Executive Summary

• This week’s note “From the Desk of Deborah Weinswig” discusses grocery chain Lidl’s changes in store formats and the outlook for grocery discounters in the US market.
• Walmart is looking to sell part of its operations in Brazil, where it has struggled for a decade, yet missteps by the US retail giant have narrowed the field of potential buyers and could lower the value of any deal.
• Amazon has opened its checkout-free grocery store to the public in Seattle, Washington. The Seattle store, known as Amazon Go, uses technologies such as computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning.
• UK retail sales climbed by a solid 4.4% year over year in December, supported by clothing stores and department stores/mixed-goods retailers, according to the Office for National Statistics.