By Posted on Posted in Uncategorized No Comments

Toys”R”Us, the American toys giant, intends to enter the Polish market. At present, the company is looking for suitable locations and is commencing recruitment of staff for key positions. The retailer is interested in stores of between 1,500-2,500 m2, not including storage space, and in locations situated in shopping galleries.

The company has not yet revealed the details of its expansion strategy for the Polish market, but it will disclose more information in the summer 2011. At present, Toys”R”Us operates a chain of 1,560 stores located in 33 countries.

Although the entry of a global player is an important event to the Polish toy market worth PLN 2bn (€0.5bn), Smyk, the current leader on market with 68 stores countrywide, is not afraid of competition.

According to Magdalena Dabska, the marketing director of Smyk, “during more than 10 years of experience the chain has managed to establish very strong foundations for its business and won millions of faithful customers”. A good example is the opening late last year of the first Smyk Megastore, Smyk’s most diversified store concept, which offers toys, children’s clothing, accessories for infants (including an expanded selection of pushchairs and prams, car seats, and beds), school stationery items, as well as books and multimedia.

By Posted on Posted in France, Proximity, Retail, Retail Distribution, Supermarkets No Comments

Petit Casino, flagship of proximity stores of Group Casino, is about to change its name: Casino Shopping for stores over 350m² (700 potential units) and Casino Shop for stores less than 350m² (1200 potential stores). The 1st Casino Shopping will open its doors in Marseilles before the end of April 2011.

This is the answer, as expected, from Groupe Casino on the offensive of all its competitors in the proximity stores business. A perfect response: When Carrefour (Carrefour City, Carrefour Contact), System U (U Express, Utile), Intermarché (Intermarché Express) or Auchan now with A2Pas, are moving forward with dedicated concepts in order to optimize the time consumers are spending during shopping.

“We want to focus on enjoyment and conviviality” explains Jean-Pierre Lanzetti (CEO of Casino Proximité). His objective: to become France’s favorite store. “Our competitors have a choice in their approach to proximity. They work on physical proximity rather than on emotional closeness. It is this relationship with our customers that we want to strengthen.”

The new store design features a chocolate brown and fuchsia pink color scheme and a smoothed, curved interior lay-out. The aim is to give customers “roominess and modernity” with a gourmet and feminine twist.

By Posted on Posted in Android, Tablets No Comments

Android 3.0 is a new version of the Android platform that is specifically optimized for devices with larger screen sizes, particularly tablets. It introduces a brand new, truly virtual and “holographic” UI design, as well as an elegant, content-focused interaction model.

Among the quantity of tablets equipped with Android 3.0 that will come out by this summer, some models are distinguished.

1. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 & 8.9
main particularity of these two models, their thickness does not exceed 8.6mm, despite the presence of two cameras (2 megapixel on the front and 3 megapixel on the back). Can download at great speed in 3G + (21 Mbps/s), they are provided with applications to access online stores of games, music, books and magazines.

2. Asus EEE Pad Transformer
this clever tablet equipped with a 10.1-inch screen shows a simplified interface and fits into a docking station (option) with keyboard, which transforms it into a laptop. Decked out for video with 2 cameras (1.2 megapixels on the front and 5 megapixel on the back), it may transfer the display of videos in HD 1080p on a big screen using its HDMI output.

3. Motorola Xoom
presented as the IPAD killer, this tablet contains the principles of its model, 10.1 inch screen, two cameras (2 megapixel on the front and 5 megapixel in the back) for a videophone and recording movies in HD, and wireless connectivity 3G, autonomy around 10 hours. Bonus: SD card reader and HDMI output

4. LG Optimus Pad
a tablet with a panoramic 8.9 inch screen and two cameras (5 megapixels) on the back for taking photos and filming in 3D. The result can then be transfermed by the HDMI output on a 3D television or … look on the screen of the tablet using good old green and red glasses.

Texts courtesy of Le Figaro

By Posted on Posted in Drugstores, Poland No Comments

The Polish drugstore sector is extensively developed with international players, as well strong and focused local ones. In 1993 Rossmann (Germany) entered the Polish market and today is the leader of the market with 500 stores all over the country and have 40% market share. The company intends to open 80-100 stores each year and expects to manage 1,000 stores by 2015. The company wants also to increase its range to about 17,000 products including their private label brands.

Schlecker, another German player, entered the Polish market in 1994 with their first store in Poznan, actually I could not find any updated information about the company, number of stores and its operation in Poland. One things i have noticed is the new logo on their main site launched in January 2011, but so far the stores signs are still showing the old logo.

Super-Pharm, with 26 stores in 2010, located throughout Poland, combined to produce $160 million in sales, or an average of $6.5 million per store. Super-Pharm’s plans for Poland call for some 70 drug stores to be operational by 2015.

The amazing challenger is Natura, a promising Polish chain that started in 1997 and has a huge potential and should be monitored closely, as in my opinion will grow on the fast path. With 250 stores and a competent staff, their stores can be found both in shopping centers and galleries, as well in major cities and smaller towns. Natura employs 1,200 people and have around 8,000 products in their stores.

By Posted on Posted in Hard Discount, Hypermarkets, Retail, Retail Distribution, Supermarkets, Sweden No Comments
click to enlarge

Sweden/Sverige, officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden shares borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.

At 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of about 9.4 million. Sweden has a low population density of 21 inhabitants per square kilometer with the population mostly concentrated in the southern half of the country. About 85% of the population live in urban areas.Sweden’s capital is Stockholm, and with 1.3 million inhabitants, it is also Sweden’s largest city.

The retail scene of the Swedish market is a bit different from other European countries, mainly western ones, where big groups are controlling the mini/super/hyper daily game, while in Sweden, it’s the Swedish retail brands themselves who have full domination of their own field and so far no external player showed up except in the hard-discount format.

Swedish retail market is dominated by 4 local players who, together they manage 97% of the total market size: ICA, COOP, AxFood and Bergendahls.

The hard-discount format also exist, where Lidl (Germany) and Netto (Denmark) are simply enjoying 2% of the total market size and the last 1% are all the rest.

Another store category is working in the shadow silently, the ethnic stores, well organized in Sweden, but with limited dispersion in the populated areas of Stockholm and its suburbs, these stores are mostly owned by immigrants and their surface varies from 100 to 700 sqm.


By Posted on Posted in Brands, Sweden No Comments

When it comes to bottled mineral water, Lebanese are very familiar with Perrier because of its French origins, some other few, can recognize Apollinaris from Germany, but I am not sure how many of you remember when Ramlösa was available in Lebanon during the 90′ and then disappeared from the market.

Ramlösa is a carbonated mineral water from a source in Ramlösa Brunnspark in the southern part of Helsingborg, Sweden. Ramlösa goes back to the year 1707 when a health spa around the source was founded by Johan Jacob Döbelius.

Ramlösa is today a wholly owned subsidiary of the Danish brewery group Carlsberg.

For those non swedish speakers out there: the ad is about a guy who comes too late to work and tries to make silly excuses. Another guy shows up and says: -Sorry guys, I overslept to the first guys embarrassment.

Translation courtesy of: http://insightforinnovation.blogspot.com/

By Posted on Posted in Brands, Fashion, Sweden No Comments

Gant is a formerly Swedish but currently Swiss clothing brand of American heritage launched in New Haven in 1949.

In 1980/1981, Gant entered the international market when Pyramid Sportswear of Sweden was given the right to design and market the Gant brand outside the U.S. Initially, Pyramid only offered the Gant label in Sweden but quickly expanded internationally. In 1995, Phillips-Van Heusen acquired the Gant brand in the U.S. from bankrupt Crystal Brands, Inc. of Connecticut, a sportswear manufacturer.

PVH sold its Gant operations in 1999 to Pyramid Sportswear of Sweden, in which PVH held a 25% stake, for $71.000. Ironically, as the brand’s international licensee, Pyramid had already opened a Gant flagship store on New York’s Fifth Avenue in 1997. Pyramid Sportswear, which was to become Gant Pyramid AB, eventually turned Gant into a global brand.
In the spring of 2006, Gant became a public company and was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange’s O-List until it was delisted March 2008 and bought by Maus Frères.

As of 2007, Gant is established in 73 countries and their products are available at select retailers and 298 Gant stores worldwide, 18 of which are directly operated by Gant AB.

By 31 January 2008, Maus Frères S.A. of Switzerland, had acquired 95.6 % of the Gant Company AB shares, which completed the take-over.


By Posted on Posted in Restaurants, Sweden No Comments

A cool bistro/restaurant to visit when you are in Stockholm called Mäster Anders.

Founded in 1692 by Anders Månsson Holm in the then rural and sparsely populated island of Kungsholmen.

Food is well prepared and my choice was not disappointing, and they have an excellent crème brûlée to finish with. But the place is extremely noisy and they should have a better aeration.