7-Eleven Australia has announced it has entered an agreement with Krispy Kreme Australia for the supply of fresh daily Krispy Kreme doughnuts to each of its 600 stores. Warren Wilmot, 7-Eleven Australia’s CEO, was excited about the benefits of the new arrangement for the company, its Franchisees and its customers. “This deal is something we’ve worked hard to deliver, because of the potential benefits for our company, and most importantly, our Franchisees. We believe this arrangement... ...Read more »

A UK-based independent research organisation, has predicted the food and drink trends set to make an impact in 2012. The top 10 food and drink trends identified by Leatherhead Food Research are: Health and wellness  Leatherhead say that health and wellness is a trend which has had an over-arching influence on the developments of the food and beverage industry in recent years and this influence is set to continue into 2012. Key priorities for companies will include the continued efforts to meet guidelines... ...Read more »

Wesfarmers has seen earnings in its its food retail division rise as it works to implement its turnaround strategy. Coles said that for the half ended 2 January, EBIT was up 18.3% to $575 million , while revenue grew 5.9% to $16.06 billion. Wesfarmers’ food and liquor division recorded a 22.1% rise in EBIT to $12.8 billion. Comparable-store sales were up 6.4%. Revenue from Wesfarmers’ convenience division grew 3.9% to $3.2 billion, with comparable-store sales growth slowing to 1.5%... ...Read more »

Wesfarmers released its second-quarter figures for Coles yesterday, reporting comparable food and liquor store sales growth of 6.6% in Q2, and food and liquor sales of $7 billion – a 6.7% increase on Q2 last year. The company’s Q2 results for last year included sales figures for the 22 Coles supermarkets which have now been transferred to Foodworks, which the company said will continue to dampen comparisons between year-to-year sales growth until the third quarter of 2011. Total figures... ...Read more »

French supermarket giant Carrefour announced yesterday that it is testing two new convenience store concepts in France, including Carrefour City Café – a combination supermarket and food hall. Carrefour City Café stores will offer over 700 takeaway food products including sandwiches, snacks, products that are ready to eat or heat, cold drinks and pastries. The 100-150 square metre stores will also offer a dining area and Wi-Fi. The first outlet will open in Bordeaux on 16 December. The French... ...Read more »

7-Eleven has teamed up with MasterCard to offer its customers a faster way to pay at their 400+ stores. MasterCard® PayPassTM is MasterCard’s new contactless card. It’s like having exact change wherever you go. A simple tap of your card against a reader is all that is required to pay at the checkout. With almost 4 million MasterCard PayPass cards already in the wallets of Australians, it means the convenience is here today. 7-Eleven’s Chief Executive Officer, Warren Wilmot said,... ...Read more »

French retail group Casino is planning to open 500 convenience stores under its Casino Proximité umbrella brand next year which spans its Petit Casino, Spar, Spar Supermarché and Vival chains. It said the expansion of its French network will represent the creation of more than 1,000 jobs. The unit already operates a total of almost 7,000 stores, including more than 2,500 outlets (Spar and Vival) under franchise and serves 2m customers on a daily basis. Earlier this year, in order to facilitate... ...Read more »

Convenience chain 7-Eleven has announced it will support a Melbourne CBD bike share environmental initiative, by stocking new Australian safety standard-approved helmets for just $5. Thirty 7-Eleven stores, each located in close proximity to Melbourne Bike Share stations, are making helmets available to the public, making it easier for people to take part in Melbourne’s first bike share scheme. Julie Laycock, 7-Eleven Head of Marketing, said the partnership reflected 7-Eleven’s reputation of... ...Read more »

7-Eleven Stores Pty Ltd announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd’s retail fuels business. 7-Eleven Chief Executive Officer, Warren Wilmot, said, “We are thrilled that our acquisition of Mobil’s retail fuels business has been completed. The new sites build on 7-Eleven’s position as the leader in the convenience retailing industry in Australia, taking the number of 7-Eleven stores from 400 to more than 650.” “The acquisition combines two successful... ...Read more »

Couche Tard, the Canadian c-store retailer, has walked away from its efforts to buy US-based rival Casey’s General Stores. The Canadian group announced late last week that it allowed its offer to expire following the repeated refusal of the Casey’s board to negotiate. Couche-Tard’s attempts to buy the retailer became increasingly hostile over the last six months as Casey’s board rejected all attempts to hold talks. The Canadian firm’s attempt to nominate a slate of its... ...Read more »