Ahold Delhaize / Alibaba / Walmart / Ikea / Starbucks / Costco

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Thursday, 08 December 2016

Hello, dear reader!
Recently merged retail giant Ahold Delhaize has unveiled its billion-dollar expansion strategy. Ambitious growth plans were also revealed by Swedish icon Ikea, coffee chain Starbucks and big box heavyweight Walmart in Mexico. In other news, find out the latest developments in the world of digital payment. Get informed and enjoy your daily update.

asia & Australia

Alibaba partners strategically The Chinese e-commerce operator and China Mobile, the country's biggest phone carrier, have signed a partnership to develop internet-related services, while Alibaba's payment arm, Alipay, is set to further expand into Australia’s retail sector through a collaboration with Quest Payment Systems. Over in Europe, the online giant has invested in an Irish cinema data company. ▪

Lego opens in Korea The Danish toy maker will open its first official store in the northeast Asian country today, joining a range of Lego outlets in Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. In other news, it was revealed that online sales in Korea reached US$ 4.8 billion in October, marking a new high. ▪

Dash lands in Japan US e-commerce major Amazon is introducing the Dash button, a device that enables consumers to order household items for next-day delivery, for the first time in Japan, a few months after the product expanded outside the US with launches in the UK, Germany, and Austria. ▪

europe

AH is better together The newly merged retail giant Ahold Delhaize has unveiled its expansion strategy, labelled ‘Better Together’, which includes ideas for buying more strategically, wasting less and investing in own brands on both sides of the Atlantic. The company also plans to buy back EUR 1 billion of shares to have money for its online expansion. ▪

Ikea stays strong The furniture retailer, which posted a profit of EUR 4.2 billion for its fiscal year 2015-2016, has sold key subsidiaries for nearly US$ 6 billion to overhaul its business, incorporating more of its stores into larger developments and ramping up its digital efforts. Ikea also plans a EUR 1 billion investment in recycling companies and forests. ▪

Boosting agriculture overseas Swiss food maker Nestlé is determined to support a regular supply of maize and other commodities developed in Ghana, while Italy's Ferrero is active in Chile, aiming to turn the South American country into the third-largest producer of European hazelnuts in the world. ▪

usa & latin america

Walmex invests billions The Mexican unit of the US retail behemoth plans to spend US$ 1.3 billion to expand its logistics network and create 10,000 jobs in the country. The retailer aims to double its sales in Mexico by 2024 by boosting its core business of discount retail and expanding its fresh food business. ▪

Costco keeps climbing The US warehouse giant posted its latest quarter results and they were better than analysts estimated with revenue up 3.2% to US$ 27.47 billion. Over in Australia, Costco is set to become a major market player and will soon open another store in Sydney. ▪

Starbucks steams ahead The Seattle-based coffee chain revealed an ambitious five-year plan with an annual growth target of 10%. It will introduce new store formats and open 12,000 more stores, including 5,000 cafes in China, where it announced a strategic partnership with Internet company Tencent. ▪

keep an eye on

Delivery chaos expected 390 million parcels will be distributed over the Christmas period this year in Britain and charity organisation Citizen Advice reminds of the glitches last year, where 4.8 million shoppers experienced delivery problems. ▪

Bargain baskets Dollar General and Walmart outperformed competitors such as Aldi, Stop and Shop and Family Dollar for the least expensive overall shopping basket, according to a study by Kantar Retail. ▪

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