Global roundup: acquisitions, marketplace closures and dark store testing

Europe

Wholesale closures, market consolidation, retail alliance growth and optimising private labels

Metro to close wholesale units in Poland. Four warehouses under the Makro banner will close at the end of September 2025. The wholesaler has cited rising business costs and an aim to optimise processes and the operational network as reasons for the closures.

Dan Butler, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: the Polish market has become a challenge for wholesalers, with declines in traditional trade as independent traders are attracted to the franchise models of organised retailers, such as Zabka. I expect Metro to focus on the HoReCa trade, which it will support through improved delivery options and the development of digital solutions.

Schwarz Group acquires controlling stake in Romanian retailer. The parent company of Lidl and Kaufland has strengthened its position in the market following the acquisition of a 70% stake in La Cocos. The Romanian retail chain consists of four hyper-discount format stores that focus on low prices, with increased discounts for bulk purchasing. It has been indicated that the Schwarz Group will support the continued expansion of the La Cocos brand in the market.

Dan Butler, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: consolidation in the Romanian market continues, following Ahold Delhaize acquiring Profi and Carrefour buying Cora. The La Cocos brand has been growing thanks to its value perception, which saw sales increase by 20.7% in 2024. I am interested to see the approach the Schwarz Group takes with La Cocos, as this is the first time it has operated a retailer outside of the Lidl and Kaufland banners.

See more from Romania in our latest best of the store report.

Grupo IFA’s turnover increases 9.6% to €43bn. The Spain-based retailer alliance attributed this to its operations in Spain, Portugal and Italy. In Spain, consolidated sales rose by 5.6% to €19.2bn, while gross operating profit increased by 9.3%. At its recent AGM, CEO Diego Maus said, ‘In 12 years, we have increased our consolidated revenue in Spain by 1.9 times, with compound annual growth of nearly 6%’.

Harriet Cohen, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: Grupo IFA’s annual results have been impressive in recent years. Its members’ focus on operating proximity stores close to shoppers, and agreements with local suppliers, especially in fresh produce, are helping it win. If the retail alliance continues this trajectory, it should achieve its goal of €50bn turnover in 2026.

Find out more about European grocery retail alliances and Spain’s grocery market.

Picnic 2024 revenue increases by 26% to €1.5bn. The online retailer’s growth was largely driven by its performance in Germany and France. Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, turnover grew by 10%. Further losses were seen in the Netherlands, with Picnic reporting a €65m loss for 2024 (following a €78m loss in 2023). This was attributed to investments in automation and the supply chain. Despite these losses, Michiel Muller, co-founder and CEO, highlighted that Picnic achieved a gross profit in the first five months of 2025.
 

Harriet Cohen, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: we forecast that Picnic will be one of the fastest growing grocery retailers in the Netherlands to 2029, with predicted revenues set to overtake several competitors. We anticipate a similar scenario in Germany, with Picnic’s online grocery revenue set to overtake that of Rewe and Amazon. Its performance will be driven by geographic expansion and by growing its customer base. Meanwhile, Picnic will continue to adopt technology to drive efficient operations and is set to benefit from trends towards digitalisation and convenience.

Migros is reducing its private label brands. The Swiss retailer is streamlining its private label portfolio, reducing the count from 150 to 100 over the next five years. It will consolidate lesser-known brands, making it easier for shoppers to find private label products on the shelves. No SKU reduction is planned, and the overall share of private label products is set to increase.

Michela Pearson, Insight Analyst’s view: Migros is one of the non-discount retailers with the highest penetration of private label products in its assortment, hovering around the 80% mark. The products enjoy strong brand recognition with Swiss shoppers, and the decision to streamline the offering will help Migros increase sales of private label and achieve better margins. Aldi Nord made a similar move in Belgium in 2023.

Asia-Pacific

Marketplace closures and soaring inflation

Woolworths to close MyDeal marketplace. Woolworths will continue to provide its customers with an extended online range via Big W Market and Everyday Market. According to the retailer, MyDeal has brought marketplace expertise and leading technology to the group. It enabled the rapid growth of Woolworths MarketPlus, which will continue to leverage the MyDeal technology platform, seller relationships and capabilities to grow the group’s Big W Market and Everyday Market banners.

Tan Soo Eng, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: it is not a surprise for Woolworths to close its marketplace, as it looks to sharpen its focus on its core food business. MyDeal marketplace was acquired by the retailer three years ago to enhance its capabilities in furniture, homewares and other bulky goods. According to the Australian Financial Review, Big W, Woolworths’ general merchandise business, is also under review as it has been struggling with losses for years. Big W has been stuck in the middle on price, while the discount space has been growing with the likes of Kmart and The Reject Shop, which is set to be acquired by Canada-based Dollarama, gaining share.  

Japan’s food inflation is expected to soar in July. A survey by private think tank Teikoku Databank showed that 195 major food producers expect to raise prices for 2,105 items in July, a fivefold increase in the usual number of items with a price hike. Respondents have attributed this to the rising cost of raw materials, utilities, transportation and labour.

Jarred Neubronner, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: Japan is a mature market which usually has low inflation and very low wage increments. Any higher-than-usual increase in inflation rates will have a huge impact on most shoppers’ spending power. This creates an opportunity for retailers focused on value, such as variety discount banner Don Quijote and Aeon’s top-up convenience banner, My Basket. Retailers in all channels will also intensify the development of their private label ranges to enable them to offer shoppers greater value while protecting their profit margins.

North America

Home delivery to quicken

Walmart begins trialling dark stores in the US. The retailer has opened a pilot dark store in Dallas, Texas, with plans to open a second in its hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas. The physical units, which are not open to the public, will stock many of Walmart’s most frequently ordered products and will be used to streamline and speed up the fulfilment of online orders.

Oliver Butterworth, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: this headline will no doubt prick the ears of Walmart’s US competitors. In Q1 2025, Walmart became the first grocer to reach online profitability. This was achieved through significantly increasing automation throughout its supply chain, while leveraging its huge estate of over 4,600 stores. Walmart describes its stores as ‘local-fulfilment nodes’, and adding dark stores will allow it to further densify its last-mile capabilities. This should help it achieve faster deliveries and reduce the cost-to-serve.

See Walmart’s technology-enabled supply chain to find out more about how Walmart is pursuing supply chain investment to drive its strategic goals.