Canada news

As Couche-Tard completes on the acquisition of The Pantry, two further deals are announced. Focus on integration, driving sales and delivering cost savings Couche-Tard has a long history of growing its operations through acquisitions. This week it completed the acquisition of US-based The Pantry. This is a leading convenience retailer in the south east of the US, operating around 1,500 s...

Loblaw is to invest over CA$1.2 bn in 2015 in developing new stores, expanding its e-commerce operations and driving on-going improvements in its supply chain and IT infrastructure. Building on ‘Inspire’ format programme The retailer will open around 50 new stores in 2015 and undertake remodels within a further 100. These investments will be undertaken across its range of formats including...

As Costco reports its latest results, we highlight where it won in the quarter. Taiwan, South Korea and Mexico lead international growth Costco’s second quarter sales increased by 4.3% to $26.8bn, with comparable stores sales up 2%. Net income attributable to Costco increased by 29.2% to $598m. The retailer’s reported results would have been even stronger without the impact of lower ga...

As Loblaw reports a surge in profitability, we take a look at how it’s benefitting from the acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart. Quick take: our view These results represent a solid quarter from Loblaw. While large scale retail acquisitions often bring an element of risk, the retailer is executing effectively on its plan to integrate the acquired Shoppers Drug Mart business. Trading is stab...

With Target once again focused on its domestic operations, as it liquidates its position in Canada, we take a look at the key drivers of its growth. Results ahead of expectations Target’s fourth quarter results highlight the momentum that currently exists within the business. Total sales, from continuing operations, increased by 4.1% with comparable store sales up 3.8%. This was ahead of ...

With Walmart having reported its full year results , we take a look at the implications for the year ahead. Business performance is improving, downgrade is due to currency Sales and profits were up across the total business. While sales benefited from lower gas prices and higher inflation levels across most markets, improvements focused around in-store execution also had a...

Walmart's net sales increased by 1.4% in the fourth quarter to $130.7bn, with sales in its US stores and Sam's Club divisions increasing by 4.1% and 1.3% respectively. International net sales were down 3.9%, impacted by currency. Consolidated net income attributable to Walmart increased by 12.1% to $5.0bn. For the full year, net sales increased by 1.9% to $482.2bn, with consolidated net income...

With Whole Foods Market reporting an improvement in comp store sales growth, we review the key pillars of its growth strategy. Improving comp store sales performance Total sales in the first quarter increased by 10.2%, reflecting on-going growth of the store portfolio. Comp store sales over the  period increased by 4.5%, reflecting a significant improvement on the 3.1% reported in the prev...

Walmart Canada is to invest $340m this year in expanding its Supercentres, distribution network and ecommerce projects. Expanding access to fresh foods The bulk of the investment, $230m, will be spent in completing 29 Supercentre projects. This will mainly be focused on remodelling and expanding its existing general merchandise stores to add full grocery departments, including a broad rang...

Both AEON in Japan and 7-Eleven Inc. in the US have recently innovated their mobile platforms to enhance customer engagement. 7-Eleven's new digital customer program 7-Eleven Inc. has recently rolled out a Digital Guess Experience (DGE) program across 8,500 US and Canadian stores. The new digital development will focus on digital apps, customer loyalty, coupon distribution and payment meth...