November 2024

Industry News
Discover the Top 50 European retailers of 2024

Flywheel’s annual Top 50 list of European food retailers reveals that four German retailers are among the five largest companies by turnover: Schwarz Group (1), Rewe Group (2), Aldi (3) and Edeka (5). The ranking was based on the retailers’ gross sales forecast for the entire 2024 financial year. Schwarz Group stands far above its pursuers with estimated revenues of 186 billion euros, equal to the amount as the combined turnover of second-placed Rewe (€97.1 billion) and third-placed Aldi (€89 billion). French retailer Carrefour ranks fourth with €73.8 billion and Edeka closes the top 5 with €73.2 in sales.

Following them in the ranking are Tesco (€72.7 billion), E. Leclerc (€50.5 billion), Ahold Delhaize (€43.3 billion), Intermarché (€43.2 billion) and X5 Retail Group (€41.9 billion). All but one retailer in the full top 50 list reported sales grow this year. The only exception was French retailer Casino, which saw a 20% decline after years of debt-fuelled acquisitions and a declining market share. The list was published by Lebensmittel Zeitung.

Intermarché’s bold private label rebranding and growth plans

Intermarché (ITM) aims to increase its private label share of sales from 35% to 40% by 2026, representing an additional €2 billion in turnover. The number of private label brands will be reduced from 32 to 25, and the existing 9,500 SKUs will be redesigned. Currently, 85% of Intermarché’s own brands are manufactured in France, with 40% of products carrying a Nutri-Score A or B.

To enhance brand recognition, the new packaging will feature the Intermarché name in red and black on a white band at the top. The revamped products will gradually be appearing on the shelves starting March 2025. The facelift should be completed in March 2027.

The retailer is investing 10 million euros in the rebranding process. Alongside the review of its existing range, 350 new products are scheduled to be launched next year.

Lidl’s parent teams up with Google to redefine Cloud sovereignty in Europe

Lidl’s parent company, Schwarz Group, is advancing its strategy of controlling its business operations by partnering with Google to deliver secure and sovereign cloud-based collaboration for German and European regulated industries.

Through this partnership, Schwarz Group’s StackIT, the retailer’s cloud provider, will offer client-side encryption for customers’ Google Workspace data. StackIT ensures that customer data remains within the European Union, with full redundancy provided by backups hosted solely in European data centres to meet demands for data protection, residency, and resiliency.

“Germany and the EU have until now lacked enterprise-grade cloud collaboration solutions that fully address the sovereignty requirements of regulated industries, including ensuring all data is secured and backed up on local soil with absolutely no opportunity for access by foreign nations or platform providers,” said Rolf Schumann, co-CEO of Schwarz Digits, the IT and digital division of the Schwarz Group. “Our partnership and new offering with Google Cloud will fill this gap with an entirely new business model.”

Client-side encryption means Google has no access to customers’ data. According to Schwarz and Google, this safeguards the sovereignty of not only Schwarz Group, but also all customers who value the independence of their operations, giving them full confidence that their data is always in their control.

“This new partnership will enable the companies of Schwarz Group to combine its leadership in digital transformation with Google Cloud’s strengths in productivity, collaboration and security, enabled by our cutting-edge AI,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet. “Together, we are opening up a world of new, sovereign opportunities for European organisations to innovate and build on our joint solutions, accelerating a new era of innovation.”

Inside the minds of Rapid Delivery shoppers

In Spain, retailer DIA and rapid deliverer Glovo have analysed consumers who use the service for deliveries “within 30 minutes”. The typical customer places an average of 1.4 orders per week, with a smaller basket size (€10 to €15) compared to customers using traditional e-commerce channels (€25 to €30).

The most purchased products are beverages, eggs, dairy, and fresh items such as fruit, vegetables, meat, and fish. These are followed by bakery and pastry products, frozen goods and drugstore and cleaning products. In terms of order time, Saturday is the most popular day, followed by Monday. Most orders are placed mid-morning or mid-afternoon.

The analysis also revealed a 23% increase in orders on Sunday, 1st September, marking the end of the summer holidays, compared to other Sundays. Similar peaks occur after Christmas and Easter holidays. In addition, during the Champions League semi-finals last season, orders surged by 33%.

Are autonomous shops the future or a fad?

The supermarket checkout has long been a top complaint among customers. Amazon shook up the industry in 2018 with the launch of its first autonomous store, Amazon Go. The “Just Walk Out” system used a dedicated app and an array of cameras and sensors. After linking a bank account or credit card, customers could walk into the store, pick and bag their items, and leave without stopping at a checkout.

Six years later, Amazon is closing several of these stores. Despite sufficient foot traffic, profitability has been elusive. In the meantime, other retailers have launched their own trials. For example, Aldi opened an autonomous store called Shop & Go in the Netherlands. Despite adjusting payment options, the pilot ended after just over two years. Similarly, Carrefour’s cashierless Carrefour Flash store in France closed two years after its debut.

In contrast, Rewe recently launched a new autonomous Grab&Go store format under the Rewe Ready banner. This store is located at an electric vehicle fast charging station, the unmanned store offers around 250 items and uses AI-driven technology for automatic payment as customers leave. It is one of four smart store concepts the retailer is currently testing.

In the UK, Tesco continues to operate its GetGo concept, launched three years ago, while Sainsbury’s SmartShop Pick & Go collaborates with AI startups focusing on ease of use and privacy. Carrefour Belgium just opened an autonomous shop at its headquarters near Brussels. It is called Buybye, measures 18 sqm, works with an app, and was developed in collaboration with start-up Reckon AI.

While some retailers have struggled to make autonomous stores profitable, the concept of cashierless shopping is far from dead. Instead, it is evolving. Early pioneers like Amazon may be scaling back, but other players, such as Rewe and Tesco, are refining the model with new technologies and strategic locations. As AI, computer vision, and customer demand for frictionless shopping experiences continue to advance, the next generation of cashierless stores could overcome today’s challenges. Success will likely depend on balancing operational efficiency with customer convenience, proving that the future of retail may still be a checkout-free one.

PLMA Live.eu
Packaging in Focus: Sustainability, Innovation and New Regulations

Packaging is essential in preserving product quality, as well as conveying information and communicating the brand story. The EU’s new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), expected in 2025, aims to reduce packaging waste and enforce sustainability through reusable or recyclable packaging and deposit return systems.  

Judith Kolenburg discusses packaging trends, including highlights from PLMA’s U.S. Private Label Trade Show with the help of PLMA Live! Reporter Carol Angrisani. Meanwhile, Pascal Kuipers covers the PPWR’s impact on the retail industry. 

In the stores

Knuspr, the German online supermarket subsidiary of Czech Rohlik, is partnering with Amazon to offer an e-grocery service to Prime members in Germany. At the same time, Amazon is ending its own fresh grocery delivery service in the country.

WHSmith, originally a bookstore chain, is planning a major overhaul of its own brand food offer in 2025. The move comes after the retailer achieved “record sales” following the launch of its first own label food to go range earlier this year.

Albert Heijn is giving its frozen range a makeover. Over 200 innovative items will be introduced, including Asian snacks, bakery products, ice cream and snacks, vegetable and fruit mixes.

Conad launched a new own brand called Essentiae Lab for personal care, and in particular for face, body and hair care and for oral hygiene with formulations that are 80% of natural origin.

Kaufland has a new private label called K-Concept+ Sports. The products were developed in collaboration with nutritionists and include protein and energy-rich snacks for athletes and customers interested in fitness.

Holland & Barrett is planning a major expansion of its own label food and drink category with an investment in an innovation kitchen dedicated to private label new product development. 

Carrefour introduced its first range of low-alcohol private label wines.  Under the name of “Bon moments” (Good times), the range does not exceed a percentage of 5.5% and includes white, rosé, red and sparkling wine.

Jumbo has rolled out a new private label range of flavourings, including spice mixes, flavouring oils, butters and misos. Jumbo wants to use these flavouring to ensure that consumers eat more vegetables, because they can flavour them entirely to their own preference.

Aldi is expanding its plant-based My Vay range with meat substitutes. The expansion of the range consists of products with an improved recipe as well as completely new items. The company reduced the salt content and amount of saturated fats and uses 100% European soy for the products.

Pingo Doce has already carried out more than six thousand DNA analyses on over five thousand own brand products through its accredited Molecular Biology Laboratory. The analyses confirm the real composition and authenticity of the products, ensuring that the ingredients listed on the labels are actually those used in the recipe.

Tesco is moving its own brand Finest range of dried pasta into paper packaging, in a move it says will save more than 10 million pieces of plastic a year, weighing more than 30 tonnes. The new packs are 100% recyclable and can be put into household recycling bins.

Lidl picked up on the Dubai chocolate hype and launched its own brand Dubai chocolate. The product under its Deluxe brand is available in a limited number of 10,000 bars in selected stores in Germany.

Casino Group is piloting a mobile grocery store across a dozen towns in the Loire region, offering 350 essential products. This initiative aims to address commercial and social isolation in rural communities by bringing retail services directly to underserved areas.

Over sixty Ocado food, drink, and household product ranges in reusable packaging now feature a Digital Link QR code. Consumers can scan these, at which point they are directed to a landing page with instructions for refilling and returning their products.

Market research
No more than 20 seconds to influence a buyer

The average time a consumer spends in front of the shelves is very short: between 4 and 20 seconds. Purchase decisions are quick and instinctive and are driven mainly by emotion rather than rationally.

Research by Professor Vincenzo Russo, IULM University, Milan shows how quick and instinctive purchase decisions are, driven mainly by emotion rather than rationality. The brain tends to trick us and create a kind of bias in our perceptions. The packaging, its colour or shape, the appearance of the product and many other factors can influence our perception in a way that is sometimes different from reality.

At PLMA’s upcoming Packaging conference on 30 January in the Hague, Steen Tjarks, President & Co-founder of design agency Tjarks & Tjarks will dive into the topic of “Psychology of Packaging: How Design Drives Consumer Decisions -  Look, Feel, Buy: The Power of Design in Consumer Choice for Private Brands”. For more information click here.

Consumers feel sorry for a lonely banana

Researchers from German universities have found out that customers are more likely to pick up an individual banana, often left as a result of people tearing others from the bunch, if they are emotionally triggered.

The academics placed a sign in front of orphan bananas (individual bananas left as a result of people tearing others from the bunch) saying “we are sad singles and want to be bought as well”. On average, sales in single bananas went to 3.19 with the sad sign – an increase of 58%.

The researchers carried out the experiment in a major German supermarket chain, observing the purchasing behaviour of 3,810 customers over the course of 192 hours.

Events
PLMA’s Packaging Conference - The Hague

PLMA's 2025 Private Label Packaging Conference is a full-day event that will tackle key issues in packaging, providing insights into the challenges and solutions that retailers and manufacturers face today. 

30 January 2025
The Hague, The Netherlands
Registration Details