Ahold: AH To Go will need to differentiate itself to succeed in its new German market

Dutch grocer Ahold plans to open its AH To Go format in Germany in 2012. The retailer is targeting busy transport hubs and will compete with other emerging food-to-go players, including Rewe. However, the extremely saturated market will give Ahold little room for maneuver, and it will therefore have to prove that it has the innovative edge required to thrive in such a competitive market.

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Aldi: a Lidl bit of trouble in Spain

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Aldi: aggressive expansion in Australia through profit reinvestment

In the wake of improved net profits in 2009, Aldi has announced further investment in its Australian infrastructure and stores. Investing in the market will enable the discounter to boost market share, and help to reduce the dominance of Woolworths and Coles. Furthermore, Verdict research shows that Australian consumers are particularly responsive to Aldi's core proposition: private label.

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Aldi: discounter looks set to challenge major players with new European fuel retailing venture

Aldi has entered the fuel retailing market by opening three service stations in the Austrian town of Salzburg, offering heavily discounted fuel. With such a strong brand image and efficient business model, Aldi is likely to extend its petrol retailing presence across Austria and Europe, and may soon pose a challenge to the more established industry players.

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Arcandor facing a merger with Metro

German group Arcandor's financial struggles have led to talks with Berlin regarding a state bailout, resulting in strong criticism from both politicians and retailers. As an alternative, rival Metro is proposing a takeover of Arcandor's Karstadt department store chain. Although both solutions could undermine competition in the market, the latter may rescue the struggling retailer in the long term.

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Arcandor under threat of insolvency

While unconfirmed at present, it looks increasingly likely that Arcandor will not receive the necessary state guarantees for its outstanding debt. The company needs to raise E960m for 2009, with up to E900m to follow over the next five years. By June 12, when outstanding credit has to be renewed, Arcandor, the holding company of Karstadt, Thomas Cook and Quelle, could enter insolvency.

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Arcandor: sliding deeper into the red

Germany-based retail and travel company Arcandor saw its financial position deteriorate in the quarter to December 31, 2008 as costs accumulated due to restructuring work at Thomas Cook and its mail order arm saw losses of E58m (group EBIT). Although the sales performance of department store Karstadt has stabilized, Verdict Research is skeptical as to whether this signals a sustainable turnaround.

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Autogrill and Elior: driving into Germany

Italian retailer Autogrill and French-owned Elior have both announced new tenancy arrangements with the German motorway services provider Tank & Rast. Given that Tank & Rast holds 90% of all German motorway concessions, the partnership will strengthen Autogrill's and Elior's expansion potential in Europe's largest motorway services market.

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Basic consolidates after a tough year

With annual sales just about holding up, organics retailer Basic's margins have come under pressure. As a consequence, expansion plans have been put on hold, and the company has announced job cuts, reducing its staff headcount from 850 to 780. The outlook is bleak as even the buoyant organic sector will not prove completely immune to the expected downturn in consumer expenditure.

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Billa: grabbing a share of the food-to-go market

Billa, the Rewe-owned supermarket chain, has opened its first Billa Box convenience store in Vienna, Austria, which will offer food and drink to go. The concept will compete directly with existing food-to-go operators, allowing the retailer to capture a new demographic of customers. The originality of the format places Billa at the forefront of the small convenience store market in the country.

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