Discount Retail Chain PENNY (owned by the German REWE Group) is actively picking up on this trend and creating its own overarching regional private label brand "Marktliebe Regional" by PENNY. According to a forsa survey from 2022, 84 percent of respondents say that regional origin is important to them when it comes to fresh fruit and vegetables. PENNY understands the term "regionality" to mean that the products are manufactured in the respective designated federal state or higher-level growing region. PENNY currently has up to 200 varieties of fruit and vegetables in its range, about half of which come from conventional and organic production in Germany: up to 50 items are regional fruit and vegetables. It is planned to further expand the proportion of regional products across all possible product areas. "With the new regional brand, we are creating even more transparency, orientation and reliability for our customers. You can see directly on the packaging which federal state the fruit and vegetables come from. The previous claim of the regional window will be retained on all products. This step goes hand in hand with the fact that we will continue to expand the range of regional products at PENNY. We already source almost half of our fruit and vegetable range from Germany. We will continue to increase this proportion, also for other product groups. Regional products, up to 50 items for fruit and vegetables, have short transport routes, are good for the climate and we support domestic production, which makes us a bit less dependent on long supply chains," says Philipp Stiehler, Managing Director of REWE Group Buying/Ware Discount. In addition, customers can recognize regional items including branded items, by the corresponding price tag Read more: Penny "Marktliebe Regional": Commitment to fruit and vegetables from Germany ‹ Fruchtportal

Discount Variety Retail Chain Woolworth (owned by Tengelmann) a discounter that mainly offers cheap non-food goods, but also food. According to the Federal Gazette, the company achieved sales of around 462.5 million euros in the 2020 / 2021 financial year, with a minus of around 7.7 million euros due to the Corona crisis. In the previous year, a sales of almost 478.7 million euros was generated on profit of 12 million euros. Poland is particularly attractive for foreign business Woolworth is pushing ahead with its expansion plans faster than many experts had thought. This year alone, the non-food retailer plans to open 100 new stores in Germany. In total, Woolworth now has almost 600 stores, with the chain's goal being 1,000 locations throughout Germany. A strong growth, considering that WOOLWORTH had only overcome its insolvency about 12 years ago. Now foreign countries have also been rediscovered. On May 8, the first location with a sales area of about 1000 square meters abroad was opened in Krakow. Two more are to follow in Poznan and Warsaw before the end of May. In total, up to 400 locations are planned in Poland. Poland is of interest to many companies. The parent company H.H. Holding (also owned by the German Tengelmann group) has also been active in Poland with TEDi since 2018 and already operates 154 stores. Competitors such as the Dutch company Action (around 250 stores) or the British Pepco Group (around 1,200 stores) have also recognized Poland as a driver of expansion. Pepco was already able to post sales of approximately 1.8 billion euros in the last fiscal year, which was an increase of 24.5 percent. The Group's subsidiary Dealz is also doing well in Poland with almost 170 stores and was able to achieve net sales of 130 million euros. Dealz is also expanding and plans to open 2023 more locations by autumn 100. In contrast to Dealz, which is not yet able to report profits, this already looks very positive for Action with a pre-tax return of 3.1 percent. WOOLWORTH with an eventful history Woolworths has had a very eventful history. Founded in 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth in the USA, the company made the leap to Germany in 1926. In the wake of the insolvency of the US parent company, the last department stores in the USA were closed in 1997. The German subsidiary became self-employed in 1998 as part of a management buy-out. The term management buy-out refers to the purchase of a company by its management. In 2007, the British investment and consulting company Argyll Partners took over the operational business of WOOLWORT Germany. In 2009, the company had to file for bankruptcy. Through a deal with H. H. Holding, the company was saved and Woolworth GmbH was founded. It will be exciting to see how the well-known company can continue to consolidate itself in Germany, as well as abroad. Read more: WOOLWORTH will 5000 Filialen in Europa! - Supermarkt Inside (supermarkt-inside.de)

The British arm of German discount supermarket Lidl has raised pay for store and warehouse staff for the third time in 12 months, Lidl GB announced this week. With Britain's stubbornly high inflation rate falling by less than expected to 8.7% last month, the Bank of England is watching pay settlements closely as it weighs any further rises in interest rates. Lidl GB, part of the Schwarz retail group, employs 24,500 hourly-paid workers in Britain. Lidl said that from September, staff working outside of London (outside the M25 motorway) will see hourly pay increase to £11.40 (€13.10) from £11.00 (€12.64), rising to £12.30 (€14.13) depending on length of service, and that the pay for London workers (inside the M25) will increase to £12.85 (€14.77) from £11.95 (€13.73), rising to £13.15 (€15.11). Lidl told it has invested £60 million (€68.9 million) in staff pay over the last year. Lidl and rival discounter Aldi are Britain's fastest growing grocers, with sales up 23.2% and 24% respectively over the 12 weeks to May 14 year-on-year, according to industry data. Earlier this month, Lidl announced plans to recruit over 1,500 distribution centre workers to support its store expansion across the country. The stores are serviced by a network of 13 regional distribution centres. Lidl also said it has submitted plans for a new distribution centre in Leeds, which if approved would create a further 400 jobs. Source: ESM #smartdiscount #lidl #aldi #ukmarket #salary #salaryraise #uk #drc #retail #discountfoodretail #discounter #discount #foodretail#discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #consulting #consultancy

Discount Retail Chain BİM Birleşik Mağazalar A.Ş. (listed BIST: BIMAS) has reported a net income of 1.35 billion Turkish Liras for the first quarter of 2023, slightly higher than the 1.34 billion liras of profit the company posted in the same period of 2022. Net sales grew 88 percent in the January-March period from a year ago to 51.34 billion liras, while gross profit increased by 82 percent to 9.22 billion liras. Like-for-like sales per store/per day rose by 79 percent to 52,548 liras. Like-for-like-basket per visit was 96.02 liras, up from 51.72 liras. The company’s investments amounted to 1.6 billion liras, around 3.2 percent of its sales. In the previous quarter investments stood at 1.86 billion or 4.1 percent of sales. Investments included a new warehouse and for a biscuits and chocolate production facility. BİM had a total of 11,525 stores as of end-March versus 10,788 outlets a year ago. In the first quarter the retailer added 207 new stores to its network, but 225 stores closed due to the earthquakes which hit 11 provinces in Türkiye’s south in early February. BİM reported a 57 base-points (bp) one-off negative impact of the earthquakes on the gross margin, another 67 bp one-off impact on its net margin. Read more: (+9) BİM announces Q1 results (ortakalan.org) #smartdiscount #bim #turkey #growth #sales #revenues #expansion #investments #ebitda #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting

The market for private-label products in Europe's grocery sector hit €302 billion last year, new data from PLMA and NielsenIQ has shown, with the value share of store brands growing 1.2% on a pan-European basis. Private label now accounts for 37% of sales in the European grocery channel, the data showed. NielsenIQ surveyed 17 markets for PLMA’s International Private Label Yearbook, of which 16 reported growth in private-label sales last year. The only exception, Switzerland, saw a marginal decline of 0.4%. Of the countries included in the study, four have a private-label share of more than 40%, while private-label share is above 30% in 11 markets. Growth Markets The biggest growth in private-label share was seen in Czechia (+3.5%), Portugal (+2.9%), Spain (+2.2%) and Hungary (+2.2%), while Switzerland holds the highest store brand share of any European country, at 51.6%. Other countries with a significant private-label share include Spain (43.3%), Portugal (39%), the Netherlands (44.0%), Belgium (37.8%) and Austria (35.4%), while Europe’s largest markets, Germany, United Kingdom and France, have a collective private label share of 38.5%. Elsewhere, in Belgium and the Netherlands, the combined private label share grew 0.9%, while Scandinavian markets saw a combined share growth of 1.1%, with the highest growth reported in Denmark (+1.8%). According to NielsenIQ data, perishable and frozen food, paper products, and ambient food are the top three categories of Private Label value share with an average of 50%. This represents approximately €212.8 billion in sales across the 17 European countries tracked. 'Consumers in Europe clearly turned to private label acknowledging the quality and price value,' PLMA said in its report. Source: PLMA, NielsenIQ #smartdiscount #europe #privatelabel #pl #growth #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting

Discount Variety Retail Chain Dollar General (listed NYSE: DG) is growing its supply chain capacity with the addition of three facilities and the expansion of multiple existing ones, the company said. The additions include a previously announced distribution center in Blair, Nebraska, which can service the company’s traditional and DG Fresh product lines. Dollar General called the Blair facility its “first ground-up dual distribution center” that can service both fresh and traditional assortments, as part of the discounter’s “strategic, multi-phased shift to self-distribution of frozen and refrigerated products.” The company expects the Blair distribution center to employ around 400 people at full capacity. It is part of a $140 million investment in Nebraska’s Washington County, according to the release. Dollar General also recently added permanent regional distribution hubs in Newnan, Georgia, and Fort Worth, Texas, that together add two million square feet in storage capacity to Dollar General’s distribution network. The company said that both new distribution centers will “serve as an intermediary point between import locations and Dollar General’s distribution center network.” Each facility is expected to employ 200 people when at full capacity. In addition to new facilities, the retailer this spring completed a US$45 million, 250,000-square-foot addition to a Jonesville, South Carolina, distribution center. The site first opened in 2005. Also in the works is a 170,000-square-foot DG Fresh facility in Amsterdam, New York, to complement a traditional distribution center in the same location. Construction is expected to begin in 2024. Finally, Dollar General has started building three previously announced distribution centers in Arkansas, Colorado and Oregon. As of early March, Dollar General operated 19 distribution centers for non-refrigerated products, 10 cold storage distribution centers and two combination facilities, according to the company’s most recent 10-K. All told, the company has more than 20 million square feet of storage space for non-refrigerated products and 2.6 million square feet of cold storage. The new distribution centers will collectively add 20% to the retailer’s distribution center capacity and “position us well to support continued growth in the years to come,” CEO Jeff Owen told analysts in December. Lack of sufficient storage capacity created operational headaches and millions of dollars in costs for Dollar General last year. In Q3, the company reported an additional US$40 million in supply chain costs resulting from delays in opening temporary warehouse space. The delays were due to external factors, including permitting, executives said at the time. With goods arriving earlier than expected and hiccups in opening additional temporary storage, Dollar General racked up retention fees for delays in returning shipping containers, along with higher transportation costs and freight inefficiencies from “less-than-optimal distribution center alignments,” Owen said in December. Read more: Dollar General boosts supply chain with new distribution centers | Retail Dive #smartdiscount #dollargeneral #growth #expansion #warehousing #distribution #stores #scm #supplychain #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting

Discount Variety Retail Chain Action (owned by PE investor 3I group) achieved a turnover growth of 36% in the first quarter. In the first three months of 2023, the discounter added 34 stores and now operates 2,297 stores in 11 European countries. Together, these sold for almost €2.5 billion between January and March. Action's revenue growth is due to the rapid expansion of the chain. In Italy and Spain, the discounter is growing to nationwide coverage and expanding to Portugal as the 12th country is only a matter of time. The non-food discounter is also able to grow turnover in the existing stores. The stores that Action also operated in the first quarter of last year saw their turnover grow by more than 24% in the first quarter of this year. The originally North Holland retail company is owned by the British investment company 3i Group. It bought Action in 2011 for around €500 million from the Dutch founders and now has an enterprise value of £10.3 billion (almost €12 billion). Read more: Action is growing fast at home and abroad | Financial | Telegraaf.nl #smartdiscount #action #europe #netherlands #uk #sales #revenues #profits #ebitda #value #3igroup #expansion #growth #stores #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting

Discount Retail Chain Norma Germany (German family owned) and IFCO are expanding their cooperation, for more sustainability and the reduction of food waste! The Nuremberg-based food discounter and the world's leading provider of reusable transport crates have entered into a long-term partnership to this end, declaring war on single-use packaging in the fresh food supply chain. The aim is to significantly reduce the CO2 footprint along the value chain. At the same time, IFCO crates bring numerous other advantages in terms of ecology and economy during transport. The much-cited triad of sustainability - reduce, reuse, recycle - is anchored even more firmly in NORMA's sustainability strategy through the use of reusable transport crates. In the future, more and more items in the fruit and vegetable range will be delivered with the reusable transport trays. Disposable cardboard boxes, for the production of which more energy and water are consumed over their entire life cycle, will then be a thing of the past in the long run. The amount of packaging waste is therefore significantly reduced. Thanks to the so-called IFCO SmartCycleTM, the reusable transport trays remain in use in the long term and ensure smooth and more efficient logistics between the producers of fresh food and the end customer in the NORMA store. As part of this cycle, discarded defective reusable crates are first processed into granules and then into new transport crates. The expansion of the cooperation between NORMA and IFCO sets new standards in the sustainability efforts to date. The smart crates ensure that, thanks to the sturdy design, transport damage is also reduced. As a result, more fresh fruit and vegetables end up on sale. The advantages of IFCO crates are therefore obvious. Read more: Norma will rely on sustainable IFCO transport trays for fruit and vegetables in the future ‹ Fruchtportal #smartdiscount #fruitandvegetables #germany #norma #ifco #crates #plastic #reusable #pooling #sustainable #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting

Discount Variety Retail Chain Action's Zenova’s octocrylene-free sunscreen lotion for sensitive skin with SPF30 has been voted Best Buy and Best of Test in the category sunscreen with SPF30 in Belgium. In the Netherlands the sunscreen was awarded Best Buy, Best in Test and Green Choice by the Consumers’ Association (Consumentenbond) in the same category. Action’s Zenova products have a new sustainable formulation and are available from €2.39. Action offers high-quality and durable products at the lowest price possible, never compromising on product quality. Action is therefore proud of the recognition through these awards. Renewed, sustainable composition All Zenova products are now reef-friendly, free of microplastics, vegan and rich in vitamin E. In addition, the bottles and tubes of Zenova products are made of at least 50% recycled plastic. Zenova’s new composition is suitable for all skin types and are made with high-quality ingredients that are both effective and gentle on the skin. On top of that the sun milk products of Zenova are sustainably composed. Sustainable products from Action In addition to Zenova’s sun milk products, Action markets other sustainable items, many of which are for everyday use. For example, Action’s assortment includes a hamam towel made out of ‘Better Cotton Initiative’-certified cotton. This cotton is grown in a sustainable way: during the production process, water consumption is used more efficiently, soil health is optimised and the use of harmful chemicals is significantly reduced. Items such as flower pots and outdoor rugs from Action are also made from recycled plastic. Read more: Zenova sunscreen awarded with multiple prizes in Belgium and the Netherlands - Action #smartdiscount #action #benelux #belgium #netherlands #best #sunlotion #bestinclass #consumentenbond #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #consumentenbond

Discount Retail Chain Aldi UK (German family owned) has added self-service checkouts to many of its existing stores in a bid to “further improve customer experience.” This comes following positive feedback from the current unmanned checkouts that first launched in some of the discount grocer’s stores in 2019. “Following positive feedback, we are introducing self-checkouts across the county to further improve customer experience,” an Aldi spokesperson said. According to reporting by BirminghamLive, the extended rollout of self-service tills has caused mixed reactions from shoppers, with one commenting in an Aldi Facebook group that the checkouts were a “win win”. While others agree that the system is “great” and a “game changer,” another said: “I get too flustered and just make mistakes, tech is not my thing.” However, the Aldi spokesperson added: “Checkouts manned by our amazing colleagues will still be available for customers who prefer to use these.” Last year, Aldi joined the likes of Amazon Fresh and Tesco GetGo having launched its first checkout-free store in Greenwich. The format allows customers to enter and scan items using a smartphone app as they shop and when leaving the store, shoppers will be automatically charged and sent an email receipt. Read more: Aldi extends self-service checkouts to more UK stores (grocerygazette.co.uk) #smartdiscount #aldi #uk #expansion #growth #selfcheckout #selfscan #it #pos #stores #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting

Discount Retail Chains D1, ARA, Olympic or Jumbo, increase their competition in Colombia to serve consumers looking for the lowest prices. These hard discount stores use smaller spaces than traditional supermarkets and have fewer references for each product they sell. Their big bet is their own private label brands. Making market not only involves satisfying basic needs by acquiring food and other supplies necessary to live, but also for many it becomes a plan, because, even if they are not able to buy what they see, they entertain themselves by choosing and comparing between a wide variety of products. In other words, the so-called standard Colombian 'Miranda family' not only walks through shopping malls, but also shop in supermarket chains. However, they now face one of their biggest challenges due to the sharp escalation of inflation and a marked change in the habits of Colombians, who are increasingly choosing to shop in hard discount stores. This discount format, which arrived in Colombia in 2009 with the D1 stores, was created in Germany in the late 1970s with the Aldi chain. The aim was to offer high-quality commodities at low prices, eliminating everything that was considered superfluous or non-essential. Instead of offering a wide variety of products and brands, hard discount stores focused on a limited number of private label or not very well-known products, allowing them to keep costs low and prices to a minimum. In their early years in Colombia, these chains only received cash, did not advertise and charged for bags in order to save costs. Market leader D1, in less than 15 years, displaced Éxito (without considering its subordinate companies) to second place in sales value in Colombia. Discount provides you a shopping experience, in which there is not high invest in the appearance of the gondolas and use small store spaces, is what dominates the preferences of Colombians, motivated by low prices. That has caused a strong upheaval in the supermarket business and even in neighborhood stores. The result is a change of leadership in the sector. D1, in less than 15 years, displaced Éxito (without considering its subordinate companies) to second place in sales. Last year, D1, which belongs to the Santo Domingo Group, sold 13.9 billion pesos, while Éxito, which is part of the French Casino group, had a turnover of 10.1 billion. If the sales of Carulla, Superinter, Surtimax and Surtimayorista are added to this figure, Grupo Éxito maintains the first place with 14.4 billion. "We had many years in which Éxito was the one who set the rules and pointed out the trends in retail in the country, but everything has been changing with the phenomenon of hard discount. It is a situation that not only Éxito faces, but also the other giants of the market, Jumbo and Olímpica, whose gap with D1 has also been widening and, therefore, has decreased the possibility that these chains recover their historical positions (second and third place) in the ranking of the largest supermarket chains in the country", explains Luis Carlos Cadena, general manager of OCL, a consultancy specializing in market analysis. ARA is the fastest growing hard discount chain in the country today. In the discount format of limited product references and low prices not only D1, also ARA is active. ARA is a Portuguese chain owned by Jerónimo Martins, the oldest retail company in the world. ARA stores rank third in sales in the country, billing 8.7 billion pesos in 2022. Not only are they ringing their cashiers, but they are growing at one of the fastest rates in the sector (60 percent annually), surpassing even the performance of D1, growing between 2021 and 2022 with 40 percent. Cadena estimates that if ARA maintains its growth rate in 2023 it could become the second player in the country in 2024. Currently, D1 has more than 2,200 stores open in 532 municipalities. At the end of this year they aspire to have 2,490 stores located in 551 towns. Christian Bäbler Font, president of D1, attributes part of their good results to their commitment to the country, where they are not only large employers (they have 17,000 workers), but they are also consumers of national products, since 90 percent of their suppliers are Colombian. "This year we have the goal of creating 3,000 new direct jobs thanks to the fact that we will open stores in more than 20 municipalities nationwide. We will achieve this with an investment close to 125 million dollars in 2023," says Christian. According to Cadena's accounts, the growth of D1 last year implied the opening of a store every two days, while Ara, already with more than 1,000 stores in the country, opened 275 in 2022, that is, it opened a new one every business day last year. "In both cases we are facing the retail operating elite, companies that move at a different speed than we are used to," says the expert. Despite the collapse of Justo & Bueno, which at some point reached the second spot among the hard discount stores, this business model was not weakened and, on the contrary, the bankruptcy of that firm implied an opportunity for a traditional player to open space in this format. It's about Olympic, who with Ísimo aspires to keep a piece of the cake. Currently, they already have 268 stores nationwide and in the next two months they plan to open 142 more stores. "Very much is the intelligent recognition by Olímpica that with the traditional strategy it would only widen its gap with D1 and ARA. They understood in time that with the way they have operated they have no way to grow at the speed that is imposed today, and in commerce, as in everything, those who walk slowly are left behind, "says Cadena. Discount has not stood still On the side of success, they have not been surprised by the turmoil of the sector and have prepared themselves with innovation. In a conference with investors, organized by Davivienda Corredores, Carlos Mario Giraldo, president of the company, explained that they have compensated for the changes in the sector with significant growth in electronic commerce as it is one of the largest home delivery firms in the country. They also launched the Surtimayorista format, they brought it from Brazil, which seeks to serve final consumers, but especially shopkeepers. It is estimated that in Colombia there are 260,000 shopkeepers, who still account for the sale of 45 percent of the food sold in the country. Giraldo considers these figures a blue ocean of possibilities, to which are added those of other Grupo Éxito businesses, such as shopping centers, Tuya, its financing company, and the Puntos Colombia loyalty program. Clearly, Colombian consumers are moving towards hard discount stores in the need to look for the most comfortable prices. A study by Kantar, a division of Worldpanel, indicates that with inflation close to 13 percent, households visit more points of sale to be able to save. The most affected channels are neighborhood stores and minimarkets, since the spending that households usually made in them has migrated to discounters. Those who make this migration the most are socioeconomic levels 2, 3 and 4, which in turn concentrate 60 percent of consumers. Another characteristic of the hard discount chains is that they have led their customers to try items that were not previously in their shopping cart, such as wines, ice cream and Serrano ham, now more accessible with everything and the rising prices. It is a fact: the pocket is not made of rubber and Colombians are spending less than in 2022 Likewise, the McKinsey State of Grocery report for Colombia ensures that new healthy lifestyles will also alter demand and there D1, ARA and Ísimo need to react. The report estimates that 63 percent of Colombians intend to buy more healthy food, but only 11 percent are willing to pay more for these types of products. Although the Colombian 'Miranda family' has not stopped walking through the shelves of large supermarkets, discount formats are gaining more and more space in their pockets, which implies healthy competition, in which hopefully the winners are consumers. Source: Ignacio Gomez Escobar, DRC Business Development Associate Read more: Success, D1, Ara, Olympic or Jumbo, which is the one that sells the most? -WEEK (igomeze.blogspot.com) #smartdiscount #d1 #ara #colombia #kantar #mckinsey #Olympic #Jumbo #exito #JerónimoMartins #aldi #ocl #SantoDomingoGroup #growth #marketleader #drc #discount #retail #consulting #retailconsulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting

Discount Retail Chain Aldi UK (German family owned) was officially named Grocer of the Year at the 2023 Retail Week Awards, which took place on March 30. After record growth, Aldi now has a market share of 9.9%, according to Kantar figures, the country's cheapest supermarket beat out its more expensive rivals Tesco, Sainsbury's and Ocado to take home the evening's big award: Grocer of the Year. When he was awarded in recognition of his achievements and achievements over the past year, the judges praised the supermarket's understanding of customers, excellent execution of business strategy and sustainability. Read more: Aldi GB named "Food Retailer of the Year" ‹ Fruchtportal #smartdiscount #aldi #uk #groceroftheyear #successful #growth #expansion #award #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting