Posted on May 25, 2017 by Retail News Editor

New partnership to expand SPAR Brand in Southeast China

SPAR China Partners show increased revenue, growth in store numbers and announce new partner

China, 2017-May-25 — /EPR Retail News/ — SPAR International (“SPAR”) and Yunnan Anning Jinfang Commercial Group (“Jinfang”) have announced a new partnership agreement authorising Jinfang to grow the SPAR Brand in Southeast China across Yunnan Province, Liu Pan Shui City, Bijie City, Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, and Anshun City in Guizhou Province.

Jinfang will invest in converting 32 stores to the SPAR brand in the coming months, bringing together the best of SPAR’s global retail expertise and Jinfang’s deep understanding of the local customer. The 2,550 employees currently working in the chain’s hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores will benefit from access to the retail training academy of SPAR China.

The announcement marks an exceptional 12 months for SPAR in China. In 2016, sales grew by 6.7% to 14.5 Billion RMB, with SPAR China continuing its expansion in a maturing food retail sector. Store numbers increased by 14% to 395 and SPAR China added 43,918m² of selling area.

In December, Jiajiayue Group, which was SPAR’s first Chinese retail partner, launched an initial public offering (IPO) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The fund raised from the IPO will be used to strengthen and develop the business further investing in technology and the supply chain infrastructure.

Today, 14% of the total selling area of SPAR worldwide is in China and SPAR China has partners building the brand’s presence in Shandong, Guangdong, Shanxi & Inner Mongolia, Beijing, Sichuan, Henan, Zhangjiakou and now Yunnan.

SPAR International’s growth in China has been driven by investment in a multi-channel supply chain, the development of hypermarkets, the launch of world-class convenience stores in Tier 2 and 3 urban centres and a strategic emphasis on fresh food through initiatives like the development of a new, state of the art bakery production facility. Ongoing developments in retailing via online channels including the popular WeChat and Weibo platforms in addition to web sales.

SPAR is working closely with Jinfang on the first SPAR Supermarket design and an expert international logistics team from SPAR International and SPAR China are supporting Jinfang in the development of a modern warehouse.

Speaking on the official announcement of the new partnership Tobias Wasmuht, Managing Director of SPAR International said: “Since entering into China in 2004, SPAR has worked closely with partners to accelerate the growth of their food retail business through our standardisation methods, latest store design, modern supply chain expertise and improved shopping experience.

“The strong growth figures demonstrate that the ‘Better Together’ strategy is delivering for our Partners. The partnership with Jinfang represents a further, exciting development in the growth of SPAR in China.”

Mr Wang Peihuan, Chairman of SPAR China said: “Our new partnership with Jinfang is consistent with SPAR China’s strategic focus on accelerating expansion and growing presence. Together we unite the best of SPAR’s global retail expertise and Jinfang’s extensive and longstanding understanding of the local customer to grow SPAR presence in Southeast of China.”

Mr. Li Jia, the Chairman of the board of Yunnan Jinfang Group said: “Jinfang has followed SPAR’s progress since SPAR entered into China in 2004, and has seen the great success achieved by SPAR China and its Partners. SPAR and Jinfang share key values in many areas. In order to serve customers in the Southeast of China better, we plan to bring high operation standards, efficient logistics and a modern supply chain to build diverse retail solutions.”

Contact:

SPAR International
Email: info@spar-international.com
Tel: +3120 626 6749

Source: Spar International

Posted on April 14, 2017 by Retail News Editor

New partnership could lead to COOP-Pyaterochka stores opening at Centrosouyz’s existing consumer cooperatives

Moscow, 2017-Apr-14 — /EPR Retail News/ — X5 Retail Group, a leading Russian food retailer, announces the signing of a cooperation agreement with the Central Union of Consumer Societies of the Russian Federation (Centrosoyuz). This partnership will encourage the development of retail trade in Russia’s regions, supporting both X5’s social mission of cooperation with the consumer and the Centrosoyuz mission to secure the supply of affordably priced staples and other high-quality products to remote rural areas. This five-year agreement has the potential to lead to the opening of up to 1,000 new stores under the joint brand of COOP-Pyaterochka during the first three years of the project.

COOP-Pyaterochka stores would be opened at Centrosouyz’s existing consumer cooperatives, and would improve the food supply infrastructure thanks to renovations and upgrades to Centrosoyuz stores, introduction of advanced retail standards, and use of Pyaterochka’s logistics solutions.

The project will be implemented mostly through franchising. With access to X5’s extensive supplier base and logistics capabilities, Centrosoyuz will benefit from reliable supplies of a wide assortment of goods and improved affordability. The consumer cooperative will coordinate local with consumer societies and Pyaterochka to select retail facilities, optimise document management, and organise repairs and upgrades in order to develop modern retail formats.

Centrosoyuz’s educational infrastructure will be made available for personnel trainings for joint stores and for Pyaterochka’s own operations, while students of the Russian University of Cooperatives will be offered internships at Pyaterochka stores.

The parties have also agreed to open up to 5,000 Pyaterocka-based shop-in-shops by 2021 that will sell goods from local farmers and consumer cooperatives. The primary focus of this subleasing partnership is to create a comprehensive product and service offering tailored to the needs of the local customer.

The agreement also enables Pyaterochka to supply products from its own assortment to consumer cooperatives that are not part of the project, thereby improving the availability of food and non-food products to rural residents. With the goal of optimising logistics costs and reducing shrinkage, deliveries may take place directly to the stores or to the partners’ distribution centres in the regions where Pyaterochka operates.

Contact:

Oleg Poletaev
head of PR
T: +7 (495) 662-88-88, ext. 22-209

Source: X5 Retail Group

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Retail News Editor

TAG Heuer announces new partnership with Manchester United football club

Beijing, China, 2016-Aug-01 — /EPR Retail News/ — On July 24, TAG Heuer announced a new partnership with the prestigious Manchester United football club. This follows partnerships with the EnglishPremier League at the end of April and the Spanish LaLiga in mid-July. The announcement was celebrated in Beijing at an event attended by United players. The new agreement is part of a global strategy to strengthen the Swiss watchmaker’s presence in the world of football. Jean-Claude Biver, CEO of TAG Heuer and President of the LVMH Watch Division, talks about a winning sponsorship strategy.

The German Bundesliga, the English Premier League, the Spanish LaLiga, the American MLS (Major League Soccer), China’s Super League, the Australian National football team, the Copa America and International Champions Cup, plus international ambassador Cristiano Ronaldo … Since 2014, TAG Heuer has been a ubiquitous presence at the world’s most prestigious football competitions and pitches. Jean-Claude Biver discusses this strategy.

TAG Heuer has since 2014 signed a host of sponsorships with football, an area that might not seem to have much affinity with luxury timepieces? Why invest in football?

Jean-Claude Biver : Football is an extremely popular sport around the world. The World Cup has the biggest TV audience in the world, ahead of the Olympics. So this is a sport that has great impact for a brand. But it’s not only “popular” in terms of the number of followers, but also because of its broad reach. Men, women, the young, the not so young, students, entrepreneurs – football reaches everyone, without distinction. The world of luxury was thus already very much present, which explains our commitment in this sport. What’s more, through football we reach not only today’s customers, but also the customers of tomorrow by engaging with all the young people who follow the sport. Some of them might become Tag Heuer customers! And lastly, football lets us differentiate ourselves as a luxury brand. Unlike others, who sponsor golf, horseback riding or polo, we don’t have any competitors in this arena.

As the Official Timekeeper for an impressive number of prestigious national leagues, TAG Heuer recently announced the signature of a partnership with Manchester United. How do you choose your partnerships?

It’s important that we forge partnerships that create synergies and are visible through the initiatives we develop together. With Manchester United, for example, we’re able to reach a clientele in China and Asia. The club is a veritable institution in this part of the world and our partnership will help develop our brand in Asia, not only through TV and media visibility, but also thanks to joint events during the club’s Asia tour and all year.

Hublot has in the past decade become the leading luxury watchmaker to invest in football. Are there differences between the marketing strategies of Hublot and TAG Heuer in football?

Hublot was a pioneer by becoming the first luxury watchmaking house to invest in football. But it was evident that Hublot couldn’t cover all the possibilities offered by the sport. I was always careful to protect Hublot from competitors who wanted to invest in spaces that were still open in football, like federations, clubs, players or coaches. That led to the idea of occupying this space together, consistent with the positioning of the two houses. Hublot, a premium, selective brand, sponsors the most prestigious events, the World Cup, the UEFA Euro and the Champions League. TAG Heuer, which represents accessible luxury, focused on major national events – the English Premier League, the German Bundesliga, the Spanish LaLiga, the American MLS, as well as football in China, Japan and Australia. Together, our two houses cover all the different opportunities with a complementary fit, while at the same time protecting one another from competing watchmakers seeking to enter football sponsorship.

Contact:

LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton
22, avenue Montaigne, 75008 Paris – France
Tel: +33 (0)1 44 13 22 22
Fax: +33 (0)1 44 13 22 23

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: TAG Heuer announces new partnership with Manchester United football club

Source: LVMH

Posted on July 27, 2016 by Retail News Editor

New partnership brings Holland & Barrett health and wellbeing products in Tesco stores across the UK

CHESHUNT, England, 2016-Jul-27 — /EPR Retail News/ — Tesco and Holland & Barrett have today announced an exciting new partnership to introduce a health and wellbeing ‘store in store’ format in a number of Tesco stores across the UK.

The new partnership follows Tesco’s successful introduction of several Arcadia sites in its larger stores last year which showed that shoppers find it more helpful to combine shopping at Tesco with other well-known brands. Both businesses are keen to learn how the new proposition and format will be received by customers, but are confident the brands and propositions will work successfully alongside each other in store. The first Holland and Barrett store opened in the Dudley Tesco Extra on Monday 25th July, with a number of further concessions set to be introduced over the summer.

Holland & Barrett’s sales areas will include a range of popular brands from the specialist health and wellness retailer, including Bootea, snail gel and its best-selling coconut-based products. The new format will be integrated within Tesco’s store sales floors, enabling Tesco customers to shop across some 3000 product lines from Holland & Barrett’s health, food, beauty and sports ranges. Customers will also be able to access Holland & Barrett’s popular natural beauty section showcasing the brand’s ethical and natural beauty products, its natural Tea Bar and its Pick n Mix station for healthy snacking.

Holland & Barrett staff in the trial stores will be trained in the same way as all Holland & Barrett staff in the company’s ‘Qualified to Advise’ standards, the equivalent of an A-level in nutrition, and will be able to answer and advise on a range of customer queries from sports nutrition through to pregnancy supplementation.

Matt Davies, Tesco UK and ROI CEO said:
“We’re always looking at new ways our stores can best serve the needs of our customers, so we’re excited to be embarking on this partnership with such a recognized and trusted brand as Holland and Barrett. The new concessions will provide an exciting new offer for our customers that will complement our Tesco stores.”

Commenting on the trial, Holland & Barrett CEO Peter Aldis said:
“This pilot is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the value of a partnership between two trusted and complementary brands in retail and we are excited to be exploring with Tesco how their customers respond to this innovative in-store concept.

“We know that Tesco’s customers are diverse, like ours, but one thing that they have in common is that they want access to a wide range of health and wellbeing products without having to take too much time out of their busy routines to source them. We hope that this pilot will help them to achieve this as we continue our mission to bring health and wellbeing to high streets across the UK.”

We are a team of 480,000 in 11 markets dedicated to serving shoppers a little better every day.

For more information please contact the Tesco Press Office on
01707 918 701

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: New partnership brings Holland & Barrett health and wellbeing products in Tesco stores across the UK

Source: Tesco