Retailers in Canada are not celebrating Target’s retreat, but after four years of cut-throat competition, they are enjoying a little bit of breathing room, thestar.com reports. “The exit of one of the big players – it’s good news for the industry that square footage is easing a bit,” said the CEO of Metro Inc., speaking at the annual CIBC retail conference, held Thursday.US: Consumers want seamless online-offline shopping
Retailers must offer a seamless bridge between online and offline experiences, according to a study of consumer attitudes toward digital shopping by a global management consulting firm, supermarketnews.com reports. Asked what aspect of the shopping experience is most in need of an upgrade, 39% of respondents ranked the physical store first, while 32% cited the need for retailers to improve the shopper’s ability to use physical, online and mobile channels in an integrated way. The survey also found that retailers who don’t have the right online presence and pricing are at risk of losing sales once a physical store closes.US: Smart & Final expands produce and perishables
Smart & Final is expanding its produce and perishable product categories, especially in the "Smart & Final Extra!" stores, seekingalpha.com reports. Currently, the produce items comprise 40% of the total product mix in the "Extra!" stores, but the management expects it to reach 70% by the end of FY'15. The expansion in this category will allow the company to boost transactions in its stores because, being perishable and short life products, customers need to make repurchases that in turn boost traffic at stores. Additionally, the company is also promoting natural and organic items, including cereal and canned vegetables.Walmart honors C.H. Robinson with first-ever 3PL award
Walmart Stores, Inc. has recognized C.H. Robinson with the retail leader’s first-ever 3rd Party Logistical (3PL) Carrier of the Year award for 2014 noting contributions for outstanding service, effective communication, and providing solutions and innovations in a changing industry, businesswire.com reports.Walmart is the biggest single employer in 20 US states.
A new analysis of America's top employers by the financial news website 24/7 Wall St. shows that Walmart is the biggest single employer in 20 of the 50 U.S. states, aol.com reports.
Dairy Farm acquires supermarket chain
Dairy Farm has acquired a supermarket chain in Macau that will open up a new channel for growth in the territory, IGD Retail Analysis reports. It has acquired the San Miu Supermarket chain of 15 stores.
Tesco Polska CEO resigns
Ryszard Tomaszewski announced that he is leaving Tesco Polska after nine years of holding the CEO post, the press informed. Tomaszewski has been working for Tesco for 20 years in total, wbj.pl reports.
Tesco and Asda most visible in UK
Realwire.com reports that a new study of leading UK supermarket websites finds that Tesco.com and Asda.com have the most ‘pinned’ (shared) content on image sharing website, Pinterest.com. The study was led by Searchmetrics. The two were followed by Waitrose (3), Sainsbury’s (4), Co-operative Food (5), Aldi (6), Morrisons (7), Lidl (8) and Iceland (9).
MAF to invest more than 500 mln in Egypt
UAE-based Majid Al Futtaim has announced that it will invest US$588.1 million to continue its expansion in its key market of Egypt, IGD Retail Aanalysis reports. It comes in addition to the US$2.4 billion it has previously earmarked on for its five year investment plan for the country.MAF opens first hypermarket in Armenia
UAE-based Majid Al Futtaim has announced that it has finally opened its first store in Armenia, IGD Retail Analysis reports. Armenia is likely to be the first of a number of countries that the retailer enters in 2015, with Kenya set to be next.
Metcash supermarkets boss departsThe CEO of grocery wholesaler Metcash is set to resume responsibility for supermarkets after the departure of its CEO Supermarkets, theage.com.au reports. Metcash CEO Supermarkets, Fergus Collins, will depart the role. A replacement has not been named.
LuLu expands in Saudi ArabiaLuLu has announced that it has opened a hypermarket in Jubail in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, IGD Retail Analysis reports. LuLu’s managing director said that the retailer would open a further seven hypermarkets in Saudi Arabia over the next 22 months.
Dutch SPAR to expand University-based concept
SPAR University, the retailer’s concept focused on students and to be opened on university campuses, is set to see the fifth store opened under the format, IGD Retail Analysis reports. Expansion in new locations – such as universities, at train stations and other high footfall locations – is growing in importance for retailers in the Netherlands as good locations become less available. 
Not too late for Dunnes Stores to prevent strikeBusiness and Employment Minister Ged Nash has urged Dunnes Stores to do more to prevent next week's strike by workers, breakingnews.ie reports. A one-day strike will be held at Dunnes in a row over zero- and low-hour and temporary contracts. Minister Nash said it is not too late for the company to resolve this dispute.
U.K. retail sales grow
Retail sales increased at a faster pace of 0.7% in February from January, when it gained 0.1%, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed Thursday. Food store sales advanced 0.2% and non-food store sales rebounded 0.9% in February, rttnews.com reports.Carrefour initiates recruitment drive
Carrefour has launched a large-scale recruitment drive, with particular emphasis on enlisting young personnel, esmmagazine.com reports. It has said it will hire 20,000 new staff under the age of 26 during 2015, which represents 50% of the retailer’s total recruitment for the year. Similar numbers were newly employed in 2014.Dutch PLUS announces results for 2014
PLUS Netherlands has announced annual results for 2014 and how it has performed during the first quarter of 2015, saying that it is operating ‘better than ever’, IGD Retail Analysis reports. The retailer said that in 2014 sales rose by 3.1% to €2.1 billion. The retailer went on to say that the positive performance seen in 2014 had continued into 2015, with the first quarter seeing it grow ‘faster than the market’. US Tops Friendly Markets retailer of the year
Tops Friendly Markets, a leading full-service grocery retailer in upstate New York, northern Pennsylvania and western Vermont, has announced the company was awarded the Independent Retailer of the Year distinction from New York City-based industry publication Grocery Headquarters, wnypapers.com reports. Tops was considered for this award based on the company's position in the marketplace as a leading full-service grocery store, its outstanding established consumer loyalty, growth in market share and sales, and a strong, local leadership team.Zambia’s March inflation rate drops to 7.2 %
The March inflation rate in Zambia has decreased from 7.4% in February 2015 to 7.2% in March 2015, lusakatimes.com reports. Food and non-alcoholic beverages products accounted for 3.7% while non-food products accounted for a 3.5%.