Hi All,
Some general news items, handy 'big picture' stuff ....
Cheers,
PM
Despite the relentless attacks on Wal-Mart by community groups and labor unions, the local benefits provided by Wal-Mart far outweigh the costs, say Harvard University business professor Pankaj Ghemawat and business consultant Ken Mark.
http://www.ncpa.org/newdpd/dpdarticle.php?article_id=2148
Another future target for Greenseal and Starpol 2000 ....
Woolworths Ltd., Australia's biggest supermarket company, increased second-half profit 21 percent after cutting costs for supplying its grocery stores and buying a liquor retailer (The Australian Woolworths isn't related to London-based Woolworths Group Plc, which was founded in 1909 as part of its U.S. parent's expansion, or Woolworths Holdings Ltd., located in Cape Town, South Africa.) Chief Executive Roger Corbett has automated ordering systems and reduced inventory to cut costs as he battles Coles Myer Ltd. in Australia's A$70 billion-a-year food, liquor and grocery market.
http://www.freshplaza.com/2005/22aug/rn2_au_woolworths.htm
Supermarket rivals face off in China
French hypermarket giant Carrefour will face new competition in China when its U.S. rival Wal-Mart opens its first branch in the city of Pudong. The two chains arrived in China just a year apart -- with Carrefour making the first debut there in 1995, reported France's Le Figaro newspaper Friday. Carrefour has opened 62 stores in China and is expected to open four more by the year's end. Arkansas-based Wal-Mart opened its 48th store in China this week, and is expected to open to others in the near future. The American chain is expected to open 12 to 15 stores by the year's end, Le Figaro reports, and reach 90 by the end of 2006. For the moment, however, Carrefour leads the competition in China, with sales estimated at $1.94 billion annually, Le Figaro reports.
http://www.freshplaza.com/2005/22aug/rn2_cn_walmartcarrefour.htm
Tesco to open 20 more Malaysian stores over five years
The British Tesco supermarket giant plans to expand substantially in Malaysia, opening 20 more stores within the next five years, a report said Sunday.
Tesco -- the world's third biggest retailer after US giant Wal-Mart and France's Carrefour -- operates in 12 countries in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia.
http://www.freshplaza.com/2005/22aug/rn2_my_tesco.htm