Global roundup: market exits, new concepts and promotions

Europe

Possible Carrefour market exit, private label and decarbonisation

Carrefour set to exit Romanian market. Carrefour currently operates 458 stores in Romania, but it is rumoured that the retailer is selling and exiting the market. This follows its general trend of exiting from markets it no longer deems profitable or sustainable. Three bidders have been identified: French retailer Auchan, the Polish convenience retailer Zabka, and the Romanian investment firm Paval Holding, which owns the DIY chain Dedeman. Carrefour have mandated the BNP Paribas bank to test the interest of investors.

Bently Briggs, Insight Analyst’s view: Carrefour reportedly departing the Romanian market opens door for either Auchan or Zabka to expand their market share, or Paval Holding entering as a new player in the grocery retail market. Whichever bidder comes out on top will significantly change the landscape of the competitive Romanian grocery market.

French retailers launch shared platform to decarbonise supply chains. Nine French retailers, including Lidl, Carrefour, and Auchan, have launched LESS (Low Emission Sustainable Sourcing), a shared platform to measure and reduce CO2 emissions across supply chains. Hosted by OpenClimat and approved by the French Competition Authority, LESS enables suppliers to report their carbon data in a standardised way, fostering transparency and collaboration. Participation is voluntary, with all farmers, manufacturers and suppliers across the chain able to join to begin dialogue with retailers.

Soline Duriez, Supply Chain Analyst’s view: with Scope 3 emissions (linked to a product’s life before it reaches the store) representing over 96% of retail’s footprint, this initiative will help retailers refine strategies in line with Paris Agreement goals. By inviting suppliers to participate voluntarily, LESS strengthens trust and collaboration across the chain and marks a pioneering step in transparent and collective climate action within retail. Its model should be replicated in other markets seeking to accelerate decarbonisation.

Zabka launches new private label range. The Polish convenience retailer has introduced ‘Good Mood’ products to its stores. The new line of snacks, sweets and beverages is intended to support its strategy of increasing private label's share of sales.

Dan Butler, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: Zabka is continually developing its assortment to meet the needs of shoppers, and its latest brand will boost its important impulse offering. Its private label development highlights its commitment to sustainable sourcing and allows it to deliver value in the price conscious market.

Asia-Pacific

11.11 sales record, phone charging in convenience and inflation

FamilyMart Japan’s phone charger kiosks to accept credit cards. FamilyMart has been offering mobile charging device ChargeSPOT to rent at over 6,000 stores in Japan since mid-2025. In partnership with ChargeSPOT operator INFORICH, FamilyMart plans to expand the number of stores offering this rental service to 12,000 within three years. It is also allowing additional payment options such as credit cards. Once users have finished with the charger, they can return it to any of the charging kiosks installed across Japan, including at train stations.

Jarred Neubronner, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: Japan’s convenience stores are strong in their food-to-go propositions, but are also expanding their range and service offerings to cater to more missions, positioning themselves as a lifestyle destination. The aim is to help attract a wider pool of shoppers for more frequent visits. Offering more payment options for rental of the charging devices make it more accessible to foreign tourists, driving footfall in FamilyMart.

JD.com sets new record sales for 11.11 promotion. The 11.11 Grand Promotion, also known as Single’s Day, is one of the most important events for Chinese online retailers to achieve great sales by offering significant price cuts and promotions. This year, JD.com saw a 40% increase in number of customers and a ~60% increase in order volume YoY. 7FRESH supermarkets’ online orders increased 180% YoY, and its physical stores saw a 100% growth in sales for over 30,000 brands. Live streaming is another growth driver, with over 150% surge in orders placed through this channel, and total user watch time tripled. JD Global Sales direct mail service expanded to 36 countries, with sales and orders doubling YoY in markets, such as Malaysia, Australia, Thailand and more. 

Sabrina Wong, Insight Analyst’s view: with China’s macroeconomic environment weakening, it is challenging to drive impulse purchases as shoppers become more price sensitive. As a result, most online retailers started their 11.11 promotion in October to encourage shoppers to increase their basket spend gradually. Although JD.com has achieved record sales this year, changes in shopper attitudes and the economic outlook will diminish the effectiveness of these large-scale promotions; it must seek expansion opportunities in global markets and review current strategies in China to maintain sustainable growth for the company.

India’s retail inflation at an all-time low. India’s retail inflation hit 0.25% in October, the lowest since records began. Low levels of inflation are being driven primarily by groceries, with food inflation hitting -5.02%. In late September the Indian government drastically cut goods and services tax (GST) on hundreds of mass consumption items in response to USA’s 50% tariff on Indian goods.

Bently Briggs, Insight Analyst’s view: Q4’25 will mark a pivotal time in Indian domestic economic policy. The hope from the Indian government is that significantly reducing GST will stimulate economic growth which has slowed since the announcement of tariffs. Whilst the outlook for consumers is positive, the challenges of price deflation on many food and grocery items will increase competition in an already dynamic market.

North America

Changes to ecommerce strategy, retail media and a new store concept

Kroger announces major changes to ecommerce strategy. In January 2026, Kroger will close three Ocado-powered warehouses that are “not meeting financial expectations”. Instead, it will strengthen its focus on store-based fulfilment, which will be supported by new store openings. In geographies with high online demand, it will continue to leverage automated facilities, while implementing more “capital-light” store-based automation tech. Kroger will also lean more heavily into its partnerships with Instacart, DoorDash and Uber Eats. With these changes, the retailer expects to improve ecommerce profitability by approximately $400m in 2026, as well as improving the customer experience with faster deliveries and more delivery options.

Oliver Butterworth, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: following a period of “evaluating the viability” of its Ocado-powered warehouses, it has decided to close three and will be taking a $2.6 bn impairment charge (write-off) tied to their closure. Its goal of generating $400m profitability next year gives an indication into the magnitude of losses it's been suffering in recent years. Kroger will be looking to turn things around, accelerate ecommerce growth and build on five consecutive quarters of double-digit growth. Key to this will be leveraging Instacart’s delivery expertise (as its primary delivery provider) and better utilising its store network.

Amazon launches ‘store within a store’ concept at Whole Foods Market. A Pennsylvania Whole Foods Market will now house a micro-fulfilment centre (MFC), enabling shoppers to place orders for Amazon products once in the store, and collect them from an Order Pickup point before they leave. Digital screens will display QR codes for shoppers to scan, taking them to the Amazon app. From here, they can purchase both Amazon and Whole Foods items that are not on shelves, with most items ready for pickup in under 10 minutes.

Michaela Jay, Insight Manager’s view: in a constant effort to build its reputation as a grocery business, this enables Amazon to get direct exposure to shoppers already in the retailer’s universe, and impactfully disrupt their shopping journey. It creates endless digital aisles to prevent impacting the in-store experience. Shoppers will get the same experience they expect from WFM, while more core products that may not directly align with the brand will be available in the test store, without being visible to shoppers, to not dent its reputation. Enabling pickups in under 10 minutes is yet another way Amazon can push its convenience perceptions, bringing more value to shoppers.

Target helps shoppers stretch budgets over the holiday season. Target is lowering the price of 3,000 essentials across food, beverage, and household. It has also re-launched its Thanksgiving promotion, which offers holiday dinner for under US$5 per person. As well as supporting its shoppers, the retailer is giving back to the community and made a $500k donation to Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organisation, to address increased demand at food banks.

Oliver Butterworth, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: this is an admirable effort from Target, making groceries and other essential products more affordable while giving back to the community. Aldi has launched a similar thanksgiving promotion whereby shoppers can host thanksgiving for 10 people for US$40. We hope to see more of this sort of activity over the festive periods, as many Americans continue to be troubled by food insecurity.

Loblaw expects its alternative revenue streams to generate CAD$300m in annual EBIT. Freight-as-a-Service is forecast to exceed CAD$200m in 2026, and Retail Media is expected to surpass CAD$100m next year. Core retail performance remained solid in Q3. Revenue rose 4.6% to CAD$19.4 bn, with same-store food sales up 2.0% and drug retail up 4.0%. Ecommerce grew 18.0%. Loblaw’s discount banners gained share, while the roll-out of a new look for Real Canadian Superstore and its Pharmacy Care Clinics continued. The retailer remains on track to open 250 stores by the end of 2025.

Stewart Samuel, Director of Retail Futures’ view: Loblaw’s Q3 update shows how alternative revenue streams are now scaling meaningfully. If they reach CAD$300m EBIT, they give the core business more room to invest in areas such pricing, store remodels and digital. Very few global retailers have profit pools outside of core retail at this level, and it’s emerging as a long-term competitive advantage.