Best Buy Beefing Up Web, Downsizing Stores

The company is dramatically expanding its online-only assortment, is promising to price those products aggressively, and has begun shrinking the footprint of some of its big-box stores as they come off lease. The chain has also not ruled out the possibility of closing some of its larger locations outright. The company is presently reducing the footprint of existing big-box stores as lease renewals come up, and is applying lessons in space utilization that it has gleaned from more than two-dozen "connected store" prototypes in the Las Vegas and Pittsburgh markets.

Twice

Elite Sports Apparel Store Opens Inside of Wal-Mart

Elite Sports is a new retail store inside a Wal-Mart SuperCenter. Elite Sports, owned by a group of investors in Las Vegas who once owned stores within Montgomery Ward, wants to duplicate the retailers in Wal-Mart. The 500-square-foot location carries licensed sports apparel and novelties for NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and collegiate teams. The store also has two 42-inch television sets airing sports games and news.

PNJ

Lowe's Chain to Take Over Super S Stores

Super S Foods has been purchased by Pay and Save Inc., doing business as Lowe's, with stores located primarily in West Texas and the Panhandle. Super S operated more than 50 stores, mostly in Central and South Texas and mostly in small towns. Last year the company purchased Hild Brothers Foodland in Marion. The Super S chain also included a newly constructed store in Nixon as well as stores in Stockdale and Canyon Lake. With the acquisition of the Super S chain, Lowe's has 145 stores, most of them in Texas along with several in New Mexico and one in Arizona. 

Seguin Gazette

Wal-Mart Plan Test of Online Grocery Delivery Service

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, plans to test its first fresh grocery delivery service in California, looking online for new sources of revenue growth, said a person familiar with the project. The Web service, internally dubbed "Project Titan," hasn't yet been approved. If it goes forward, Wal-Mart stores in the San Jose area would fill deliveries for shoppers living nearby. Wal-Mart is focusing on its online business after seven consecutive quarters of declining sales at U.S. stores open more than a year.

Bloomberg

Whole Foods & the Greenest Grocery Store in the World

The Whole Foods store in Dedham, Mass., may just be the greenest grocery store in the world. This showcase facility demonstrates leading energy and sustainability practices to Whole Food customers, employees and investors, as well as the local community. Showcase facilities are a powerful learning tool for companies that are implementing sustainable business practices. What is so remarkable about this particular store? The store is notable because of the actual implementation of so many leading sustainable and energy practices in construction, facility operations, store operations and culture. 

Climate Biz

Ripped Off by Theft Rings, Stores Fight Back

While retailers spend $12 billion a year to battle organized retail crime, thieves pilfer $15 billion to $30 billion annually, a huge blow to businesses and, ultimately, their customers.  Thieves snag popular, easy-to-move items -- everything from Enfamil baby formula to Gillette Fusion razors to Oil of Olay lotion, often by the case. They work fast and efficiently, snatching a couple of Dyson vacuum cleaners and busting out the fire doors of stores into waiting getaway cars. When it's time to turn the loot into cash, the crime rings go online. For that reason, Target, Supervalu, Wal-Mart and other retailers are pushing federal legislation to fight what they call "e-fencing."

Star Tribune

S-Group Grocery Stores Remain Most Popular

The retailing cooperative organisation S-Group has maintained its position as the clear market leader among Finnish grocery stores. According to the research company AC Nielsen, the combined market share of the S-Group and the K-Group amounted to nearly 80 percent in 2010. The S-Group includes Alepa, Prisma, S-Market and Sale chains. The group's market share rose to 44 percent last year. Meanwhile the K-Group, or Kesko, claimed 35 percent of the market with stores such as K-Market and K-Citymarket. 

YLE

Norgesgruppen Reports Solid FY Growth

Retail major Norgesgruppen has reported strong profit growth for its last fiscal year, backed up by a solid single-digit rise in revenue. For the year, pre-tax profit jumped up 17.6% to 1.87bn kronor (€238m), with EBIT up 3.8% to 2.1bn kronor (€269m), and revenue rising by 4.6% to 55.7m kronor (€7.1bn). Operating margin grew to 3.8%, helped by increased efficiency at its outlets and an increased focus on costs across the Group. The group said it was satisfied with its performance, noting that store upgrades and growth in wholesale customers has helped boost results.

Kam City

Kesko Eyes 500 Mln Euro Russia Food Sales by 2015

Finnish retailer Kesko said it was targeting sales of 500 million euros ($711 million) and a profit by 2015 from its long-awaited move into the Russian grocery market. Kesko will open four large-scale grocery stores in the Moscow and St Petersburg areas during 2012 and 2013, chief executive Matti Halmesmaki said, adding it would look at other acquisition opportunities to expand the new business.

Reuters

Tesco Debuts Website to Sell Used Cars

Tesco has launched into the second-hand car market in the group's latest venture to expand outside traditional supermarket retailing. Tesco Cars went live online over the weekend offering an internet-only service for buyers of used cars. Its move to tap into the £24bn motor market comes after Tesco bought a significant minority stake in online dealership Carsite for an undisclosed sum. Tescocars.com will advertise up to 3,000 cars a week sourced from hire and lease fleets - and will reward shoppers with 2,000 Tesco Clubcard points if they buy a vehicle through the site.

Kam City

 Shop Theft After All-Day Booze-Up

 
A father failed to pay for his trolley full of groceries even though he had plenty of cash on him. Gary Lane had been on an all-day cider session before embarking on the supermarket sweep at Asda in East Street, Bedminster. Bristol magistrates heard he loaded up the cart with £89 worth of goods and wheeled off past the tills, before being stopped and found with £160 in cash. Laura Opie, prosecuting, said when Lane left the shop he had appeared to be steering towards a cash point machine but carried on going. When he was approached by security staff he pushed the trolley away and said it was not his. The court heard he then had to be taken to the ground and police were called in. Lane told them he had been drinking strong cider in a pub from 9.30am. He said that he then went for his weekly shop but realized he had left his crutch by a photo booth and went to collect it, and was grabbed.

This Is Bristol