North American News
Empire Co. Q4 Profit Rises
Canada-based food retailer Empire Co. Ltd., Friday reported a rise in profit for the fourth quarter, helped primarily by higher revenues from better performances in food retailing and related real estate businesses. Total revenue for the quarter increased 3.4% to C$3.84 billion from C$3.71 billion last year.
Mobile coupons help retailers track customers
Companies such as Starbucks, McDonald's, KFC, Office Depot, CompUSA, Zales, Gap and Planet Hollywood have experimented with mobile marketing for several years, but only recently have some begun to roll out national campaigns as sales of Apple iPhones, Google Androids and other smartphones with screens have surged. Target in March became the first to roll out scannable mobile bar code coupons at its 1,750 stores nationwide. Each month, it offers five coupons on such essentials as sunblock and cereal.
Wal-Mart Thinking Smaller to Get Bigger
Even as Wal-Mart Stores continues to grow its U.S. store base, it is getting smaller. Wal-Mart finds more efficient ways of doing the same things in ever-shrinking spaces; as it seeks sites in more urbanized locations; and as it looks for ways to skirt "big box" laws that keep stores of 100,000 square feet out of many communities.
UK News
VAT hike, higher costs to hit UK retail: Deloitte
The pain for Britain's retailers is set to intensify as a rise in VAT sales tax from next year puts pressure on household incomes and rising input costs squeeze their profit margins, business consultant Deloitte said on Tuesday. The British government said on Tuesday it would raise value-added tax to 20 percent from 17.5 percent on January 4, 2011 as part of a raft of tax increases and spending cuts aimed at reducing record levels of government borrowing.
Australian, Asian and African News
Germany's Metro to open Egyptian store, plans others
Germany's Metro Group said on Sunday it would open its first wholesale store in Egypt this month and might add about 20 more, a move Cairo said would encourage more efficient internal trade and cut consumer prices.
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