The Supreme Court has approved Mackay Regional Council’s decision to oppose the development of a Woolworths supermarket earmarked for a site opposite Northern Beaches Shopping Centre. Councillor Di Hatfield, who handles Council’s Planning and Development portfolio, claims this decision vindicated the Council’s planning scheme. “The appeal judges in their decision have reinforced co-ordinated growth within the appropriate land zones and defence of the orderly development... ...Read more »
US company Ikan is threatening to revolutionise the way consumers shop for groceries with the launch of a new product scanning device. The product, which costs $400, allows consumers to scan the barcodes of products they have just finished or are about to finish so that it can be added to their shopping list automatically. The Ikan device has a colour screen, laser scanner and a Wi-Fi antenna to enable connection to the consumer’s home network. Once a product is scanned the device will... ...Read more »
Major legislation changes are likely to be recommended when the ACCC release their report into the competitiveness of the grocery industry, based on comments made by ACCC Chairman Graeme Samuel yesterday. Speaking at a lunch hosted by the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Mr Samuel indicated that he thought certain companies may have provided them with information that they would have preferred to keep secret.”The public hearings enabled us to put some people under the pump to find... ...Read more »
The issue of plastic bags has been the source of great debate over recent years with some calling for a blanket ban or levy to discourage use. In April, the idea of a levy was discussed at a meeting of State and Federal Environment Ministers but was dismissed due to concerns it might be unfair to households already struggling with rising interest rates and inflation. The Australian Greens Party has since introduced legislation to the senate to apply a 25c levy on plastic bags. According to the Greens,... ...Read more »
The H. J. Heinz Company has announced it will build a new manufacturing facility in Florence, South Carolina, to support its high-growth frozen meals business in North America. Dave Moran, President and CEO of Heinz North America, said the new factory would enable the company to better serve the needs of customers. “Our frozen meals business is growing rapidly and the new facility is a sign of our commitment to supporting and sustaining this growth,” he said. “The new facility will... ...Read more »
A wave of ‘green’ supermarkets is set to hit Australia as supermarkets begin to tackle alarming emission rates. The concept, which follows similar commitments by European supermarkets, primarily revolves around the improvement of refrigeration systems to lower global warming potential of refrigerants. A $2 million Federal Government grant has been provided to the Green Cooling Council (formerly the NRTB), under the Greenhouse Gas Abatement Program, to evaluate the benefits of new technologies... ...Read more »
The ACCC Grocery Price Inquiry held it’s last planned public hearing in Melbourne yesterday, with Metcash the final company to be put under the spotlight. Metcash, Australia’s largest wholesaler, was questioned on a range of issues, which have already been highlighted throughout the preceding months. The ACCC was particularly interested in the strength of price competition provided by independent grocers to the major supermarkets. ACCC Chairman, Graeme Samuel, questioned Metcash CEO,... ...Read more »
Australia’s largest wholesaler, Metcash Limited, has posted an 18.4 per cent rise in net profit in the year to 30 April 2008. Fresh produce sales and their distribution business provided the impetus for the company to deliver record results. Metcash Chief Executive Officer, Mr Andrew Reitzer, was very pleased with the result in the wake of difficult conditions. “The result has been very strong across all of our three main divisions, despite tighter economic conditions, with... ...Read more »
Higher fuel and food costs and other economic pressures are having a pervasive impact on how consumers shop, cook and dine, according to the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2008 report. The selection of grocers is primarily dependant upon low prices, with 37 per cent indicating that this is the main reason for the choice of outlet. This is up from 31 per cent last year and comfortably above the second most popular reason, location (13 per cent). Further, most consumers... ...Read more »
Discussion about unit pricing has been a hot topic in the Australian press for months, but what is the debate really about? Australian Food News spoke with Dr Alan Kallir, who made a submission to the ACCC’s grocery price inquiry, and summarised other comments to simplify the issue. What is unit pricing? Unit pricing involves retailers providing a price per unit measurement on the price tag (e.g. $/kg) in addition to the sale price. Consequently, shelf price tags will need to have two... ...Read more »