The largest Russian retailers and qualified analytics shared their experience regarding 2020 and forecasts for 2021 for the research of Prognosis Company published by Retail.ru service.
Numerous retailers had to alter their strategy in respect of e-commerce; some of them launched their own online stores, others did it in cooperation with the established platforms.
According to the CGT union, the 240 employees working in these stores will be reclassified elsewhere.
This decision comes after the takeover by Aldi of the Leader Price franchise from the French giant Casino during last November. The stores concerned are to often be sold to other companies, for various reasons like a too close proximity to Aldi brand's stores or a too strong competition in the sector.
Lidl has followed the lead of Aldi and Tesco by announcing it will refund over £100 million in business rates relief aimed at supporting UK businesses during the pandemic. Lidl GB said that the business rates holiday allowed the discounter to make significant quick unplanned investments in its operations, infrastructure and people to manage customer demand.
UK retailer Tesco has announced it will complete the £8 billion sale of its Thai and Malaysian business to CP Retail Development Company. The purchase was approved by Thai authorities last month and CP Group has now confirmed it is satisfied with the formal notice of approval. The deal should be formally completed by December 18th.
Aldi will continue its expansion in Italy, which has seen an average of three openings per month (mainly in the north), despite the many difficulties caused by the pandemic. The fruit and vegetable department continues to play a central role, as it seeks to keep the supply chain as short as possible by offering a generous selection of about 120 items of fresh fruit and vegetables.
The planned £6.8 billion takeover of Asda by the Issa brothers and private equity firm TDR Capital is the subject of a probe by the UK’s competition watchdog (CMA), after the European Commission referred the deal to the UK. The CMA will now look at whether the takeover will lead to a substantial lessening of competition in the UK.
UK retailer Co-op has begun implementing facial recognition technology at 18 of its stores in a bid to reduce crime and abuse against staff. Southern Co-op was the first to trial the controversial technology, with other regional Co-op franchises now believed to be using it too. According to Wire, the retailer, which experienced a sharp rise in crime levels during the pandemic, began using the technology 18 months ago.
France’s leading 100% organic brands Biocoop, Naturalia and La Vie Claire performed very well in 2019, thanks to continued store openings and increasingly aggressive communication. However, smaller brands are suffering from the increasingly fierce competition.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned that supermarkets will face over £3 billion in tariffs if the UK leaves the EU without a trade deal and that these costs will be passed onto consumers. Both the UK and the EU stated on Friday that there is a “strong possibility” that there will be no post-Brexit trade deal between the two parties. Johnson however added that a no-deal scenario, similar to the relationship that Australia has with the EU, would still be “very good”.
UK retailer Tesco has promised to pay back the £585 million it saved from a business rates holiday aimed at helping struggling retailers cope with the Covid-19 crisis. Tesco’s chairman, John Allan, said that the retailer was conscious of its responsibilities to society and that the Big 4 giant did not need the saving due to remaining open and trading strongly throughout the pandemic.
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