European Private Label Awards 2024 – Finalists Announced
ESM - European Supermarket Magazine
The industry magazine for C-suite executives and procurement managers working in the European grocery retail sector.
The finalists in the 2024 European Private Label Awards have been announced, with store brand innovations from some of the giants of the European supermarket sector, including ALDI Nord Group, Lidl International, Conad, Marks and Spencer , REWE Group, Salling Group, SPAR, Pingo Doce, ICA Gruppen, Colruyt Group, Dagrofa ApS, Müller Holding GmbH & Co. KG, BILLA AG and more, named across 17 categories.
A total of 68 product innovations were named among this year's finalists, with the winners in this year's competition set to be revealed in March 2024.
Check out the full list of finalists below ??
French retailer Casino has reached agreements with Auchan Retail and Intermarché parent company Groupement Les Mousquetaires on the sale of 'almost all' of its hypermarkets and supermarkets. Casino added that these agreements provide for the sale of 288 stores (and the service stations attached to these stores), based on an enterprise value of between €1.3 billion and €1.35 billion ($1.42 billion to 1.47 billion). The disposals will take place in the second quarter of 2024, after consultation with unions, the company said. The operation is set to leave Casino with upmarket brand Monoprix as well as Franprix, which also focuses on city-centre stores. Casino also said Groupement Les Mousquetaires and Auchan have undertaken to take over the employment contracts of staff assigned to the transferred stores and service stations, and to maintain existing labour agreements for 15 months.
US retailer Kroger has emphasised its commitment to building and retaining customer trust by engaging in responsible AI development. Senior vice president of Kroger, Yael Cosset, was discussing the company's digital journey and how the transformation impacts customers and associates at the National Retail Federation's (NRF) Big Show. He shared insights on the retailer's approach to artificial intelligence and how GenAI can help the grocery retail industry. Cosset stated, "I believe GenAI is already impacting and will continue to impact the grocery industry broadly and in a transformational way. "We continue to use AI and GenAI across the business for improvements, such as more relevant creative marketing content, better search outcomes on digital platforms, greater personalisation for customers, easier solutions for our associates, and many more areas. Like all technology, we view AI as a resource for our customers and associates to improve our human connections, not replace them."
Discounter Aldi plans to open nearly 50 new stores across Spain this year, maintaining its recent growth trajectory in the country. The latest expansion builds on the momentum of over 100 store openings in the past three years, as the retailer, which in Spain is operated by Aldi Nord, seeks to establish a larger presence in the market. Aldi said that it will focus on strategic regions such as the Canary Islands and northern Spain (Basque Country, Galicia, Cantabria, and Castilla y León); while Andalusia, Madrid, Valencia, and Catalonia will receive over half of the new stores.
Read More: Aldi’s Italian Network Reaches 177 Stores
Italian supermarket chain Conad has secured a €25 million loan from Italian banking group UniCredit to support its sustainability initiatives. The loan, linked to the achievement of environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives, will finance the purchase of goods and warehouse stocks, the retailer noted. Conad has pledged to increase the percentage of its private-label products featuring packaging made from sustainable materials. It will also implement ‘consistent and rigorous’ monitoring of quality and traceability controls on Conad Percorso Qualità products throughout the supply chain.
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In our November/December edition, we delve into the ESG challenges for retailers and consumer goods firms in our annual Sustainability report; we catch up with EMD managing director Philippe Gruyters; we examine the secrets of Ukrainian supermarket design; and we meet the inspiring chief executive of LEAD Network, Allyson Zimmermann.
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