CARREFOUR, SYRIA: Carrefour is to enter Syria with a hypermarket that will be the centrepiece of a massive shopping centre. A Dubai investor has ploughed $1bn (£572m) into the project to build Syria’s biggest mall, which will sit in a fast-growing residential part of Damascus, known as New Damascus. The developers said Carrefour would be open by 2012.

X5, RUSSIA: Russia’s biggest food retailer has reported a 21% increase in like-for-like sales in the third quarter of 2008, with total sales up 48% to $2.2bn (£1.26bn). It also opened 36 stores across Russia in the quarter. But the company said it was to slash capital expenditure by 30% for 2008 to around $1bn (£572m) because of the financial crisis.

“We believe we are doing all the right things in the current financial crisis environment,” said Evgeny Kornilov, X5’s CFO. “We are prudently managing our cash flows and have taken a decision to scale down cap-ex, focus on highest returns and shortest paybacks and reduce short-term debt exposure.”

ALFA-BETA VASSILOPOULIS, GREECE: One of Greece’s best-known names in retail is considering a move into Bulgaria and Albania, according to reports. Alfa-Beta Vassilopoulis, which has been part of the Belgian Delhaize group since 1992, is planning to call its new stores in the two countries Lion Food Stores and is expected to formally announce the move in early 2009. It will also open some Lion Food Stores, which will focus on the cheaper end of the grocery market, in parts of Greece, it has been reported.

SUPERVALU, USA: Jeff Noodle, CEO and chairman of Supervalu, has said second quarter results were “weaker than expected”, with sales static at $10.2bn (£5.84bn) and profit down $20m (£11.5m) to $128m (£73.3m).

“We have taken action to improve our sales performance while creating value for our customers,” said Noodle. “We are also affirming that our cash flows will provide for more than $1bn (£572m) in capital spending and debt reductions of at least $400m (£229m) this year.”

TARGET, USA: The grocery and general merchandise chain has extended its reach into Alaska for the first time with 45 new stores, which opened this week. The Minneapolis-based retailer now has 1,685 stores in 48 states nationwide, but does not have a presence in Hawaii and Vermont. The Target Corporation reported sales for the five weeks ended 4 October 2008 increased 2.5% to $5.3bn (£3.02bn) compared with a year previously although comparable store sales declined 3%.

“Sales for the month of September were below our expectations, reflecting continued daily volatility,” said Gregg Steinhafel, president and chief executive officer of Target Corporation.