Natalie Berg on Retail

For most people, the words ‘Brazil’ and ‘online’ are often synonymous with growth. Therefore, it came as a shock to the retail community that hypermarket operator Carrefour has decided to end its Brazilian e-commerce operations in order to focus on growth with its bricks and mortar network.
After more than two years in operation, the website [...]

Sainsbury’s Brand Match. Asda Price Guarantee. Tesco Price Promise. And now Ocado has its own Low Price Promise. With all these promises, how can a consumer go wrong?
The fact is that price alone is not enough, further evidence of which we’ll see tomorrow when Tesco is expected to report its first drop in profits in [...]

Perhaps in a quest for transparency following Mexico-gate, last week Walmart shed some light on the financial performance of their international operations. For the first time, we got detailed comp, traffic and ticket info which is like gold dust to us retail analysts.
What I found most astounding was the very clear divergence between average ticket [...]

In what shouldn’t be dismissed as a step closer to a potential merger, mass merchant Target has partnered with Best Buy for its consumer electronics expertise. Beginning in October, Best Buy will place Geek Squad agents in 29 Target stores, mainly in the Denver, Colorado area. The on-site tech experts will be on hand for [...]

With just hours to go before the Olympic Ceremony kicks off, this week we had a look at how retailers in Central London have geared up for the big event.
John Lewis has been among the more pro-active (there’s certainly nothing understated about wrapping your top stores in Olympics banners). As an official sponsor and the [...]

Chicago appears to be the American hotbed for QR codes.
Last month we had Ahold’s Peapod campaign in Chicago’s State and Lake Station Tunnel. Not too dissimilar to what other supermarkets have done around the world (from Ocado in the UK to Cencosud in Chile) – and no surprise that it’s generally the online-only supermarkets that [...]

Walmart has announced a new ‘pay with cash’ option for online shoppers. The move is a first for the US, and a clear nod to Walmart’s core customer segment - lower-income Americans living paycheck to paycheck. During the recession, the retailer regretfully neglected these customers, leading to more than two years’ worth of declining comparable [...]

The news: Tesco is phasing out its Value private label line and replacing it with a new brand called Everyday Value.

The implication: This isn’t just a name change, but a move to make the packaging and quality of its bottom-tier range far more attractive to value-seeking shoppers. The products will contain no MSGs, GMOs, and [...]

Walmart’s full year results show that, although the US business is finally getting back on track, it must not take its eye off the core domestic division. Comparable store sales at Walmart US rose for the second consecutive quarter, following nine quarters of declining sales. Equally, shopper numbers at US stores improved, following six quarters [...]

Carrefour is likely to announce that Georges Plassat will replace Lars Olofsson as Chief Executive. Plassat, a former Casino Chairman, most recently served as Chief Executive of French clothing group Vivarte and also spent two years at Carrefour Spain.
Plassat had reportedly turned down the offer of Carrefour CEO back in November, although the retailer denied [...]