost share in 2024. That is a waste of money, because they are premises of large lengths, expensive to maintain." Miguel de la Torre adds that "hypermarkets are focusing too much on price and not on experience. It is a channel that can offer a lot of added value, different formats, new categories" The specialist adds that the discounter (Tuti is the only one currently existing in the country) is the fastest growing channel; it is not the one that contributes the most, but it is the fastest growing. It went from having 2% of the pie in the first quarter of 2022 to 8% in the last quarter of 2024. For their part, supermarkets (Supermaxi, Mi Comisariato, Akí, Santa María, Tía and Mini Mico) achieved their maximum in the last two years in the fourth quarter of last year, capturing 23 out of every USD 100 in Ecuadorians' purchases. Finally, purchases in butcher shops have also recovered space. "The discounter, by not having all the product categories, prevents the consumer from making a complete purchase. When he can't find fresh protein, but frozen, he goes to the butchers." How did the Ecuadorian customer buy in 2024? When comparing the last quarter of 2024 with 2023, the mass consumption basket, which is equivalent to USD 260, registered a growth of 7%, in price and 1% in quantity. This was due to speculative effects inherited from the announcements of the El Niño phenomenon. As of the third quarter of 2024, the blackouts impacted the mass consumption basket. With the increase in rationing, the main drop was that of fresh proteins (-5%). "What the Ecuadorian shopper did was buy less of the category and make more accelerated trips, since he could not keep fresh food for long," explains De la Torre. On the other hand, Food, Beverages and Personal Care grew in value during 2024 in comparison with 2023. The 8% increase in spending on food was driven by the increase in the price of rice. In the case of Beverages, its improvement was due to the fact that there was a transfer of spending from outside to inside the home, due to insecurity. That is, people no longer left their homes. The increase in the purchase of beauty products driven by Black Friday stands out, as it was one of the most promoted baskets. The main purchase channel that benefited was 'catalog sales', which accounted for 50% of sales in this basket. "This option to buy also became an option for a source of employment, since the country is facing a labor crisis." #smartdiscount #tuti #growth #expansion #revenue #ecuador #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google