Sainsbury’s has revealed its latest look for the “supermarket of the future”, reports The Times. The supermarket chain has opened a “department-store-style” outlet in Nine Elms, London, which is the first to offer shoppers a food hall as well as an Argos concession, a mini Habitat, a sushi gourmet bar and pharmacy, as well as clothing and homewares divisions. The Guardian writes it is part of a fight back against the rise of the discounters, with CEO Mike Coupe saying supermarkets needed to be flexible to compete in a rapidly changing market.
Poland’s Kulczyk Investments is seeking potential partners for a possible bid for SABMiller’s central and eastern European beer brands, The Financial Times reports. Family-owned Kulczyk held a 3% stake in SAB before AB InBev’s offer, and has received a £2.1bn windfall from the deal, which formally concluded yesterday.
Coca-Cola may find it hard to sell its $3.5bn-$5bn stake in its African bottling operation to a single buyer, according to analysts (The Financial Times). The 54% holding is up for grabs after Coke said yesterday that it wanted to buy the holding under change of control provisions triggered by AB InBev’s £79bn takeover of SABMiller.
Amazon is to open its first grocery shop as it extends its foray into bricks-and-mortar retailing, The Times writes. The ecommerce giant is to open small convenience stores in the US to sell milk and other perishable items. The three stores on the West Coast will pose fresh threat to traditional retailers, The Financial Times says.
UK retail sales returned to growth in September due to higher spending on food, more purchases of big-ticket items and a back-to-school rush (The Financial Times). According to the British Retail Consortium/KPMG, sales rose by 1.3% compared with a year ago, with food sales recording highest increase since November 2013. But higher import costs will boost shop prices while Brexit talks create climate of uncertainty, says British Retail Consortium (The Guardian).
The Times has an interview with Hotel Chocolat founder Angus Thirlwell, in which he says greater scale and more financial firepower have given the retailer a boost at the right time.
No comments yet