According to Lebensmittel Zeitung, Aldi Süd has entered into a sale and lease back agreement with MGPA, a real estate investment advisory company, for an additional 140 real estate properties in Germany. The property portfolio, which is mainly located in South and West Germany, includes retail outlets, land, and a logistics center.

• Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
• This is the second sale and leaseback deal Aldi Süd has entered into in the last two months, following similar deal for 80 stores in South Germany with Allianz in August 2010.
• The retailer is expected to invest the sale proceeds from the latest agreement for expansion in the US, the UK, and Australia.

Auchan has reported first half (H1) results for 2010.

• Total group consolidated revenues without VAT reached EUR 20 billion, an increase of 6.8% over the same period of 2009.
• Revenue in France represented 46% of the total group sales, while sales outside of the group home market grew to 54% this semester versus 53% of total group sales at the end of 2009.
• The EBITDA increased 9.8% to EUR 1.02 billion.
• Investments in the first six months of 2010 decreased 25.8% compared to the same period of 2009, spread across all geographies: 36% in France, 17% in Europe excluding France, and 47% in Central Europe and Asia.

Hypermarkets

• Total hypermarket sales accounted for 79.6% of total group revenue. Total hypermarket sales without VAT grew 7.3% to EUR 16 billion. At constant exchange rates, comparable stores and excluding fuel, hypermarket sales increased 4.6% in the period and grew 2.2% in France.
• A total of 18 new stores were acquired or opened in the period in France, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, China, and Taiwan.

Supermarkets

• Total supermarket sales without VAT decreased 4.6%.
• During the period, the group finalized the rollout of Simply Market in Italy.
• Twelve new stores have been added to the supermarket portfolio. The group also totaled 50 online stores in the Paris region.

Kantar Worldpanel has released market share figures for France for the period 12 July to 8 August 2010.

• Leclerc continued to increase market share by 0.7 percentage points to 17.1%. Since the beginning of the year, the retailer has grown market share by 0.3 percentage points. Leclerc is the most dynamic retailer in France in comparison with its competitors.
• Auchan increased share by 0.3 percentage points over the period to 8.7%.
• Carrefour remained stable with 12.5% market share, and Carrefour Market grew share by 0.1 percentage points to 8.4%. Carrefour Group in total has a market share of 21%.
• Geant Casino shrank share by 0.2 percentage points to 5.2%.
• Intermarche and Systeme U increased market shares by 0.1 percentage points to 11.7% and 9.3%, respectively.
• Hard discounter market shares continued to decrease by 0.5 percentage points to 14.3%.
  • Lidl and Leader Price grew share by 0.2 and 0.1 percentage points to 4.9% and 2.5%, respectively.
  • Aldi and Ed/Dia decreased shares by 0.1 and 0.2 percentage points to 2.5% and 2.4%, respectively.
  • Netto remained stable with 1.2% market share.

French retailer Carrefour recently announced that it is adopting a new graphic strategy for its private label. The new packaging will be fully rolled out from November 2010.

• A wider are is dedicated to Carrefour logo.
• The name of the product is translated in different languages and written on the front of the packaging.
• The names of the different ranges will be simplified, for example, "Carrefour Agir bio" will change to "Carrefour bio".

Belgian retailer Delhaize has recently announced that it is lowering prices for the third time this year on 420 of everyday-branded and private-labeled items.

The retailer has launched the campaign in over 600 Currys and PC World stores across the UK.

• Customers can trade in any working old laptop for GBP 50.
• The amount is conditioned to be used for the purchase of a new laptop, notebook, PC, or Mac.
• The scheme also includes a free data wipe from the old device valued at GBP 30.
• All old devices will be properly recycled at the same time as some parts my even be reused.

El Corte Ingles reported the following figures for the 2009 financial year closed at the end of February 2010.

• Overall, group sales shrank 5.8% to EUR 16.36 billion, and EBITDA was down 2.5%.
• Hipercor hypermarkets recorded a drop in sales (16.3%) while the department stores, which represent 59% of total group sales, generated sales 0.2% lower than the year before.
• Most of the other businesses (excluding Bricor DIY) recorded a decrease in sales.
• Last year, El Corte Ingles invested an amount of EUR 1,07 billion across its businesses. The amount was used on renovations, enlargements, and the building of new shopping centres.

Future Outlook

Isidoro Álvarez, El Cortes Ingles Chairman, stated: "we have new challenges, such as extending our presence on new markets or consolidating the full development of all of the businesses. However, we are also aware that this year, our Group’s leadership shall be strengthened from efficient work and excellence in service."

Gap has launched two dedicated e-commerce sites for the European shoppers, in continuation with its online international expansion strategy. Further, it plans to ship to the following additional nine countries by this fall: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.

• The retailer has launched sites for Gap and Banana Republic; http://www.gap.eu/ and http://www.bananarepublic.eu/, respectively. The sites will allow fast and reliable local shipping within UK, with no hidden charges or fees.
• Shoppers can avail a free shipping introductory offer on purchase of GBP 50 or more, along with free, easy returns on online or in-store purchases.
• The "Universality" platform will bring all brands under one roof, along with ease in navigation and a universal shopping cart.
• The launch will enable UK shoppers to shop for Gap, GapKids, babyGap, and Banana Republic with one shopping basket, one checkout, and one shipping box.
• The retailer plans to open stores in China and Australia by the end of 2010, which along with its online and franchise presence, will make it reach around 80 countries.

In a move to increase its presence in the entertainment category, Tesco plans to start a month-long trial of selling music CDs of the UK band, Faithless across 420 petrol stations.

• To complement the promotion, the retailer will also run a Faithless competition wherein shoppers will have the chance to win a Special Edition Faithless Fiat Punto Evo.
• The promotion will run through specially branded petrol pump nozzles across 100 of Tesco’s biggest forecourts.
• Tesco ran a similar promotion in early 2010, when it entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Faithless to promote its album, ‘The Dance’.

Commenting on the move, Rob Salter, Tesco’s Entertainment Director stated, "Securing the future of the CD market means constantly trying new things and reaching out to new audiences in new ways. The world has changed and nearly 90% of music outlets, like Tesco, major on products other than entertainment. Music has to be prepared to do new things in new ways in order to justify its shelf space."

Tesco has partnered with UK-based publishing company, Future Publishing, to launch a dedicated website, Tescotechsupport.com, for its in-store technology support service.

• The website complements Tesco’s existing free quarterly technology support magazine, which was launched in early 2010.
• Tescotechsupport.com will feature "how-to" technology videos and will include content sourced from Tesco’s quarterly magazine. It will also include news feeds from Future Group’s consumer technology website, TechRadar.com.
• Tesco started the technical support service in 2008 to help shoppers with purchase decisions and support for electrical products.

Commenting on the launch Kelly Chapman, Commercial Manager of Marketing at Tesco, stated: "With over 5,000 products in an ever-increasing range, it is important that customers make the right purchase to meet their budget and needs. This helps to raise awareness of our service and the advice we provide also helps to simplify technology."