A.G. Ferrari Food Files for Bankruptcy

A.G. Ferrari Foods has filed for bankruptcy, aiming to reorganizes its finances and bolster its cash flow, the San Leandro-based Italian market. While one store was closed Sunday, operations continued normally Monday at the market and delicatessen company's remaining 12 stores. "There will be no change in our day-to-day business," said Paul Ferrari, chief executive officer of Ferrari Foods. "We remain open and are in business to stay." The Chapter 11 filing at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Oakland listed $1 million to $10 million in assets and the same dollar range in liabilities for A.G. Ferrari.

Mercury News

Bloom Stores Get Revamped with New Products, Prices

Food Lion's parent company is sprucing up its seven local Bloom supermarkets by dropping prices, adding more organic and gluten-free options and making the aisles easier to navigate. The Bloom stores also got new wall colors and improved lighting. The grocery chain plans to unveil the new Blooms with special events, including food giveaways. Bloom has locations in Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Smithfield, Carrollton and Williamsburg.

Big Buzz

Piggly Wiggly Expands, Scores High for Energy Efficiency

The heat-producing bulbs are gone from the freezers at Olsen's Piggly Wiggly. And the natural gas furnace isn't getting used much. These are two of the ways the expanded Cedarburg grocery store scored the highest of any of nine other supermarkets across Wisconsin that are participating in the Wisconsin Green Grocer program. Store co-owner Ryan Olsen said he and his family saw the opportunity to become more energy efficient as they pursued a remodeling project that increased the size of their store by one-third, to 43,000 square feet. As a result, the store's energy bills are about the same, or slightly more than before, but the store has grown by 11,000 square feet and has six more full-time and 10 more part-time workers.

JS Online

Toys 'R' Us Brings 'R' Superstore to Alabama

Children's retailer Toys "R" Us and Birmingham-based Bayer Properties have inked a deal to open an "R" Superstore at The Summit Birmingham this fall. The superstore, which will combine full-size Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores under one roof, is slated for the former Bruno's Supermarket space. It will be the first of its kind in Alabama. The concept fits in with The Summit's longtime strategy of bringing new and exciting retail offerings to Birmingham.

AL

OK Zimbabwe Re-Brands Makro

OK Zimbabwe Limited recently concluded a transaction to acquire the two Makro operations in Zimbabwe comprising of 8000m2 of retail space in Harare and 5000m2 in Bulawayo. Ownership of Makro's operations was assumed at the end of February 2011 and a new brand store opens following a re-branding campaign. The re-branding work undertaken at the former Makro stores is an additional project to the refurbishment work already being undertaken in various OK outlets.

Fibre 2 Fashion

Dubai Duty Free Q1 Sales Up 13%

Dubai Duty Free has seen its sales grow by a strong 13% in the first quarter of 2011, helped by continued demand for alcohol, perfumes, and electronics. For the January-March period, sales grew to $343m, despite air traffic being affected by the political unrest in the Middle East. Sales of perfumes were up 16% to $48m, while electronics registered a revival, with sales up 13% to $25m. These categories were trailed by confectionery, watches, clocks, cosmetics, travel accessories and fashion.

Kam City

Souks Face Competition from Supermarkets

Souks face increasing competition from supermarkets as private firms - both domestic and foreign - plan openings and expansions in Morocco , changing the nature of the marketplace. The supermarket segment is currently dominated by local players, but foreign firms are showing increasing interest and appear set to help drive expansion. In March Turkish no-frills low-cost supermarket chain BIM announced plans to almost double the size of its existing store network in Morocco, from the current 45 to 80. It reportedly has plans to further expand to 150 stores by the end of 2012.

Global Arab Network

KEMSA to Open a Commercial Supermarket

Kenya Medical Supply Agency is set to establish a commercial supermarket to serve Referral and private hospitals. The first one will be opened at a Commercial Street in Nairobi and its expansion to other parts of the country will be determined by the demand of goods from their customers. The facility will be operational by September this year adding that procurement and tendering of crucial commodities has already been done. The CEO said the returns from supermarket will be ploughed back to the government wing of procuring health commodities for over 5000 health facilities in the country.

KBC

 Shop Theft After All-Day Booze-Up

 
A father failed to pay for his trolley full of groceries even though he had plenty of cash on him. Gary Lane had been on an all-day cider session before embarking on the supermarket sweep at Asda in East Street, Bedminster. Bristol magistrates heard he loaded up the cart with �89 worth of goods and wheeled off past the tills, before being stopped and found with �160 in cash. Laura Opie, prosecuting, said when Lane left the shop he had appeared to be steering towards a cash point machine but carried on going. When he was approached by security staff he pushed the trolley away and said it was not his. The court heard he then had to be taken to the ground and police were called in. Lane told them he had been drinking strong cider in a pub from 9.30am. He said that he then went for his weekly shop but realized he had left his crutch by a photo booth and went to collect it, and was grabbed.

This Is Bristol