Tesco extends Fresh& Easy convenience stores to northern California | Industry News | TalkingRetail.com

Tesco is expanding its Fresh& Easy convenience store chain in the US by opening its first outlets in northern California.

Fruitnet.com reports Tesco plans to open 10 Fresh& Easy Neighborhood Markets in the region, starting with stores in San Jose and Danville, a suburb of San Francisco.

Last October, said the report, Tesco closed 13 stores, mainly in Arizona and Nevada, which have been hit hard by the recent property crash and ensuing recession.

Tesco has previously said it expected Fresh& Easy to break even by 2012/13.

Source: Fruitnet.com

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ACS launches 2011 Achievement Award | Independent News | TalkingRetail.com

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) is calling on the retail industry’s rising stars to compete for the 2011 Achievement Award and the opportunity to be mentored by two of the biggest names in the sector.

This year’s Achievement Award has been transformed into six months of indispensable career development. The winners, one from a supplier and one from retail, will receive the following as part of their prize:

• Exclusive mentoring from Co-operative food retail chief executive Tim Hurrell and Mars Chocolate UK president Fiona Dawson.
• A two-day course on Shopper Engagement donated by food and grocery industry experts IGD. 
• Representing the UK and competing for the Global Convenience Industry Achievement Award at the NACS Show in Chicago, Illinois.
• Places at ACS Summit12 and the exclusive ACS Director’s Debate.

ACS chief executive, James Lowman, said:“We’ve taken the Achievement Award competition to a new level by incorporating a whole development package into the prize. The winner will spend time with the industry’s biggest hitters and take part in the most influential events in the sector, jumpstarting their career with a series of money-can’t-buy benefits.”

The award is open to anyone aged 21 to 36 in the sector. The first stage of applications closes on 20 May 2011 and the eventual winners will be announced in August.

Participants can enter online atwww.acs.org.uk/achievementaward

Source: Association of Convenience Stores (ACS)

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Camelot on target to hit record National Lottery sales | Industry News | TalkingRetail.com

National Lottery operator Camelot is set to achieve record ticket sales for the 2010/11 financial year.

Total National Lottery sales have increased by 17.9% since the start of the second lottery licence in 2002– and the number of players has grown by more than 5% in the last five years.

For the year ending 31 March 2011, Camelot is projecting that sales will hit£5.7bn – breaking the previous record of £5.5bn set in 1997/98.

The forecast follows Camelot achieving its“best-ever year-to-date performance” at the end of Quarter 3 (31 December 2010), which, at more than £4.2bn, is also the highest-ever sales figure for any three consecutive quarters.

Good Causes and National Lottery players are expected to share a record-breaking£4.4bn. Direct returns to the Good Causes in 2010/11 are set to be over £1.5bn, while returns to players, in the form of prize money, are expected to top £2.9bn.

To date, National Lottery players have helped to raise over£25bn for the Good Causes, with 350,000 individual awards having been made across the UK, and over £37.5bn has been paid out in prizes, with more than 2,500 millionaires created in the process.

May 2010’s launch of a new-look Thunderball game, with a bigger top prize of £500,000 and a new prize tier, was followed by two special UK Millionaire Super Raffles, which built on the popularity of the EuroMillions UK Millionaire Raffle game. The first of these took place in November and created 10 UK millionaires in one night, while the second, which took place on Christmas Eve, created 25 millionaires throughout the UK – breaking the previous world record for the largest number of lottery millionaires created in a single evening.

Last month, Camelot launched Lotto Plus 5, the biggest addition to Lotto in years, which has already created hundreds of thousands of winners.

The company has also enhanced its range of instant play games, with the launch of over 60 new Scratchcards and online Instant Win games, including the introduction of more 3D games and different play-styles. Camelot is predicting that it will have increased sales of draw-based games by around 3.5% and instant play games by 7% during 2010/11.

From small corner shops and convenience stores to petrol forecourts and supermarkets, retail remains the largest National Lottery sales channel– and, despite challenging high street conditions, is set to grow by a further 3%.

Camelot has continued to drive sales in-store in 2010/11 through its on-going comprehensive programme of support for its retail partners.

Camelot has also increased ticket sales through the continued development of its interactive services– and is forecasting growth of around 12% from these channels in 2010/11.

With over six million people registered to play, the company operates the biggest online lottery in the world, with its website–www.national-lottery.co.uk– one of the top e-commerce sites in the UK by monthly visits.

As well as continuing to refresh its portfolio of online Instant Win games, the company has launched the free National Lottery Official App for iPhone– giving players an easy way to check the latest results on the move, as well as locate their nearest National Lottery outlets.

Source: Camelot

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Supermarket own-label puts‘increasing pressure’ on the big brands, says new research | Industry News | TalkingRetail.com

The big brands on supermarket shelves are under“increasing pressure” as consumers are choosing own-label consumer packaged goods even when finances are not so tight, according to research by market analyst Datamonitor.

In fact, more than two-thirds of people believe own-brand foods are as good as, if not better than, leading famous brands: 50% think they are identical in quality and 19% go so far as to say that they are superior.

Research by the independent market analyst has revealed consumers are so impressed with the store brands offered by supermarkets that nearly half (46%) are choosing where to shop based on where we can buy our favourite own-brand products.

Sales of own-label increased as a result of the recession, when consumers were looking for ways to reduce their spend on groceries. However, many have since found the products to be very credible alternatives, and as a result have continued this buying behaviour.

Mark Whalley, an analyst at Datamonitor, said:“Private label is no longer about offering consumers the cheapest product; instead it is about offering value. Consumers won’t just buy the lowest-priced item on the shelf – they’re looking for products that deliver on their promises and exceed expectations; and this is something that private labels have been very successful in doing.”

Datamonitor believes with high levels of satisfaction regarding private labels, national brands face a significant challenge to try to win customers back, even as the economy improves over the next five years.

Whalley said:“Although famous-name brands still dominate the market in consumer packaged goods, they need to consider private labels as serious competition both now and in the future.

“Consumer perceptions are evolving and no longer is there an overwhelmingly‘snobbish’ mentality towards supermarket brands. With the amount consumers spend on private labels set to increase, competition is expected to rise at an unprecedented rate as brands work hard to differentiate their products from private labels.”

Source: Datamonitor

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CitizenCard launches‘most secure’ ID card | Industry News | TalkingRetail.com

CitizenCard, the UK’s largest ID and proof-of-age card scheme, today (Wednesday) launches its “most secure card to date”. 

The card retains the PASS (Proof of Age Standards Scheme) hologram and a customised holographic overlay has been added across the front of the card. UV (ultraviolet) marks also appear on both sides of the card.

Existing cardholders will be contacted to advise them to upgrade to the new card at a heavily discounted cost of£6 (against the standard card cost of £15).  Existing cards remain valid ID and a new ‘100% Proof’ marketing campaign will reassure pub and club operators that the new card is completely trustworthy. 

A promotional pack and UV torches will be sent to pub and club operators and to every police officer responsible for liquor licensing in the UK.

Andrew Chevis, CitizenCard chief executive officer, said the new card should“remove all doubt” about whether a cardholder is over 18

“The verification checks we carry out before a card is issued are extremely rigorous– 14% of applicants do not receive a card.  The clear message to those checking ID is that CitizenCard is 100% proof.”

New cardholders will benefit from access to CitizenCard’s new ‘Lealta’ discount programme.  AA, Alton Towers, Apple, Asda, Bella Italia, Bhs, Boots, Burton, Comet, Currys, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Halfords, HMV, Marks& Spencer, PC World, Pizza Hut, River Island, Thorpe Park, Top Shop, Virgin, Wallis, WH Smith are just some of more than 200 national brands to offer cardholders discounts of between 4% and 90%.   A further 20,000 local cinema, fast food, bowling and retail outlets are offering discounts.

Chevis said:“We felt that a decent set of discounts would be good news for our cardholders in these tough times – and generating extra business for the discount providers.  Many cardholders will save hundreds of pounds a year and it is likely that the cost of getting a card will be recouped the very firsttime that a cardholder uses Lealta.”

Source: CitizenCard

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Sainsbury’s opens new local store in Nottingham and creates 30 jobs | Industry News | TalkingRetail.com

Sainsbury’s has opened its newest store in Nottingham, creating 30 jobs and making a“real difference” to a local charity.

The Wheelergate Local store was officially opened by a representative from the Nottinghamshire branch of The Huntington’s Disease Association, which has been selected as the store’s local charity partner of the year. To mark the occasion, the store will donate£500 to pay for two of the charity’s annual trips.

Kirstine McDaniel, chairperson for Nottinghamshire branch of the charity, said:“Huntington’s Disease can be quite an isolating illness, so social events are an important part of what we do. The donation from Sainsbury’s will help us take HDA-sufferers and their carers on two trips this year, which will mean a great deal to those families. We’re always looking for support, and we’re thrilled to have been chosen as Sainsbury’s local charity partner this year.”

The new 2,250 sq ft store includes a bakery, fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as a wide range of fresh sandwiches alongside high quality ready meals. Five self-scan tills have also been installed to meet customers’ needs for a speedy shop. On hand to help will be 40 colleagues, including 31 new recruits taken on from the local area.

Source: Sainsbury’s

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Tesco announces China property joint venture | Industry News | TalkingRetail.com

Tesco has signed an agreement to set up a joint venture to develop shopping malls in China, according to financial website investegate. 

50% of the joint venture will be owned by a consortium of leading Asian investors including Singapore’s Metro Holdings. The total value of the project is in the region of£170m with Tesco and the joint venture consortium each investing approximately £30m of equity. Debt will be provided by banks including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Standard Chartered Bank.

This joint venture will comprise of three shopping malls in Shenyang, Xiamen and Fuzhou, each of which includes a Tesco hypermarket as an anchor tenant.

The Lifespace shopping malls are part of Tesco’s long-term strategy to invest in building a substantial business in China. Tesco currently operates four Lifespace malls and 93 Tesco hypermarkets in China.

Source: investegate

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