News and Trends

  retailanalysis.igd.com We review Costco’s fourth quarter and full year sales, including the outlook for the holiday season, ecommerce development and further expansion. Key numbers Q4 net sales increased 12.5% to $52.3bn Comparable store sales increased 14.1%, ex-fuel and currency impacts; 13.6% in the US, 12.6% in Canada and 18.8% in other international markets Comparable ecommerce sales increased 91.3% Net income in the quarter increased 26.6% to $1.4bn Full year net sales increased 9.3% to $163.2bn, with membership fees up 5.6% to $3.5bn Net income for the full year increased 9.4% to $4.0bn Traffic trends improving Costco finished the year strong, with its performance underpinned by the COVID-19 pandemic. It benefitted significantly from the shift to eating more at home and educating and working from home. Although traffic was down 1.2% globally, the trend is improving, including in the US where it was up 1.2%. Average basket size was up 12.7%. Safe place to shop ...

M&S ISB changes:  upgraded range, marketing and new / fully recyclable packaging.

Quoting French analyst sources, ESM reports that Drive purchases will be worth €9bn this year, up 35% from 2019. Leclerc remains the biggest player in the channel, and is expected to deliver nearly half of this €9bn total. More here . Drive remains the dominant aspect of online food shopping in France, significantly ahead of delivery.

  Source: Amazon This week Amazon has introduced Amazon One, whereby a customer’s palm print can be connected to a stored credit card, enabling it to be used for payment. Initially launching at two Amazon Go stores in Seattle, Amazon then aims to roll the technology out across Amazon Go stores in other US cities. More details via CNN here .

  According to BetterRetailing , customers using this facility will need to order in-store via the Costa Coffee app, scanning a QR code on the machine before placing their order. The drink will then be prepared without the customer needing to touch the screen. A full launch is reportedly planned for next week. Source: Gavin Rothwell Daily Update ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Costa Express to roll out ‘remote’ ordering for in store machines following hygiene concerns www.betterretailing.com Coffee giant aims to overcome customer hygiene concerns with new feature.  Customers using Costa Coffee machines in convenience stores will soon be able to order their drink without touching the device. Material seen by betterRetailing revealed that ‘remote control coffee’ will launch on 5 October across its 8,400 machines in the UK. Customers use the Costa Coffee Club App to scan a QR code on the machine ...

  Source: Co-op Priced at £8 and designed to serve two, the selection of five boxes launches today, across 837 stores and also on Deliveroo, from close to 100 stores.    Source: Gavin Rothwell Daily updates

Tesco has outlined ambitions to grow the category significantly, with plans including merchandising plant-based solutions alongside meat alternatives, and making products more affordable and innovative. More here . Tesco targets 300% rise in vegan meat sales www.bbc.co.uk Tesco has set a target to sell four times as much meat alternative protein by 2025 as demand for vegan products climbs.  The supermarket giant wants a 300% boost in sales compared with 2018 as part of a sustainability drive.  It will aim to sell more plant-based sausages and burgers, as well as products designed to emulate meat. The UK market for meat alternatives could be worth more than £1.1bn by 2024, according to analyst firm Mintel.  Tesco said meat and dairy production had a "significant impact" on environments such as the Amazon and Cerrado regions of Brazil, and "is acknowledged as a major contributor to climate change". The UK's largest retailer aims to introduce...

  boulangerie-bakery.com La Fédération des Entreprises de Boulangerie-Pâtisserie ( FEB ) a commandé une étude réalisée par l’Ifop en février dernier, sur les usages et attitudes des Français vis-à-vis du pain .  D’après cette étude, nos compatriotes connaissent en moyenne 9,4 types de pain différents. La baguette , symbole de la France, est devenue un aliment indispensable de notre alimentation et reste le type de pain le plus connu (98 %) mais également le pain préféré des Français (59 %).  Le pain kebab et le bagel sont connus par environ 7 Français sur 10. Tandis que le pain suédois, le pain ciabatta et le pain pita par environ 6 Français sur 10.   Les pains dits les “plus traditionnels” en France sont logiquement les plus consommés et 4 types de pain font partis de la consommation régulière des Français : la baguette (le type de pain de très loin le plus consommé environ 4 fois par semaine), le pain/boule/pavé (même s’il est consommé par moins de Français...

Walmart remains keen to offload Asda, and it has been reported that the preferred bidder at this stage comes from a group that includes the Issa brothers, the founders and owners of EG Group, as well as TDR Capital – which also owns a 50% stake in EG Group. More detail via Sky News here .  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billionaire brothers in pole position to buy Asda in £6.5bn swoop news.sky.com The Issa brothers and TDR Capital have been chosen as the preferred bidder for Asda, Sky News can reveal. Image: Asda is Britain's third-biggest supermarket chain The billionaire brothers behind one of Britain's big...

Recent headlines in the UK have focused on covid outbreaks at universities as students have returned. With many having to self-isolate, there have been reports of students finding it hard to get food delivered. Here’s the Real Wrap Company’s solution. Source: Gavin Rothwell Daily Updates

  Perhaps taking inspiration from Amazon’s Subscribe & Save, Morrisons has launched many of its food and drink boxes in a subscription format, sold at a 5% discount to the one-off rate.  Morrisons has also added its doorstep delivery service to specifically serve student halls of residence in Manchester, with a view to expanding the service to other cities, amid covid outbreaks at universities.  Source: Gavin Rothwell Daily Updates

Greggs’ trading performance over Q3 shows positive signs. Across company owned stores, sales (on a LFL basis) reached 76% of previous levels over the past month. For the 12 weeks from July 2 to September 26, like-for-like sales in company managed shops were 71% of those for Q3 last year . No results were given for franchised store performance – though these only accounted for c. 10% of sales last year.   Click & collect and delivery are now available nationally. Last week, delivery accounted for 2.6% of total sales. Greggs continues to bring back more items to its menu, and aims to add a net 20 shops before the end of the year.    As well as the covid issue at its manufacturing plant in Leeds in August, it experienced a further covid disruption at a plant in Newcastle last week. “It seems likely that this pattern of disruption to supply-side operations will be an ongoing challenge as we prioritise employee safety and play our part in managing COVID-related ri...

  Peter Backman's insight   So, the much feared second wave of covid is hitting us. It has arrived just as the restaurant sector was achieving some stability after a boost in August from summer and EOtHO. And for the last few weeks it has been operating at something above 60% of pre-covid levels.   And now we have a lockdown – less stringent than before but it comes at a critical time. The government’s furlough scheme is ending (albeit to be replaced but by one that provides less financial support) and the rising toll of redundancies looks set to grow even larger. Another quarter’s rent becomes due. And there is Brexit, no longer just over the horizon. The government is stressing the potential impact on the supply chain bringing with it disruption and higher costs for operators and their suppliers.   Restaurants and pubs are rightly massively concerned about the impact of curfew restrictions. But, it is far too early to say what their precise impact will be...

Talking to Propel, co-founder Spencer Craig covers the situation succinctly:  “We really did not want to do a CVA. It was the last option we considered. We took every other possible measure but in the end, the lack of people in central London has led to an unsustainable position for us. And with government guidance on working from home changing again last week, there is now unlikely to be any improvement until 2021. We have been a little surprised by how many people have not wanted to return to see their colleagues or enjoy the wonders of central London. We love both of these things. London is an ecosystem of the demand created by the people that work here, visit from its suburbs, and international tourists. There are so many wonderful restaurants, shops, theatres, museums, live events and a public transport infrastructure to support this demand. But if you remove office workers from this system, there will be far, far less for everyone to enjoy and then we are into self-fulfil...

    Netherlands-based online retailer Picnic’s new agreement with Germany’s Edeka will see the two business deepen their existing collaboration (Edeka is a shareholder in Picnic Germany) to combine their purchasing. Retaildetail reports how Picnic is planning its own private label, and is considering expansion to the UK and France. Picnic in alliance with Edeka for international expansion www.retaildetail.eu In five years' time, Picnic wants to be a major international player. A new purchasing alliance with German market leader Edeka and the launch of its own private label should make that possible: France and the United Kingdom are already in sight. Why not Spain or Poland? Picnic will launch its own private label in a few weeks' time. According to co-founder Joris Beckers, this will not only demonstrate the maturity of the Dutch online supermarket, it will also help the pure player with its international expansion ambitions. In addition to Dutch and German la...