Retail

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ASDA braces for hard year

supercentre

UK supermarket chain cuts prices and also aims to cut waste with promotion of ‘wonky’ fruit

At the start of what it says will be the “toughest year yet” in UK retailing, Asda announced its biggest ever investment in price cuts and a campaign to reduce waste of ‘wonky’ fruit. The Walmart–owned UK supermarket chain is spending more than £300m (€391.6m) to lower 2,500 prices for fruit, vegetables and other basket essentials.

Among the changes: 750g of Russet apples cut £0.25 to £1, cucumber halves down £0.05p to £0.30, £0.77 off banana 10-packs to £1.35, and bell peppers cut from £0.77 to £0.57 each.

Asda said the price ‘rollback’ is part of its five-year strategy to invest £1bn in lowering prices and £250m in quality to cement its role in “redefining value retailing.”

Asda-Superstore_Cape_Hill.jpg

‘Beautiful On The Inside’ promotion of ‘ugly’ fruit

Also in January, Asda launched a campaign in five of its stores to sell ‘wonky’ fruit and vegetables at a discounted price.It said this would help reduce food waste, support farmers and offer better value for money.

Crooked carrots, knobbly pears and wonky spuds will be labelled ‘Beautiful On The Inside’, bagged separately and sold at a reduced rate.

Asda produce technical director Ian Harrison said the campaign is the latest in a series of initiatives to show Asda’s commitment to helping reduce waste throughout its supply chain.

How Asda locked in low prices for seedless table grapes

Another example of supply chain improvements is Asda’s achievement last year of a 52-weeks a year seedless table grape supply.

Alberto Goldbacher from ASDA buyer International Procurement and Logistics Ltd (IPL), said this means much more than grapes on ASDA shelves year-round. Based in West Yorkshire, IPL’s grapes and stone fruit category manager said it had allowed the retailer to lock in low prices, too.

While other retail chains at times offer heavily discounted grapes, Asda is committed to stable, affordable prices through most of the year, “and that is what the consumer prefers.” Customers essentially want “simple prices” – low prices that are fixed, he said.

Consistent low prices spur sales growth

At the time of his presentation at ‘Grape Attraction’ last October in Madrid, Goldbacher said Asda had been selling 500g of seedless table grapes for £1.50 (€1.90) for 17 months. This followed 4-5 years when the price was around £2.

Other retailers would like to follow, but in terms of supply chain optimisation “we’re 16 months ahead of them.” They can offer grapes at that price for 1–2 weeks, but not consistently, he said.

 

This is an abbreviation of an article which appeared on page 34 of edition 135 of Eurofresh Distribution magazine. Read it for free here.

 

 

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LIDL explains how to recognise quality in fruit and veg

Screenshot 2015-02-26 at 14

Global discounter LIDL has launched a quality campaign in its German home base teaching how to recognize good quality.

The campaign includes a TV ad now on air in Germany which asks “How can you tell what really is good?”

The initiative focuses on six product groups: fruits and vegetables, fresh baked goods, fresh meat products, wine, coffee and chocolate.

An accompanying web site says how fresh, crisp and juicy they are is a guide to quality in fruit and vegetables “and not the fact someone made a colourful pyramid out of them.” Good vegetables are usually plump, crisp and firm. For many types – such as tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers – a strong and uniform skin colour is an indication of ripeness, it says.

Lidl has included a fruit and vegetables ‘horoscope’ to guide consumers as to the ‘stars of the season’. It provides an overview of Lidl’s changing range according to the time of year. Being in season is another factor in good quality fruit and vegetables. “We only offer a product when it has reached the ideal level of maturity and thus tastes really good,” it says.

See the web site (in German)

 

 

 

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The largest retailers in Belarus

RETAIL Bielorusia ROTNAIA

 

Successful strategy of directly sourcing and offering many quality products at affordable prices.

 

“Founded in the 1990s, our company began its activity as a small wholesaler,” explains Alexey Titov, head of Evrotorg’s fruit and vegetables department. “We imported products from Europe and distributed them in Minsk and other regions of Belarus. In the 2000s, the company opened its first retail stores under the brand name Euroopt, and it has now become the largest retailer in Belarus with over 270 stores with different formats, from mini-stores to hypermarkets.”

Fruit and vegetables take up a significant part of the sales. Most of the products are local: apples, cherries, cranberries and other fruits in summer; vegetables grown in open fields and in hot houses, etc.

However, imported products are also on the shelves in season (stone fruit) and all year round, too: cauliflowers, Chinese cabbage, broccoli, Iceberg lettuce, citrus, bananas, persimmon, grapes, etc.

 

RETAIL bielorusia Rodnaya_Storona2.JPG

 

Large assortment and direct imports at Evrotorg

The recently opened hypermarket in Pinsk is very nice and modern. Its fruit zone is Euroopt’s point of reference. The space for the fruit zone is very large and the customers can comfortably choose the fruit they like. In the same zone, there is a bar with freshly squeezed juices.

The department responsible for fruit and vegetable purchases is large and divided into 3 groups. The largest one deals with imports of banana and citrus fruit, the second largest with vegetables, and the third is responsible for all other fruit purchases.

As for the sources of the imported products, the largest volumes are brought from Poland and Turkey. Other exporters are Holland, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Greece.

 

Rodnaya Storona, one of the most dynamic retailers in Belarus

The first store belonging to a Belarusian retailer under the brand of Rodnaya Storona was opened in 2007 in Gomel. Expanding fast, the company became one of three largest retailers in the country, with 90 stores all over Belarus and with over 4,000 employees.

“We are a dynamic company,” says Alesia Borisova, fruit and vegetable purchasing department specialist. “We intently follow market trends, consumers’ requirements, general trends and react at once.” Fresh products are very important for the brand, and the company’s specialists pay close attention to partnerships with fruit and vegetable suppliers who can offer good quality products.

“Belarus is a producer of essential fruit and vegetables: potatoes, carrots, cabbages, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, apples, etc.”, Borisova said.“But of course, a lot of fruit and vegetables in the assortment have to be imported.”

NB

 

RETAIL bielarusia EVROTORG buyers.JPG

Evrotorg buyers

 

This is an abbreviated version of an article on page 28 of the retail section of edition 135 of Eurofresh Distribution magazine.

 

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Tesco returns to growth as British shoppers spend more on groceries

Fraser

 

The British grocery market is growing at 1.1%, the fastest rate since June 2014, according to Kantar Worldpanel.

Its grocery share figures for the 12 weeks to February 1 also show:

  • Tesco, Britain’s largest retailer, returned to growth for the first time since January 2014, increasing sales 0.3% on the same time last year, but its overall market share fell to 29%, down 0.2 percentage points on last year.

  • Asda reclaimed the title of second largest retailer this period with 16.9% of the market, overtaking Sainsbury’s, which traditionally performs more strongly at Christmas than the rest of the year. But both grocers saw sales fall compared with a year ago – Asda by 1.7% and Sainsbury’s by 1.0%.

  • Morrisons’ sales fell 0.4%, the best performance from the Bradford-based retailer since December 2013.

 

uk grocery share.png

based on data for 12 weeks to February 1, 2015

 

Kantar Worldpanel head of retail and consumer insight Fraser McKevitt said Tesco is bouncing back from a tough year, with efforts to overhaul the supermarket attracting an additional 236,000 shoppers into its stores in the last 12 weeks.

“Early results suggest that discounters Aldi and Lidl will find their accelerated growth levels hard to match in 2015. Aldi’s growth of 21.2% is still impressive but a relative slowing from its 36% peak in May 2014. Likewise, Lidl’s maximum growth of 24% in the same period is now down to 14.2%. Despite this slowdown, both retailers are still taking share from the other retailers – rising 0.8 percentage points and 0.4 percentage points respectively to 4.9% and 3.5%,” he said.

At the premium end of the market, Waitrose has supported growth with a greater focus on price and promotion, delivering a 7.2% sales rise taking its overall share to 5.2%.


British grocery market accelerating

McKevitt said British shoppers are taking advantage of lower fuel prices and the ongoing supermarket price war to slightly increase their grocery spending. “This has pushed the market into 1.1% growth, low by historical standards but a considerable improvement compared to November 2014, when the market contracted.”

“All of the major grocers have continued to compete fiercely on price leading to like-for-like grocery prices falling by 1.2%. This is another record low, saving Britain’s shoppers £327 million over the past 12 weeks,” he said.


Tool for seeing latest rankings

Kantar Worldpanel now provides an online visualisation tool for its grocery market share data (including historical figures) here:

http://www.kantarworldpanel.com/en/grocery-market-share/great-britain.

source: http://www.kantarworldpanel.com/en/Press-Releases/Market-accerlerates-and-Tesco-returns-to-growth

 

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Mercadona now holds 22.1% groceries margin in Spain

Screenshot 2015-02-16 at 16

 

Mercadona was by far the the leader but Carrefour Hiper, Dia, Eroski Supers and Lidl came next in holding the biggest share of Spain’s fast-moving consumer goods market last year, according to a report by Kantar Worldpanel.

Mercadona’s market share was triple that of its nearest competition, Carrefour Hiper, and it also dominated with its 17.5% share of perishables, climbing 6% on 2013.

But it was Lidl that grew the most in the perishables category, with its share rising 23.5% on 2013 to 2.1% last year.

The ten retail chains together accounted for 52.9% of total FMCG sales in Spain last year. All except Alcampo either improved or maintained their market share relative to 2013.

Perishables sales set to slump further

According to Kantar Worldpanel consumer insights director César Valencoso, last year was one of the worst for Spain’s FMCG sector, which lost 2.9% in sales value and 1.8% in volume overall – and he said the fresh produce category was largely to blame.

Indeed, the perishables category saw relative declines of 4.8% and 3.1% and the sales volume this year is poised to drop again, specifically by 1.1% on 2014, while most other categories are poised to improve, he said.

Market shares in Spain for sales of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)*

Retail chain

2014 ranking

2013 share in %

2014 share in %

change in percentage points

change in %

Mercadona

1

21.5

22.1

0.6

2.8%

Carrefour Hiper

2

7.5

7.7

0.2

2.6%

Dia

3

7.4

7.6

0.2

2.7%

Eroski Supers

4

3.1

3.3

0.2

6.4%

Lidl

5

2.7

3.1

0.4

14.8%

Alcampo

6

2.9

2.8

-0.1

-3.4%

Consum

7

1.7

1.9

0.2

11.7%

Eroski Hyper

8

1.5

1.6

0.1

6.6%

AhorraMás

9

1.5

1.5

0

0%

Caprabo

10

1.3

1.3

0

0%

 

* including food; baby, cleaning and personal care products; and pet food

source: Kantar Worldpanel based on sample of 12,000 households which reported daily to it on what they bought and where.

 

Read more: http://www.kantarworldpanel.com/es/Noticias/Buenas-perspectivas-Gran-Consumo-2015

 

Kantar spanish retailer rankings.png

 

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Asda says its “no tears” sweet red onion is a UK first

Asda onion

 

Asda has just started selling what it calls the UK’s first sweet red onion.

The UK retailer said in a press release that a total of about 40 tons of Sweet Reds are now on sale at selected Asda stores.

It claims the onion’s lower pungency levels means less tears while chopping and an odour that doesn’t linger on the breath as long as that from a regular onion. The new bulb is also said to boast a milder, juicier and crunchier flavour.

Asda said the sweet red is the result of work spanning more than 20 years by Bedfordshire Growers farmer Alastair Findlay, who evaluated 400-500 bulbs per season in order to cultivate the new onion.

Asda’s vegetables buyer Andy Wareham said the company is proud to have supported Findlay on the project. “Introducing the UK’s very first sweet red onion is a fantastic achievement.” Wareham said that like in the USA, people in the UK tend to have a sweeter palate “so will appreciate the same tangy flavour, without the strong acidity of some onions.”

“It’s funny to think that prior to the 1990s, there were no red onions grown within the UK. However due to the popularity and versatility of the variety, they now account for 20% of the total onions sold within the UK,” Wareham said.

Findlay is already working on an improved version of the onion to launch next year. “There are so many interesting flavours just waiting to be discovered,” he said.

Read more about Asda on p34 of our latest edition, number 135.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What’s happening with retail in Caucasus

There’s been significant growth in the retail sector in Belorussia

 

There are some 4,000 stores of different formats in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Modern retail is not more than 30% of total trade. The share of supermarkets does not exceed 5% of the market, and the growth of their share is not expected in the near future.

The situation is similar in Armenia though in Azerbaijan the supermarket share is greater – 10%. One of the youngest retailers of Azerbaijan is resco; it is an affordable brand with high quality products for demanding consumers. Fresco is part of the Azeri Retail company which appeared on the market in 2010.

In January–November 2014, Azerbaijan imported 12,800 t of fruit at a value of $9 million, down 31% on 2013.

But fresh vegetable imports grew 26% (22,600 tons at $2.4 million) and potato imports – which totalled 110,000 t with a value of $8 million – were 2.5 times higher than in 2013, according to the Interfax.az agency.
 

Consolidation of formats by Belarusian retailers

There’s been significant growth in the retail sector in Belorussia – more than 18% in 2013 (on 2012) and 10% in the first half of 2014.

Though lately the growth has been slowing due to a general business decline, analysts are optimistic about the long-term prognosis of retail growth in Belorussia because the procurement of trade space is still quite insufficient – it is 1.5-2 times less than the EU average. Moreover, the shortage of some formats is so great that consumers from small towns have to shop in the country’s capital, Minsk.
The main trends in Belarusian retail sector at the moment are the consolidation of formats and the optimisation of trade processes.


X5 Group’s turnover higher

In the last quarter of 2014, the retailer X5 Group opened two new distribution centres: one of 34,000 m2 in the Rostov region (south of Russia) and another of 44,000 m2 close to Nizhniy Novgorod (Volga region).

Its turnover grew in 2014 thanks to inflation, new outlets and an assortment upgrade, especially in discount formats.

However some stores were also closed: 46 Pyaterochka discounters, 22 Perekrestok supermarkets, 45 Express supermarkets and 2 Karusel hypermarkets.
 

Magnit conquers Siberia

This year, Magnit, the largest Russian retailer, will open a new logistics and distribution centre near Krasnoyarsk. The retailer has bought 50 ha for this purpose. Additionally, new stores, both supermarkets and hypermarkets, will open in the region.
 

O’Key opens a new storehouse

The retailer O’Key is improving its logistics efficiency in Siberia and has rented a storehouse in Novosibirsk.

Until now, its merchandise distribution was done through four centres: in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Krasnoyarsk, Volgograd. Thus, the expansion of all the federal retailers to Russian regions continues.

 

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What’s booming for Norway’s BAMA Group

RuneFlaen

 

Health awareness – and huge distances – shaping changes in the country’s fresh produce supply

 

Blueberries, avocados and sweet potatoes are among the fastest-growing products in grocery stores under the umbrella of Norway’s giant BAMA Group, which has seen its turnover rise 9% on 2013 to an expected €1.65 billion this year.

“But the competition is tough,” BAMA Group CEO Rune Flaen says of Norway’s highly concentrated retail sector, which recently shrank from being dominated by four major retail groups to just three.

With news in October that Norway’s large Coop chain will take over the Norwegian operations of Sweden’s ICA chain, that leaves just three main retail groups in Norway: NorgesGruppen (40%), Coop (32%) and Rema 1000 with partners (28%).

NorgesGruppen and Rema 1000 are shareholders of, and supplied by, BAMA.

 

Tough climate makes marketing crucial

High taxes and costs, protectionist food policy, and dominance by just a few wholesalers and retailers are among factors shaping retail in Norway and another key one, as Flaen said at the Fresh & Life berry symposium in Madrid in October, is distance.

Norwegians have the highest concentration of shops per inhabitant in Europe, mainly due to the challenging logistics in a country which measures 2000 km from from north to south.

“A large part of the European industry is struggling,” so marketing is even more crucial, he said. BAMA thus makes sales planning and marketing a priority and among its various initiatives is a large sport sponsorship program, where the aim is to encourage physical activity and a healthy diet through different activities for children especially, and Norwegians in general.

 

Berries, then tomatoes and bananas lead fresh produce value

Flaen – who has spent more than 30 years at BAMA and the last 20 at its helm –

said bananas used to be its most valuable fresh produce category but now it’s berries, tomatoes, then bananas. The berry category accounts for about 3% of Norwegian grocery sales in the summer peak season, far ahead of Coca Cola – something Flaen noted as “really important.”

In berries, strawberries still lead but raspberries have also become an important year-round item and blueberries have had “explosive growth”.

“There’s enormous potential in the berry sector in years to come,” he said.

 

In an interview with ED at Fruit Attraction, Flaen shared more market insights:

There’s been huge growth in BAMA’s berry sales. Where else is demand rising?
We’ve had big growth in avocados (+137 % last five years – volume) and in all root vegetables. For example the sweet potato market has exploded, sales last year tripled in volume after a marketing campaign teaching families how to prepare them. Mashed sweet potato has become a favourite for kids.

What’s driving interest in root vegetables?
More and more people going back to basics and cooking at home. We’re seeing that trend really strongly – sales are up 110 %.  

What other trends are you observing?
Local produce is very popular, people are really interested in the region and history behind their food – that’s a clear trend for the future. Private labels will also grow.
What opportunities are on the horizon for fresh produce suppliers?

The health trend is very strong. We have to find the right products for consumers and inform them about what’s in them nutrition-wise and what they do to their bodies – that’s the big trend.
Are health benefits behind the explosion of blueberry consumption in Norway?
Mainly but also because we now have good quality and availability year-round – that’s the key to growth.

What is one of your priorities in fresh produce now?
We are always working on improvements in the value chain. Shelf life is very important to us and our customers are investing very heavily in coolers. In a country like Norway with long distances, quality and freshness are the highest priority.

What changes have you made in logistics?
One example is that we now have three drivers each on two trucks for our “Berry Express” from Morocco so they can arrive as fast and fresh as possible. From loading in Morocco to arrival in Oslo – before distribution in Norway – takes 3-4 days.

What is the “BAMA Commitment”?
For 15 years BAMA has adopted a dynamic and value chain–based model reflecting its desired holistic approach. Through detailed planning and predictability we aim for long-term, sustainable production and profitability in all stages.

 

Retail in Norway

logistics challenge: 5.1m people, 385,000 sq km

highly concentrated: soon just 3 main retail groups

about 3900 grocery shops, average turnover €5m

60% of grocers are discounters (highest in Europe)

0.8 grocery shops per 1,000 people (highest in Europe)

Norwegians shop 4 times pw

Norwegian F&V consumption (day/person)

2013: 443g

2006: 410g
 

BAMA Group (BAMA-Gruppen AS)

Est. turnover 2014: €1.65b up 9% on 2013)

7 business areas including food service & fast-growing flower business

2 retail customer groups in grocery business: NorgesGruppen & Rema 1000.

NorgesGruppen: 40% of grocery market, Norway’s biggest retailer

NorgesGruppen controls chains such as Meny, Kiwi, Centra, Joker & Spar.

Rema 1000: 28%, no-frills supermarket chain

BAMA also has representatives in Poland, Sweden & Holland

BAMA’s fresh produce

500,000 tons pa, of which:

72% imported (170 suppliers)

28% local production

serves 15,000 customers

BAMA’s fresh produce strategy includes:

Goal of min. 4% more growth pa in F&V than average for all categories

Focus on consumer — flavour & nutrition

Close relationship & long term cooperation with suppliers & customers

Importance of berries

300% volume growth in Norway since 2003

1% of Norway’s grocery sales

10.6 % of value of total F&V shopping basket at BAMA

30% of Norwegians buy fresh berries in a grocery store weekly

BAMA 2013 berry sales (in kg)

total 17 million

strawberries 10 million

blueberries 3.25 million (x12 in value since 2008)

raspberries 1.5 million

Cool chain investment

More coolers at checkouts

+3,000 new berry coolers in last 2yrs

+2,000 more in next 2 years

 

JB

 

SPAR berrie mix in cooler.JPG

 

Read this and other feature articles in Eurofresh Distribution edition 134

 
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Inside Swedish retail giant Axfood

Daniel-Månsson_Axfood

 

Fruit and vegetable trends now and what may lie ahead



Axfood is Sweden’s third largest grocery retailer and also its leading convenience store wholesaler. Here we speak to Daniel Månsson, general manager of fruit and vegetables, about trends in Axfood’s fresh produce sales in what is one of the most affluent nations in Europe and the biggest retail market in Scandinavia.

 

What changes have you seen in your fresh produce sales?

Some years ago bananas were the biggest but now with the wide assortment of tomatoes, tomato sales have increased. Before there were just the vine tomatoes and the normal big red tomatoes, now there are 20-25 varieties in the tomato segment. On average, fruit and vegetables account for about 11–12º% of our total store turnover.



What trends do you see?

In general in Sweden, the biggest thing that is happening is organic – it’s getting really huge. This year we have an increase of about 100% and, for example for bananas, one of our supermarkets, Hemköp, has decided to stop selling conventional bananas so we have converted almost all of them now but officially next year we will do only organic bananas.

Another big trend is we are selling more premium, higher value products.

And In the last three years, the biggest increase has been in organic and berries, and cherries have also been very good.



What is happening with convenience foods in Sweden?

Convenience food is still not so strong in Sweden. I don’t think people are willing to pay for it, I think that’s the problem.

We are good in lettuce but everything else is just starting up. We have the products but we are not selling them, and it’s the same for our competitors. Part of the problem is volumes are low so the prices are high but even in categories like carrots, where prices are not that high, we sell almost nothing.

Even in ready-to-eat salads the only thing we have is the Caesar – we eat quite a lot of that in Sweden.



Five years from now what do you think will be different in your fruit and vegetable departments?

For sure there will be a big focus on social responsibility and organic products.

I also think we will have more convenience items, especially in salad and even pre-cut fruits. Also, berries will continue to grow – we have a big health trend.



What is changing and why regarding root vegetables?

What we see is more not the big root vegetables, like carrots, but mainly smaller ones like red beets, parsnips, that kind of thing, increasing quite heavily. It’s probably due to a lot of recipes and cooks on TV and also I think it’s for health and good taste reasons. The thing is you just need to know how to cook them.



What change have you made in fresh produce that you are most proud of?

I think we have done a good job in berries. We are happy because I think we are growing more than the market. Price is very important but with berries quality is even more important so we are very focused on it.

We also do a lot of in-store promotions and let people taste the berries and let everyone know they are no longer just for summer, you can now find good berries all year round.



What have you done to maximise the shelf life of berries?

We know the volumes of our clients and have been working a lot together on the turnover in our warehouse. We have a very quick turnover, the berries can’t stay long in our warehouse. And we’ve also done lot of education for the stores.



Where do you see opportunities for suppliers?

What is interesting right now is organic. I think it’s there to stay in Sweden and the increase is huge.



Tell us about your buying process

We started our own buying department in 2007. Before then we had wholesalers doing the business for us. Our supply department is not located in the company headquarters but in Helsingborg in the south of Sweden.



What are the advantages of having your own buying department?

We are always aim to be as close to the grower as possible. We don’t want to have a lot of middle hands. This way we get the right info and we believe we get fresher products. Growers and grower organisations are our main focus.

 

 

Axfood:



Store chains:

Hemköp (including Prisxtra): higher end supermarket

180 stores, 69 of them wholly owned

Willys: soft discounter & Axfood’s biggest supermarket

183 stores, of which 48 are Willys Hemma stores

Tempo/Handlar’n: 366 franchise stores



Wholesale

Dagab: 2 full-assortment warehouses, 2 cold storage warehouses

Axfood Närlivs: 3 distribution centres, 20 Snabbgross stores



Sources of Axfood’s fruit & veg (approx., vol.)

Sweden 40% (mostly veg)

Spain 20%

Holland 10%



Top vegetable sales (val)

1 tomatoes

2 lettuce

3 capsicums



Top fruit sales (val)

1 bananas

2 apples

3 berries (over whole year)



Berry sales

Up 300% in 5 years

 

JB

 

Click here to read more such articles in our latest edition, number 134

 

 

AXfood store 11b 11 8 007972 - Edited.jpg

 

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Fruit imports a priority at Wal-Mart China

RETAIL china WALMART (2)

China’s leading retailer aims to raise imported fruit sales from 30% to 50%
 

“We recently started doing direct imports, but our volumes are developing fast,” said Vincent Yeh, chief of the perishables division at Wal-Mart China. “Imported fruit helps us strategically to distinguish us from our competitors; Wal-Mart is positioned as a foreign supermarket chain, so we build our image with imported items.”

 

Based in Shenzhen, Vincent’s team draws on the help of the US-based and global sourcing organization of Wal-Mart. “We aim to import top brands directly and supply our 390 stores.”

 

Established in 87 provinces, Wal-Mart China has become the largest retail chain in the country. The number of stores is growing by more than 10% annually on average, with 40 outlets to be opened by the end of 2014, and at least 40 more in 2015.

 

Since last August all the purchase activities have been centralised in Shenzhen, both for domestic and imported supplies. “Only a few specific local categories are being purchased locally,” Yeh said.

 

The logistics organisation is divided between 11 distribution centres in Eastern China (based in Shanghai), the North, North East, Western, South and South-East China.

 

Imported fruit now represents 30–40% of total sales, but the chain hopes to increase this ratio to more than 50% of its fruit sales within two years.

 

Read the full article online here on page 22 of issue 133 of Eurofresh Distribution magazine.

Author: PE