CANADA: A strike at Safeway has been averted after the workers union ratified a new collective agreement. A five-year deal that improves pay, benefits, compassionate leave and department transfers has been agreed by the UFCW. Under the new deal, wages for the best paid shop staff will increase by $1.80 an hour and Sunday will remain a voluntary day of work.
"These were difficult negotiations and probably the closest we've come to a strike with Safeway since our 1978 strike," said Robert Ziegler, the local union president.
USA: Aldi is to expand into the state of Texas next year with a multimillion-dollar investment in stores and distribution. A $50m distribution centre is due to open in January 2010 and the first stores are scheduled to open in March 2010 in the Dallas region. "We're looking forward to becoming a part of the North Texas community and bringing great food and good jobs to the area," said Aldi's divisional vice president Scott Huska. The German retailer currently operates in 29 of the US states and is due to open 75 new stores this year.
FRANCE: A former chief executive of French grocery retailer Casino, Pierre Bouchut, was this week announced as the next chief financial officer of Carrefour as the latter revealed profits were down 32.8% for 2008. Sales increased 5.9% during the year. Bouchut was most recently CFO at Schneider Electric, but previously led Casino, joining the company in 1990. Eric Reiss, the current Carrefour CFO, has been appointed director of the Carrefour hypermarket business in Brazil, and will report to Jean-Marc Pueyo, executive director for Brazil and Latin America. Both are due to start in May.
USA: Wal-Mart has revamped its own-label range, Great Value, with improved recipes and new products. Some 750 items have been improved, with new recipes for breakfast cereal, biscuits and yoghurt and new formulation for washing powder and paper towels. The 80 new products include thin crust pizza, fat-free caramel swirl ice cream, strawberry yogurt, organic cage-free eggs and teriyaki beef jerky. Last week The Grocer revealed that Wal-Mart-owned Asda was planning to revamp its own-label ranges.
CHINA: Coca-Cola's proposed $2.4bn takeover of China Huiyan Juice Group has been blocked by the Chinese authorities, which rejected the deal on competition grounds. The US drinks giant launched its bid for China's largest fruit juice company in September last year, but the deal was thrown into doubt after it emerged there was a reluctance to allow the Huiyan Juice brand to fall into foreign hands. Coca-Cola chief executive Muhtar Kent said that he was disappointed by the decision but would focus on growth.
"We will now focus all of our energies on growing our existing brands and continue to innovate with new brands, including in the juice segment," he said.
"These were difficult negotiations and probably the closest we've come to a strike with Safeway since our 1978 strike," said Robert Ziegler, the local union president.
USA: Aldi is to expand into the state of Texas next year with a multimillion-dollar investment in stores and distribution. A $50m distribution centre is due to open in January 2010 and the first stores are scheduled to open in March 2010 in the Dallas region. "We're looking forward to becoming a part of the North Texas community and bringing great food and good jobs to the area," said Aldi's divisional vice president Scott Huska. The German retailer currently operates in 29 of the US states and is due to open 75 new stores this year.
FRANCE: A former chief executive of French grocery retailer Casino, Pierre Bouchut, was this week announced as the next chief financial officer of Carrefour as the latter revealed profits were down 32.8% for 2008. Sales increased 5.9% during the year. Bouchut was most recently CFO at Schneider Electric, but previously led Casino, joining the company in 1990. Eric Reiss, the current Carrefour CFO, has been appointed director of the Carrefour hypermarket business in Brazil, and will report to Jean-Marc Pueyo, executive director for Brazil and Latin America. Both are due to start in May.
USA: Wal-Mart has revamped its own-label range, Great Value, with improved recipes and new products. Some 750 items have been improved, with new recipes for breakfast cereal, biscuits and yoghurt and new formulation for washing powder and paper towels. The 80 new products include thin crust pizza, fat-free caramel swirl ice cream, strawberry yogurt, organic cage-free eggs and teriyaki beef jerky. Last week The Grocer revealed that Wal-Mart-owned Asda was planning to revamp its own-label ranges.
CHINA: Coca-Cola's proposed $2.4bn takeover of China Huiyan Juice Group has been blocked by the Chinese authorities, which rejected the deal on competition grounds. The US drinks giant launched its bid for China's largest fruit juice company in September last year, but the deal was thrown into doubt after it emerged there was a reluctance to allow the Huiyan Juice brand to fall into foreign hands. Coca-Cola chief executive Muhtar Kent said that he was disappointed by the decision but would focus on growth.
"We will now focus all of our energies on growing our existing brands and continue to innovate with new brands, including in the juice segment," he said.
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