By Michael Susin U.K. grocery-price inflation in November fell for the ninth month in a row, dropping to its lowest rate since July 2022, as promotions and.
UK shoppers seeking to avoid higher bills at the checkout are running out of options after prices on more than half of supermarket items rose in the past year.
The entrance of a Carrefour supermarket in Rosny-sous-Bois on Nov. 3, 2020. Getty Images
Shares in Carrefour, France’s biggest supermarket group, rose as much as 11% on Wednesday, after Canada’s Alimentation
Couche-Tard said it was in early-stage takeover talks.
The two firms are worth more than a combined $50 billion, and a deal would give the Montreal-based Circle K owner, which mainly sells groceries through its convenience store formats, access to Carrefour’s larger supermarket footprint and boost its presence in Europe and South America.
The back story. Europe’s largest retailer,
Carrefour, has been hit hard by competition from
Amazon and other online rivals. Shopping habits are changing. Pre-Covid, consumers were already spending less time in malls and on shopping streets, preferring to buy online. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated that trend, which is expected to stick.
Jan. 7, 2021 5:17 am ET
Unlikely as it may sound, grocery stores are becoming dream propertiesâcoveted but hard to prise away from their owners. Changes to accounting rules are just one reason why it has become less appealing for supermarkets to sell their real estate.
In Europe, food shops have been among the few retailers allowed to trade throughout the pandemic and business has been strong. U.K. grocer J Sainsbury reported Thursday that over the nine weeks to Jan. 2, sales increased by 9.3%, sending its shares up 4%. Britainâs supermarkets have had their highest Christmas sales on record, based on data released this week by Nielsen.