In Belgium and Luxembourg, Aldi Nord will promote American-style private label products under the umbrella label, Trader Joe's, beginning 9 May 2008.

• The offer comprises 22 products including peanut butter, marshmallows, frankfurters, and Californian wines.
• The Trader Joe’s name originates from Aldi Nord’s American retail operations that focus on a more premium private label assortment.

Grupo Pão de Açúcar recorded net sales of BRL4.24 billion (USD2.44 billion), for the quarter ended 6 May, 2008, a 20.2% increase over sales of BRL3.53 billion (USD2.13 billion) for the same period last year.

• Gross sales totaled BRL4.99 billion (USD2.87 billion), an increase of 19.7% compared to the same period last year.
• Gross same store sales and net same store sales increased 8.5% and 8.9%, respectively.
• Non-food same store sales increased 11.4%, while food same store sales increased 7.6%.
• Gross margin decreased 160 basis points from 27.8% to 26.2%.
• The formats that performed well during the quarter were Pão de Açúcar, Comprebem, Sendas Supermarkets, and Extra Eletro.

As of 6 May, 2008, the company operated 575 stores.

EDEKA continues with solid performances as it delivered record results with grocery retail turnover topping EUR30.5 billion. The performance was mainly driven by its franchised supermarkets and discounter Netto.

• Retail sales increased 2.8% to EUR31,1 billion.
• Grocery sales increased 4.4% to EUR30,5 billion, of which franchise sales increased 10.6% to EUR15 billion.
• Group sales increased 1.8% to EUR37,8 billion.
• Discounter Netto sales increased 14% to EUR3,7 billion. It aims to reach the EUR4 billion mark in 2008.
• Group profit before tax increased 7% to EUR1,17 billion.

Future Outlook

• EDEKA announced that by 2010 it plans to open another 1,000 stores (200 EDEKA and 150 Netto stores annually) in Germany.
• Franchisee sales continue to be core to EDEKA’s business model. By 2010, it intends to have franchised another 400 stores (100 of them being Marktkauf stores).
• The retailer develops its non-food business by aligning operations under the control of EDEKA Nonfood-CM in Bielefeld. The subsidiary will unify its business processes and harmonize the group’s IT operations.
• EDEKA is looking to create another 1,000 full-time jobs in the Bielefeld region by 2010.

Waitrose has announced plans to roll out a new small-shop format to expand its reach into rural areas and market-town communities.

• The new format will focus on local produce, with locally produced foods and dark lines to increase by 200%.
• This trial concept will be carried out in St. Neots, Cambridgeshire by the end of May 2008.

ASDA has announced that beginning 1 June 2008, all single use carrier bags will be removed from view at counters, and customers choosing a re-usable bag could be rewarded with a discount.

Marks & Spencer will start charging 5p for its single use carrier bags in all its UK stores beginning 6 May 2008. The money raised will be used for environmental projects.

Klaus Peter Voigt has reportedly left Metro group owned Media-Saturn Holding, effective 1 May 2008. Voigt has worked for the the company for more than 20 years and played a key role in the company's expansion.

PUMA AG, PPR’s sport apparel division, has released its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2008.

• Sales for Q1 2008 were EUR673.3 million, up 6.6% on a currency-neutral basis.
• Global branded sales rose currency neutral 0.5%, while licensed sales were flat on a same store basis.
• Gross profit margin increased 120 basis points (bp) to 53.4% compared to 52.2% during the same period in 2007.
• Geographically, Asia Pacific reported the strongest growth; sales were up 13.3% to EUR133.5 million. EMEA sales were up 9.7% to EUR391.1 million; sales in the Americas declined 5.6% to EUR148.7 million; and sales in the US were down 14.2% to EUR134.1 million.
• Sales for footwear were EUR394.2 million, almost flat versus Q1 2007; apparel increased 18.5% to EUR231.8 million; and accessories rose 16.5% to EUR47.3 million.
• Selling, General, and Administrative expenses were up 220 bp to 33.8%.
• Capital expenditures for Q1 2008 increased 64.2% to EUR24.3 million.
• Net earnings for the quarter were down 6.75 to EUR90.1 million.

Fiscal 2008 Outlook

• Future orders up 12% to EUR1.2 billion.
• Management expects a single-digit growth rate for fiscal 2008 even in a challenging market.
• The company will continue investing in marketing activities in view of its long-term growth plans.

According to local sources, Lidl plans to adapt its strategy to include opening smaller stores in order to enter town centres in Copenhagen and other large towns throughout Denmark.

• The city centre stores will measure 500 square metres, down from an average of around 1,200 square metres for its standard stores.
• Lidl's first small store will reportedly open in City Vest, Arhus, in autumn 2008.
• The retailer entered Denmark in September 2005 with 13 stores. Currently, it has over 20 stores and aims to open over 100 outlets throughout the country.

Tesco has launched a Polish website following the recent extension of its Polish food range to 250 products throughout 500 stores. Kaska Teofilak, Tesco’s Polish food buyer  stated, “The huge demand for Polish delicacies in Britain has overwhelmed us to the extent that we have exceeded our original expectation by tenfold. The rocketing demand means that Polish has become the fastest growing ethnic food range we have ever launched including our Indian and Chinese cuisines so the launch of a dedicated website for Poles is a logical step forward. There are links to it from some of the most popular websites visited by the Polish community such as search engines and news services.”

Tesco will build a GBP50 million import centre in Teeside. The new import centre will be 1.2 million square feet and will be located on the 6 acre PD Ports land in Teesport. Completion dates for the building centre have not yet been released.

On May 8, 2008, Wal-Mart Canada announced its annual expansion plans. The company will complete 25 to 27 real estate projects by the end of January 2009. The projects include new stores, expanded stores, and store closures. Additional details include:

• The projects will add 6,000 new jobs and expand the company's nationwide workforce to more than 80,000.
• The first project, a Wal-Mart Supercentre, has already opened in Duncan, BC. This is the first Supercentre in British Colombia. The company now operates Supercentres in Ontario, Alberta, and British Colombia.
• More than one-half of the projects will be new stores. All but two of those will be Wal-Mart Supercentres with the remaining stores being Wal-Mart discount stores.
• One-third of the projects will be expanding existing discount stores to Wal-Mart Supercentres.
• Two of the projects will include the closure of existing discount stores.
• By January 2009, Wal-Mart Canada expects to have approximately 259 Wal-Mart discount stores, 51 Wal-Mart Supercentres, and 6 SAM'S Clubs.