European Retail Briefing -  June 2019

ANALYST COMMENT – THE GROWTH OF THE DRIVE PIÉTON (PEDESTRIAN DRIVE) IN FRANCE'S E-COMMERCE SECTOR
What we’ve seen
Click and collect is the French online grocery model
Figure 1: A traditional Carrefour Drive
Drive piéton – a new genre
Figure 2: A stand-alone Carrefour Drive piéton
Figure 3: A Carrefour Drive piéton inside a store
Figure 4: A stand-alone Carrefour Drive piéton
Do they have a future?
What it means
EUROPEAN RETAIL SALES
Key points
Figure 5: Major European economies: year-on-year retail sales value growth, 2018-19
Figure 6: Major European economies: year-on-year retail sales volume growth, 2018-19
Inflation
Figure 7: Major European economies: all items CPI, 2018-19
Figure 8: Major European economies: food price inflation, 2018-19
LAUNCH ACTIVITY AND INNOVATIONS
Spain: Lidl announce partnership with online food supermarket
Italy: Uniqlo opening first store in Italy in September
Europe: Amazon launches pick-up counters at European retailers
HEADLINES FOR THE MONTH
Grocers
Clothing retailing
Footwear retailing
Department stores
Electrical retailing
Sports and leisure goods retailing
NEWS ANALYSIS – FOOD AND DRINK
 CO-OPS
UK: Co-op
…and Superdrug announce ‘meal deal’ partnership
…raises £300 million Fairtrade bond
UK: Nisa shakes up management team
 GROCERS
France: Auchan to sell 46 Italian stores to Conad
Germany: REWE buys convenience expert Lekkerland
Spain: Caprabo sales fall by 8%
Spain: Mercadona to invest in €120 million in automated systems
UK: Asda reports fall in first quarter like-for-like sales
UK: government initiative could see supermarkets fined for food waste
UK: Lidl
…acquires a new site to expand warehouse operations in Greater London
…improve transparency on the method of production
UK: Morrisons launch ‘weigh what you need’ service in drive to combat food waste
UK: Sainsbury's to scrap plastic bags for fresh produce in all its stores
UK: Waitrose
…to introduce energy-saving ‘invisible door’ technology
…trials refilling station to get shoppers using less plastic packaging
…unveils plans to treble the size of its online grocery business
…new delivery depot to launch in Enfield
NEWS ANALYSIS – CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR
Poland: Weekday expands into central Europe
UK: Arcadia
…CVA decision postponed
…identifies 23 stores for closure
UK: Burberry report profit growth amid ongoing transformation plan
UK: fashion retailers join new partnership to develop a more sustainable business model
UK: H&M collaborates with Netflix on Stranger Things range
UK: Joules sales soar
UK: Karen Millen owner puts chain up for sale
UK: Matalan full-year sales and profit rise
UK: Miss Selfridge London flagship store to close in July
UK: Monsoon founder pledges £34 million to secure CVA
UK: Select
…proposals for a CVA
…officially enters administration
UK: Yours Clothing profits surge
 FOOTWEAR RETAILING
Germany: Schuh to close German operations to focus on UK
UK: Shoe Zone reports flat sales and profits
NEWS ANALYSIS – MULTI-SECTOR
UK: Halfords posts double-digit drop in full-year profit
UK: M&S
…invests in specialist digital clothes fitting group Texel
…profits fall alongside store closure programme
…accelerates store closure programme
UK: Mothercare sales fall amid restructuring
UK: Poundland owner Pepkor reports sales growth
 DEPARTMENT STORES
Spain: El Corte Inglés to sell Los Arcos and Bahía Sur stores
UK: House of Fraser is to turn up to seven stores into a new luxury mini-chain
UK: John Lewis
…announces partnership with Co-op on click-and-collect trial
…appoints Sharon White as Chairman
…to trial new in-store virtual reality experience
…dominates customer satisfaction awards
…invests £21 million in Peterborough store refurbishment
UK: Scandinavian brand fashion brand Iben launches in the UK
NEWS ANALYSIS – HOUSEHOLD GOODS
 DIY RETAILING
UK: Kingfisher reports mixed first quarter
 ELECTRICAL RETAILING
Germany: tough quarter for Ceconomy
UK: Microsoft launching Oxford Circus flagship store in July
 CARPET RETAILING
UK: Carpetright and Furniture Village open its first joint venture store
 FURNITURE RETAILING
UK: Heal's celebrates Homes & Gardens centenary with exclusive collection
UK: Ikea launches visualisation and e-commerce app
UK: Jysk furniture group set for UK expansion
NEWS ANALYSIS – ONLINE
UK: Amazon
…launch pop up stores to help small firms break onto the high street
…partners with Next for click-and-collect
…trials pop-up station kiosks
UK: eBay unveils first UK concept store
UK: fashion app Depop grabs $62 million investment
UK: Findel posts strong results as it considers name change
UK: Global Fashion Group to conduct an IPO
UK: Royal Mail to roll out parcel postboxes across the UK
UK: Shop Direct launches customer closeness centre
NEWS ANALYSIS – OTHER RETAIL
 HEALTH & BEAUTY RETAILING
UK: Boots
…criticised for its use of plastic packaging
…launching digital version of its Advantage Card
UK: Superdrug launches new podcast series
 BOOK AND STATIONERY RETAILING
UK: Card Factory group sales up 6.4%
UK: WH Smith opens new concept store at Perth airport
 SPORTS AND LEISURE GOODS RETAILING
Netherlands: Decathlon launches cashierless shopping
UK: Cotswold Outdoor owner Outdoor & Cycle Concepts wins CVA approval
UK: JD Sports
…acquisition of Footasylum to be investigated by CMA
…to wholesale own-label brands
UK: Sports Direct makes Game Digital takeover offer
 JEWELLERS
UK: Thomas Sabo considering 5 store closures as part of CVA
 TOYS & GAMES RETAILING
UK: Games Workshop says full year profit will be at least £80 million
UK: The Entertainer launches toy rehoming scheme with The Salvation Army
 PETS AND PET PRODUCTS RETAILING
UK: Pets at Homes profits fall amid restructure plan
 SHOPPING CENTRES
UK: Network Rail retail sales up 4.36% in the 2018/19 financial year
UK: retail property group Landsec losses widen despite sales increase
UK: rising CVAs increasingly threaten the big four shopping centre landlords
NEWS ANALYSIS – ECONOMY
UK: April retail sales up by 7.2%
UK: BRC-KPMG: May retail sales down 3.0% on a like-for-like basis
UK: Klarna launches pop-up experiential event