Supermarket chains in Argentina agreed to freeze their prices for 60 days in an attempt to rein in inflation, officials said. The move comes after the International Monetary Fund censured Argentina on Friday for failing to supply accurate economic data to measure inflation. The agreement between the government of President Cristina Kirchner and the Association of United Supermarkets -- which includes US-based Wal-Mart and France's Carrefour chain -- is retroactive to February 1 and extends to April 1. Official Argentine statistics are sharply different from those private sector economists issue. For instance, last month the government said that inflation in 2012 was 10.8 percent, while a group of private economists who collate their data put the rate at 25.6 percent. Buenos Aires benefits from understating the data because a large part of its sovereign debt is indexed to inflation. Customers have been complaining about the constant rise in the price of food staples. Economy Minister … [Read more...] about Argentine supermarkets freeze prices after IMF censure
Supermarkets
Amazon opens line-free grocery store in challenge to supermarkets
Amazon.com Inc said on Monday it has opened a brick-and-mortar grocery store in Seattle without lines or checkout counters, kicking off new competition with supermarket chains. Amazon Go, the online shopping company's new 1,800-square-foot (167-square-meter) store, uses sensors to detect what items shoppers have picked off the shelves and sends a bill to their Amazon accounts if they do not replace them. The store marks Amazon's latest push into groceries, one of the biggest retail categories it has yet to master. The company currently delivers produce and groceries to homes through its AmazonFresh service. "It’s a great recognition that their e-commerce model doesn’t work for every product," said analyst Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research, noting that physical stores would complement AmazonFresh. "If there were hundreds of these stores around the country, it would be a huge threat" to supermarket chains, he said. The S&P 1500 food retail index, which includes Kroger Co, … [Read more...] about Amazon opens line-free grocery store in challenge to supermarkets
Domestic businesses complain it’s difficult to squeeze into supermarkets
All manufacturers want to put their products on sale at supermarkets. However, they always have to struggle hard to obtain the right to display products on the shelves there. Recalling the days when approaching supermarkets – a new distribution channel in Vietnam, Le Thi Thanh Lam, Deputy General Director of Saigon Food, said she had to wait 45 minutes to be able to meet the representative of the supermarket. After tough negotiations, Saigon Food’s products were accepted to be put on sale at the supermarket. However, Lam later found out that the products were put on disadvantageous positions which could not catch the attention from buyers. When Lam complained about this, she was explained that her products got familiar to customers already, and the products would be found no matter where they are put. Meanwhile, the supermarket needed to use advantageous positions for new products in order to better introduce new products to customers. “Why do enterprises have … [Read more...] about Domestic businesses complain it’s difficult to squeeze into supermarkets
The first exhibition in supermarket held in Hanoi
VietNamNet Bridge - Painter and curator Le Thiet Cuong, 51, assumes the role of selecting artworks by 10 young artists to introduce to the public. Cuong has selected a trade center in Hanoi to organize this exhibition. At the beginning, the organizers planned to hire a traditional gallery, such as the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum or 29 Hang Bai Gallery... with walls and lighting systems exclusively for the paintings. However, from personal experience that Le Thiet Cuong understands that most of Vietnamese people do not have a habit to go to galleries to admire paintings. "By displaying paintings at a supermarket, we will bring art to the public in a more direct, more open and more accessible. It is the activity of bringing art back to life. For the first time opening an art exhibit in the supermarket, I want to create democratic spirit of the art approaches," Cuong said about his daring plan. The exhibition, taking place from October 2 to 13, introduces the works of 10 artists: Ly … [Read more...] about The first exhibition in supermarket held in Hanoi
Are 70-80 percent of goods at supermarkets Vietnam-made?
VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) reports that Vietnamese goods account for 70-80 percent of the goods displayed at supermarkets, but analysts doubt the figure. Foreign retail chains have been expanding their business scale in Vietnam, displaying more and more goods from home countries at their supermarkets. However, MOET still affirms that 70-80 percent of the goods on the shelves at supermarkets are ‘Vietnamese’. In MOIT’s opinion, all the products made in Vietnamese territory, no matter whether they are made by Vietnamese or foreign invested enterprises, must be listed as ‘Vietnamese goods’. As such, the products of multi-national conglomerates such as Samsung, Unilever, P&G, Pepsi and Coca-Cola, or products of some Vietnamese brands which have been sold to foreigners such as Kinh Do, X-Man and Bibica are all counted as ‘Vietnamese’. Vu Kim Hanh, chair of the Vietnam High-quality Goods Enterprise … [Read more...] about Are 70-80 percent of goods at supermarkets Vietnam-made?