Schlecker's great blue hope: The new larger German Schlecker XL format opens its first store in Spain today
The European discount drugstore empire of owner-manager Anton Schlecker continues to retreat on a large number of fronts.
The group has confirmed to Lebensmittel Zeitung that it plans to end its 20-year presence in the Netherlands by the end of this year.
Bitter-sweet: A third of the cocoa harvest last year was bought for speculation purposes
Now that the dust has settled on the Internationale Süßwarenmesse (ISM), the world’s largest confectionery trade fair in Cologne, I cannot resist a little jump back in time to the end of last month.
Chronodrive: Order online and drive to the packing station
“Cher Mick, ce Chronodrive est magnifique…” This recent email statement from my Belgian great-aunt Françine had a curious domino effect in Lebensmittel Zeitung recently.
Vittorio Radice: "Retailers need footfall"
An interview with La Rinascente chief executive Vittorio Radice is a bit like a trip down memory lane if you have followed UK retailing with any degree of attention over the last 20 years.
Radice was the creative, Anglophile Italian CEO who turned Habitat (later acquired by Ikea) and Selfridges around in the 90s before a brief interregnum on the board of Marks & Spencer plc in 2003.
Naughty: Rewe's new ad campaign for its "ja!" own label range
It wasn’t likely to have been a Valentine’s Day card coming from Aldi Süd, but insiders at Rewe Group say that the warning letter was politely written.
Perhaps Aldi could have lived with the new ad campaign slogan, “No one is cheaper”, for Rewe’s 400-line, price-entry own label range “ja!” and quietly smiled.
However, the campaign sub-text was asking for trouble with the 800-pound gorilla of German discounting: “Daily comparison of ja!’s lowest prices with German discounters such as Aldi. If the price of any comparable product is found to be lower, the ja! price will be adjusted downwards to match this.”
Pause for breath: Lidl is slowing the pace of its frantic expansion
After years of double-digit growth, Lidl’s expansion seems to finally be running out of steam. Revenues at the hard discount subsidiary of the secretive Swabian Schwarz Group stagnated in Germany during 2009.
Also, for the first time in many years, Lidl’s substantial foreign empire is unlikely to contribute further rapid growth. Read more »
Success machine: With a net margin of 4.9 per cent, Aldi Süd beats all major German rivals
Despite a decline in price-adjusted revenues of 3-4 per cent and 1-2 per cent, repectively, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd managed to keep earnings stable in 2009.
This is particularly impressive as the north and south divisions of Germany’s leading hard discounter lowered prices on more than 250 lines within their limited assortments last year.
These achievements follow solid gains in 2008 revenues. Aldi Nord posted a 5.5 per cent rise to €10.3bn ($14bn; Gbp9bn), and Aldi Süd grew 5.2 per cent to €12.5bn ($17bn; Gbp10.9bn).
Net margins of 3.2 per cent at Aldi Nord and 4.9 per cent at Aldi Süd continue to lead the trade.
Tomás Osborne: "I am open to everything"
Spanish marketing flair: The controversial Osborne bull has become an internationally renowned advertising icon
Sometimes in business you get paid for having pleasure. A trip to Grupo Osborne in the sun-drenched Andalusian region of Jerez in the depths of winter surely rates as such.
Nestled snugly in Spain’s “sherry triangle” is El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz), from where Christopher Columbus set out on what proved to be an interesting journey. Since 1772 this has also been the home of the Osborne family, purveyors of sherry & wine, brandy & spirits, ham, water and juices.
In the business year 2008/09, Grupo Osborne posted net revenues of €270m ($390m). Read more »
Laurie McIlwee: "Aldi and Lidl were our greatest threat in 2009"
The good thing about CFOs at big FTSE companies is that they can discuss strategy and not just number crunch. Laurie McIlwee, Group Finance Director at Cheshunt/UK-based Tesco Plc since February 2009, fits this bill admirably. Read more »
Simonetta Carbonaro: "Less, please, but of the best"
This must have been the only interview I can recall where the interviewee kissed the photographer. However, things can easily be explained when one remembers that Professor Simonetta Carbonaro is not only a leading academic, but also a warm-hearted Italian. Read more »
