Wal-Mart Stores Inc has announced that Australian Greg  Foran, former CEO of the leading Australian supermarket group Woolworths, has been appointed president and CEO of Wal-Mart China effective 1 March 2012. After resigning from the position of head of food, liquor and petrol at Woolworths in July 2011, Greg Foran moved to theUSas senior vice president for Wal-Mart International and has been there since. This appointment will see Mr Foran take charge ofWal-MartChina’s retail operations, which... ...Read more »

While Australian Food News yesterday reported the strong performance of Coles fresh produce division, the quarterly figures reported by parent company Wesfarmers show that Coles Express non-fuel sales declined by 1.4 percent for the quarter compared with Woolworths positive 4.9 percent increase from the previous year. Meanwhile Coles’ fuel sales for the second quarter ended December 31, 2011, were $2.1 billion, an increase of 16.3 percent on the previous corresponding period. Coles’ Ian Mcleod... ...Read more »

One of Australia’s leading research companies, Roy Morgan Research has released its first, “Supermarket and Fresh Food Currency Report”. The Supermarket and Fresh Food Currency Report tracks numbers of customers by the supermarket they shop at, total dollar spent in each supermarket, and also these details as a percentage of total market spend dollars. The report also contains historical context such as trends reaching back to 2003. These show increases in fields such as cross-visitation being... ...Read more »

Woolworths Limited today announced first half year sales of $29.7 billion, a 5 percent increase on the previous year. CEO Grant O’Brien said, “The first half year result was solid considering the ongoing headwinds facing the retail sector with subdued consumer confidence and significant deflation along with the change agenda we are driving through our business”. He also stated that the first half year result includes a 5.6 percent growth for the supermarket division, an overall customer increase,... ...Read more »

New Zealand based Cookie Time Limited (CTL) and Australian health-food giant Sanitarium have partnered in a major licensing deal to launch CTL’s new ‘breakthrough’ meal bar, ‘One Square Meal’, into the Australian market. The product features New Zealand’s famed manuka honey. The One Square Meal is described as “the total meal to go”, consisting of one-third of the recommended daily intake of energy, protein, carbohydrates, good fats and dietary fibre. The meal bar is presented in... ...Read more »

Australian supermarket shoppers continue to rank Aldi as top in providing customer satisfaction out of all the Australian supermarkets. This is according to the latest survey findings from the Australian market research company Roy Morgan. Roy Morgan surveyed the views of 7,533 Australian grocery buyers in the six months to November 2011. Aldi gained in customer satisfaction for the fifth month in a row with 94 per cent of those surveyed saying they were “completely” or “somewhat” satisfied... ...Read more »

The exponential increase in the number of shopping trolleys (or shopping carts, as Americans prefer to call them) that litter Australian streets has forced the supermarket operators to find new recovery strategies. In addition to being eyesores, especially when dumped in enviro-sensitive areas such as alongside streams or in nearby recreational bushland spaces, governments consider these trolleys as a hazard to pedestrians and traffic.  In some Australian jurisdictions, laws have been passed to... ...Read more »

Woolworths has acquired the businesses and associated assets of 31 hotels and one detached bottle shop in New South Wales. Through its hospitality company, ALH Group, Woolworths is taking out long-term leases on the 31 establishments. Woolworths already operates 27 hotels in New South Wales. In a four-paragraph media statement released today, Woolworths said the acquisitions have the capacity to achieve good trading growth. ALH Group Chief Executive Officer Bruce Mathieson Jnr said, “These hotel... ...Read more »

Australian supermarket chain, Woolworths, has been forced to pull back a major summer advertising campaign after being threatened with court action by rival supermarket chain Coles. At the centre of Woolworths campaign was an image of a pair of scissors cutting through a dollar symbol. Coles saw the symbol to be too similar to an image it has been using in its own summer advertising campaign. A spokesperson for Woolworths told Australian Food News today, “We confirm that Coles’ lawyers have alerted... ...Read more »

Australia’s two leading supermarket chains, Coles and Woolworths, are rolling out a new card payment system which does not require a signature or a PIN number from the customer. The system will comprise new Visa ‘payWave’ cards and upgraded payment terminals equipped with Ingenico pin pads. The cards have an embedded antenna and microchip, enabling a contactless communication with the pinpad at the checkout. The cards will be used for credit or debit card purchases up to A$100. Coles’ Finance... ...Read more »