Europe

On the rise ▪ Aldi has confirmed it will open 130 new stores in Britain over the next two years, creating 5,000 new jobs. The announcement comes after the German discounter revealed sales were up 16.4% in the UK and Ireland to a record GBP 10.2 billion in 2017, pushing its share of the grocery market to 7.6%.

Offloading debt ▪ French retail group Casino has agreed to sell some property assets, mainly connected to its Monoprix supermarket arm, for EUR 565 million to reduce debt levels that have worried investors. The company recently hit the headlines after it said it had rejected a tie-up approach from market leader Carrefour.

Strategic decisions in the UK ▪ Supermarket major Sainsbury's is introducing department store-style beauty isles and will be offering up to 3,000 cosmetics products. Value retailer Poundworld plans to launch Onebelow, a chain of discount stores, and the new owner of Planet Organic is set to double the grocer's store count over the next years.

Expansion comes at a cost ▪ British online food delivery company Deliveroo reported that its full-year revenue more than doubled but its pre-tax loss widened after it invested a further GBP 100 million to enter new markets. Meanwhile, Dutch retail chain Spar is set to land in Serbia through the acquisition of local grocer Mercator S.

United States

Convenient acquisition ▪ Pittsburgh-based grocer Giant Eagle plans to acquire the Ricker's chain, which operates 56 convenience stores and fuel stations in Indiana, where the former runs 6 outlets under the GetGo banner. Both companies are family-owned. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

Dinner sorted ▪ Kroger has rolled out its quick-prepare meals menu to more than 350 stores across multiple banners. The 'Easy For You'-range will be introduced in more cities and markets. The supermarket operator has reportedly boosted its investment in delivery firm Ocado and plans to build 20 distribution hubs (paywall) in the next years.

Asia

Cutting ties ▪ Retail giant Aeon has finished the partnership with Vietnamese supermarket chain Fivimart and sold its 30% stake, claiming a USD 8 million loss. Turkish conglomerate Yildiz Holding is exploring a sale of its Japanese Godiva chocolate business in a deal that could fetch around USD 1.5 billion.

Payment options ▪ Instead of offering huge discounts, India's largest online retailers, Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart, have rolled out several finance options, including an interest-free credit access, to attract customers to shop online this season. Meanwhile, Noida-based Paytm is testing a face recognition tool to enable digital payments.

Innovative ideas

Container café ▪ American coffee chain Starbucks has opened a store built from 29 recycled shipping containers, located in eastern Taiwan. The exterior design was created by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who was reportedly inspired by the foliage of coffee trees combined with the traditional Chinese bucket arch.

Electronics platform ▪ Kenyan retail chain Tuskys is set to invest in the development of 'shop in shop' electronics stores at its hypermarkets in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu. They will be offering a variety of premium consumer electronic products and provide a purpose designed platform for interaction.