Shoppers can look forward to more major international brand launches this year as global retail labels leverage the strong consumer sentiment Down Under to drive sales. And the international retailers that already have a foothold in Australia are likely to expand their store networks in 2016, to reach more shoppers with more products. Deloitte's annual retail report, the Global Powers of Retailing reveals 39 of the world's top 250 retailers are currently open for business in Australia and among the competitive grocery sector both Aldi and Costco plan store expansions. (Please, click here to read more at smh.com.au) US: Wegmans to debut in North Carolina
Popular grocery store chain Wegmans Food Markets is eyeing its first North Carolina location in Cary, but isn’t disclosing plans for other stores in the state. Wegmans spokeswoman Jo Natale said the company is working through lease negotiations and hopes to have a final agreement in the first quarter of this year. She said she couldn’t “speak of the possibility of future sites” in North Carolina. (charlotteobserver.com)Ahold shares jump as Q4 sales beat estimates
Royal Ahold NV shares jumped the most in a month after the Dutch retailer’s quarterly sales beat estimates on the back of growth in the U.S. and the Netherlands. The stock advanced as much as 3.8% to €19.06 in Amsterdam, the steepest intraday gain since Dec. 15. Fourth-quarter sales rose 21% to €9.79bn, compared with the €9.40bn average estimate compiled by Bloomberg. The performance provides a boost for the Netherlands-based company as it seeks to complete the takeover of Belgium’s Delhaize Group, a deal it announced in June. Ahold is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings on March 3. (Bloomberg)UK: Asda considers cutting 1000 jobs
Asda is considering cutting more than 1,000 store jobs under plans to close hundreds of staff canteens and shopfloor services such as photo processing units. Managers are understood to have met with union representatives on Wednesday to discuss 4,000 other job moves or changes in stores. The cuts come after Asda revealed plans to axe about 200 jobs at its head office in Leeds earlier this week. (theguardian.com)UAE: Sonae looks at emerging markets for grocery chain expansion
Sonae SGPS SA is considering additional expansion in emerging markets after announcing plans to enter the United Arab Emirates through a franchise agreement. The Portuguese retailer will seek to expand 
through partnerships, which "significantly reduces the risks involved in expanding our food business abroad," Luis Reis, chief corporate center officer, said in a telephone interview Wednesday. (Bloomberg/esmmagazine.com)NZ: New managing director for Woolworths
Woolworths has appointed Dave Chambers as the new managing director of Progressive Enterprises in New Zealand. Chambers will return to New Zealand having previously headed up Progressive Enterprises from 2001 to January 2015. Chambers will move from his current role as Director of Woolworths Supermarkets in Australia, taking over from Pat McEntree, the current acting managing director. It is planned that McEntree will move to Australia and take up a senior role in the Woolworths Food Unit. Progressive operates 183 stores in New Zealand under the Countdown banner. (igd.com)US: Price Chopper names CEO
Scott Grimmett, the CEO who led the ongoing effort to reposition Price Chopper stores under a revamped Market 32 banner, has been named CEO of parent company Golub Corp. effective Wednesday. He succeeds Jerry Golub, who will take on a new role as vice chairman for the Schenectady, N.Y.-based company. Grimmett, 57, becomes the first non-family member to lead the 84-year-old company. He joined Golub as EVP and COO in 2012 following a 37-year career at Safeway. (supermarketnews.com)Kenya: Uchumi fundraising plan approved
The new capital would help Uchumi pay supplier debt, bank loans and fund branch expansion, he said. Uchumi Supermarkets secured approval from its shareholders on Wednesday to re-capitalise the business to finance a turnaround plan. Uchumi said in December it was putting together a capital-raising plan, that would involve debt, shares or a combination of both, with a view to raising up to 5bn shillings. The new capital would help Uchumi pay supplier debt, bank loans and fund branch expansion, he said. (Reuters)Brazil: ex-Walmart head to run struggling GPA supermarkets
Brazil's largest diversified retailer GPA SA tapped a senior executive in Argentina and the former head of Walmart Stores Inc's Brazil business to run its struggling supermarket and convenience store unit, according to a securities filing on Wednesday. Luis Moreno, a Spanish-born executive who ran Libertad, the Argentine subsidiary of French group Casino SA, since 2014, has been named as the unit's CEO. Casino is GPA's controlling shareholder. The filing said Walmart's former Brazil president Marcos Samaha was named as COO of the supermarket unit, Multivarejo. (Reuters)Portugal Sonae retail sales edge up 0.7% in 2015
Portugal's largest retailer, Sonae, posted on Wednesday a small 0.7% increase in preliminary sales for last year, helped by a strong year-end performance that allowed the company to avoid a drop in sales expected by some analysts. Sonae's food retail networks, which accounted for 3.49bn in sales last year, posted a nearly 2% increase in fourth-quarter sales with a 3.4% rise in December alone, when like-for like sales rose 1%. (Reuters)US: Walmart increasing wages; union says it's all show
Walmart will be giving 1.2m of its U.S. workers a pay hike next month. Starting February 20, every Walmart and Sam's Club employee hired before January 1, 2016, will earn at least $10 per hour, the company announced Wednesday. It will be the second round of pay increases, part of a plan to boost wages that Walmart first announced last year. The group behind Making a Change at Walmart said the pay raises are nothing but a publicity stunt. (CNN)Ireland: Musgrave buys Wexford-based foodservice supplier
Musgrave, the retail group that owns Supervalu and Centra, has agreed a deal to buy CJ O’Loughlin, a foodservice industry supplier based in Wexford, for an undisclosed sum. (irishtimes.com)AU: 7-Eleven pay deal for workers rejected by Fair Work Commission
A 7-Eleven pay deal for workers has been rejected because it would have underpaid workers by about A$80 a week. The Fair Work Commission has rejected an enterprise agreement proposed by a 7-Eleven franchise in Sydney because it failed the commission's test to ensure workers are better off overall, compared with award wage rates. (smh.com.au)Croatia: Konzum launches drive-thru service
Croatian market leader Konzum has launched a drive-thru grocery collection service at its first dark store, Konzum klik, which launched in Zagreb at the end of November. (igd.com)
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