U.S. researchers have discovered that use of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting in grocery store meat refrigeration units extends the “color shelf life” of some beef products, saving the retail meat industry millions of dollars a year. In addition, the LED lights save money by lowering the operating costs of refrigerated cases. The color of fresh meat changes during refrigerated display because of its natural chemistry and exposure to oxygen. Customers often reject meat when it loses its fresh-looking red color. Discolored meat products must either be discounted or discarded, which costs the meat industry up to a billion dollars each year.

French retailer Auchan Group announced it is acquiring seven Cora big box supermarkets in Hungary from Belgium's Louis Delhaize Group. The stores, operated by the Louis Delhaize subsidiary Magyar Hipermarket, will be sold together with the land they are built. The Cora workforce will remain at Magyar Hipermarket until the sale is completed, then will join the Auchan Hungary team. The two chains initially targeted different market segments in Hungary: Cora focused on slightly higher-income shoppers, while Auchan offered lower prices. But recently  product lines and prices converged, leaving the two brands in direct competition in several close by locations.

Though more and more men have been doing the grocery shopping and managing the household for decades, the recession – and the increase in layoffs – seems to have kicked the trend into high gear. The biggest of U.S. food and personal products makers have recognized the sea change and are paying closer attention to men, marketing products and rearranging store layouts to cater to them. Market researchers have noticed that males aged 18 to 50 are content to do the grocery shopping themselves or at least participate. GfK MRI and ESPN report that 31 percent of men nationwide are now the primary household grocery shoppers, more than double the 14 percent in 1985. And a Yahoo! survey of 1,000 fathers found that 51 percent were the primary grocery shoppers in their household.

Consumers on a tight budget this holiday season have made dollar stores a favored destination for Christmas shopping. Many of the stores have done their best to provide a more attractive shopping venue, having spruced up their facilities and product lines to better meet the needs of budget-conscious gift givers. Industry observers expect dollar stores to turn in healthy sales performances as the job market and economy continue in a slump: fourth quarter sales increases of at least 4.2 percent are forecast for stores that have been open at least a year. Dollar stores have expanded rapidly in recent years, with several chains operating thousands of outlets across the country.

Shares of U.K.-based Asda Supermarkets, a subsidiary of Walmart, are trading well as the company’s 500 stores report healthy sales during the holiday season compared to competitors. Food sales are robust, and non-food sales are doing at least as well as at other retailers, though special sales don’t kick in until December 26 (Boxing Day in the U.K.). Asda’s performance contrasts starkly with other retailers and high street chains that are already heavily discounting to lure customers before December 26. In terms of food sales, Asda has been running a steady "10% cheaper" price guarantee rather than launch end-of-year sales like its competitors. "We'll enter 2012 as a growth business," an Asda exec said.

Use of sophisticated technology to track customer shopping and purchasing behaviors has been a tool of online marketers for many years. But now brick-and-mortar retailers are getting into the act, putting security cameras and mobile phone tracking to work to gain consumer shopping intelligence. The sophisticated technologies give retail store – from discount chains to luxury stores – the ability to analyze collected data and adjust marketing strategies on the fly. A brand manager for premium pen maker Montblanc says such intelligence led his company to deploy more salespeople to a particular department or moving high-margin merchandise to high-traffic areas in a store. The tactics seem to be working. Brick-and-mortar retailers have been able to boost sales and retain market share.

Brick-and-mortar retailers are now using pop-up stores, which are open for a short time to boost certain brands, to drive shoppers to store Web sites. eBay’s London store, for example, opened a pop-up store to tout products available online to smartphone shoppers who can scan barcodes. Walmart is testing the pop-up concept with two stores that will close at the end of the holiday season. The stores, which highlight certain toys and consumer electronics, allow shoppers to sit at stations to browse and order additional products online using tablets and laptops. Industry experts say the phenomenon is a sign of the convergence trend: offline and online stores working together to boost sales and brand loyalty.

Germany’s grocery retail chain Metro Group said it will develop convenience stores in Ukraine that will be operated as franchises. In lieu of paying royalties, the Moy Magazin stores will have to purchase goods from Metro Cash & Carry hypermarkets at a five percent discount. The new chain will start with ten pilot stores established in the eastern region of the country. The company expects to increase sales to small-scale wholesale companies, which account for 40 percent of the Metro Group's joint turnover.

Costco posted a profit of $320 million ($.73 a share) on sales of $21.18 billion for its first fiscal quarter of 2012, ended November 20, 2011. First quarter sales were up 12.54 percent from the same quarter a year ago. The company’s performance was positively affected by inflation in gasoline prices and strengthening foreign currencies. The company said first quarter results were negatively impacted by a $24 million charge relating to the settlement of an income tax audit of the company's 50 percent owned Mexico joint venture. Costco operates 596 warehouses, including 433 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 82 in Canada, 32 in Mexico, 22 in the United Kingdom, nine in Japan, eight in Taiwan, seven in Korea and three in Australia.

Dollar Tree has created a commerce-enabled Web site featuring inventory search by category or keyword, a store locator, advanced product image galleries, social sharing, and expandable and collapsible menus. Perhaps most important for the holiday season, the site is mobile-optimized for smartphones and tablets. The site also incorporates Facebook and Twitter so customers can interact and “further build on the brand and customer relationship.” The company hopes the new site will boost traffic to its stores in addition to enhancing online sales.

After rolling out advanced POS technology at its 2,500 nationwide stores, British retail pharmacy Boots announced it is implementing personalized point-of-purchase options for its 16.8 million Advantage Card holders. Customers now receive personalized voucher offers generated at checkout. Boots joins other retailers using technology to enhance offers at the point of purchase. Sainsbury customers, for example, receive a voucher at checkout that refunds the price difference if branded goods cost less at other stores.

India’s governing Congress Party, reacting to a storm of political protest that has hamstrung the Parliament, said it will suspend plans to permit foreign multi-brand retailers like Walmart to open stores in the country. It was unclear how long the government will hold the plan in abeyance, though the Indian finance minister said it would wait until “a consensus has developed.” Foreign corporations keen on expanding into the huge Indian retail market will have to wait until the government passes critical reforms, especially those targeting foreign retail investment. The decision to suspend plans to allow foreign retailers into the country is yet another setback for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose administration has been beset by scandals and other political problems.

The Kroger Co. reported a third quarter profit of $195.9 million (or 33 ¢ a share) on sales of $20.6  billion. Though sales over last year’s third quarter were up 10.3 percent, profit dropped slightly (3.12 percent). Identical supermarket sales, without fuel, increased five percent in the third quarter over the same period last year, marking 32 consecutive quarters of identical supermarket sales increases. CEO David B. Dillon said third quarter financial performance was ”outstanding,” thanks in part to a “Customer 1st strategy” being implemented by sales associates. Based on the consistency of the results, the company raised its earnings per share guidance for the year to between $1.95 and $2.00. The previous range was $1.85 to $1.95.

Walmart Canada – noting that it wants to “help our customers prepare for the holiday season – says it will keep more than 61 percent of its stores open 24 hours a day during December. Half of the 329 Walmart stores in Canada will open their doors on December 2 and leave them open until closing time on Christmas Eve. The company is promising low prices on all product lines, including food, apparel, electronics and toys. The company promises to match the advertised in-store retail price of any local competitor through its Ad Match program.

The Monday after Thanksgiving, known as Cyber Monday, was a red letter day for online retailers this year. In a sign of consumers’ growing comfort with shopping on the Internet, online sales leaped 22 percent to $1.25 billion, with the average online order rising 2.6 percent to $193.24. Web traffic jumped 28 percent on Monday. A record 226 million shoppers visited stores and Web sites over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, up from 212 million last year. And Black Friday sales rose seven percent to $11.4 billion.

The Indian government has agreed for the first time to allow multi-brand foreign retailers to own up to 51 percent of joint ventures in the country, a move that opens up one of the largest – 1.2 billion consumers and $400 billion – retail markets in the world. The government also loosened rules for single-brand retailers, allowing companies like Nike to own 100 percent of their businesses in India, instead of just 51 percent. The rule changes are likely to spur an influx of retailers, the Wall Street Journal reports, and have "the potential to transform not only the retailing landscape but also the nation's ailing infrastructure.” It is also likely to jump start the country’s sluggish economy.

Marketing Week provides numerous examples of how companies are applying interactive technology to outdoor marketing campaigns to boost and extend consumer awareness of brands through “experiential” activity. Smart outdoor media lengthens “dwell time” for brands such as Heineken, Lynx, Green Giant and British Airways by persuading consumers to interact with, for example, digital out-of-home (OOH) screens and other displays. According to Marketing Week, revenues tied to digital OOH reached £101 million ($156 million) in 2010. About 16 percent of the outdoor marketing expenditures last year were focused on OOH. A growing number of consumers – 60 percent according to a recent survey – want more interaction with digital OOH screens. Forty-seven percent are eager to download discount vouchers from OOH screens to their mobile phones.

As budget-conscious grocery shoppers hunt for deals during the economic slump, retailers like Safeway, Kroger and Supervalu are paying more and more attention – and spending more dollars – hyping their own less-expensive product lines. No longer particularly worried about offending big packaged goods brands, retailers are devoting greater shelf space to their private-label offerings. Market researcher packaged Facts says that through mid-November store brands accounted for 31.4 percent of the 14,400 new food and beverage items that debuted this year in the U.S. That’s twice the share logged in 2010. To keep the momentum growing, retailers are plucking experienced marketers from companies like P&G and PepsiCo to revamp and innovate  their product marketing.

The 2011 FamilyBrands survey, whose goal is to find out which consumer product brands in the U.K. are most favored by the whole family, ranks retailer Marks & Spencer at the top of the list, followed by cosmetics and skin care retailer Boots and household cleaner marketer Fairy. According to Popsop, it is not surprising that M&S tops the list because department stores are ”the symbol of unity for a family since there everyone can find something just for him or her.” The survey asked 1,500 adult consumers to rate brands on criteria such as “socially responsible,” “caring” and “good listeners.” Four other retailers besides M&S fill out the top ten spots, though the survey ranks companies in 12 categories, including food + drinks, politics, FMCG, digital, airlines, restaurants, etc.

Target Corporation posted a third quarter profit of $555 million, a four percent increase over the same period last year, on sales of $16.1 billion. Sales in the third quarter of 2010 were $15.2 billion. The increase in sales was due to a 4.3 percent increase in comparable-store sales and the contribution from new stores. Earnings per share in the third quarter were up 10.2 percent to $0.82 from $0.74 in the same period a year ago. CEO Gregg Steinhafel said the strong quarterly results reflected “strong performance in our U.S. retail and U.S. credit card segments.” The company is forecasting fourth quarter earnings per share will be in the range of $1.43 to $1.53.

Despite the fact that jobless rates are still high, housing prices and demand are still low, and world financial markets are wobbly, consumers still purchase products they feel are a necessity, rather than just a want or a “can live without,” Advertising Age reports. But purchasing a necessity – an iPhone, for example, among some people, or Internet connectivity – means that other products are not purchased. Consumers are rethinking spending, they are reprioritizing. And that presents both challenges and opportunities for marketers: how do you move a product from a "want" to a "need" and keep it from becoming a "can live without"? Ad Age presents the results of a survey it conducted among 1,000 Americans, asking them what products or services they absolutely can’t live without – and which ones they can.

Walmart has launched a campaign on Facebook that allows users to nominate nonprofit organizations from local communities to receive a slice of a $1.5 million grant pie during the holiday season. The "12 Days of Giving" campaign will accept submissions of local organizations that are providing basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing and baby supplies. For the campaign, which runs through November 30, Facebook users need to provide a 200-word description, with photos, of a local nonprofit that describes the organization’s impact on the community. Winners of the grant money will be announced on Facebook daily from December 12-23.

Six key trends will play major roles in U.K. foodservice in 2012, according to Technomic. “New British” gastronomy, for example, is emerging as leading chefs strive to change the world’s perception of British cuisine by incorporating global culinary influences. Use of locally-produced foods is picking up steam as British chefs include local foraged items and fruits and vegetables they have grown themselves. Other key trends: British interest in foreign flavors and ingredients is on the rise; foodservice operators who incorporate technologies into their service model – such as replacing waiters with electronic ordering devices – will propel themselves ahead of competitors; take-home meals from chain and independent restaurants will appear in more retail establishments; and booming global economies offer U.K. operators compelling expansion opportunities.

Consumers are gaining the upper hand in the buyer-seller relationship, The NPD Group reports, thanks to the increasing emergence of mobile devices, social networking and cloud computing. The trend is likely to continue for years, because shipments of smartphones and tablets are outrunning shipments of desktops and laptops. Within a couple of years, mobile commerce will surpass $100 billion worldwide. All of these trends suggest a huge opportunity for marketers who can connect with consumers and enrich customer relationships. But it requires a dedicated strategy for the development of viable mobile commerce models.

Online spending by Chinese consumers will soar over the next five years, but marketers looking to take advantage of the trend will need an active, targeted online strategy that accounts for the unique behaviors, demands, and challenges, according to the Boston Consulting Group, which conducted a survey among 4,000 online shoppers. Two key drivers – rising personal incomes and comfort with online shopping – are fueling the projected spending increase. According to BCG, China’s 145 million e-shoppers aren’t just looking for bargains, they are searching for unique products and “an engaging online experience.” China’s e-commerce market could reach RMB 2 trillion ($315 billion) by 2015. Nearly half of China’s urban consumers – accounting for about 80 percent of the country’s GDP – will be shopping both on- and offline within the next five years.

About 40 percent of restaurant visits by Hispanics include children, according to a market study by The NPD Group. In fact, Hispanics who like to dine out say they would do it more often if more restaurants made children feel welcome. In contrast, only 30 percent of non-Hispanic restaurant visits include children. Forty-five percent of Hispanic restaurant visits are in groups of three or more compared to 32 percent for non-Hispanics. NPD’s Michele Schmal said that “restaurant operators and food manufacturers would do well to focus marketing to Hispanics around the family and children.”

Food industry consultant Technomic says restaurants will be affected by seven key trends during 2012. At the top of the list is a consumer preference for familiar comfort foods and formats that offer novel flavors. Also, diners are demanding rustic fare using simple preparations and fresh ingredients. This trend will push restaurant operators to curtail purchases of value-added items in favor of cheaper cuts, beans, grains and produce that can be transformed into home-style food. Other trends include: growing use of seasonal and local-sourced foods, greater use of social networking to share restaurant experiences and opinions, increased demand for product and menu nutrition information, etc.

Whole Foods Market reported 4th quarter profit of $75.5 million, an increase of 31 percent over a year ago, on sales of $2.4 billion. Sales for the quarter increased 12 percent, with comparable store sales up 8.7 percent and identical store sales up 8.4 percent. Diluted earnings per share increased 26 percent to $0.42. For the year ended September 25, sales increased 12 percent to $10.1 billion, and earnings per share increased 35 percent to $1.93. Co-CEO John Mackey said the company was continuing to produce “quality results” and he expected “the lessons we learned during the recession will drive even higher levels of operating performance and returns on invested capital over time.” The company finished the year with total cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and investments of $799.1 million, and total debt of $17.9 million.

Consumers interested in losing weight are responding to marketing promises, driving healthy weight management product sales, according to a Euromonitor report. Weight loss companies have successfully upgraded their meal replacement lines, introducing new flavors for current products, and launching new powders, soups and bars. All have enjoyed success at the retail level. Palatability and texture have improved markedly, thanks to the application of new ingredient technologies. Meal replacement slimming and weight loss supplements posted the highest sales in the U.S., mainly because of strong promotional efforts from direct sellers Amway and Herbalife. “A combination of high overweight/obesity rates, affluence and the desire for a perfect body helped North America dominate retail value sales of weight management products in 2010,” Euromonitor said.

Farmers in southwest Georgia (U.S.) are looking for more information about how to participate in, and benefit from,  Walmart’s new Heritage Agricultural Program, an initiative supporting consumers’ interest in local and sustainable farming. Various organizations, including the USDA, have been meeting with Georgia farmers to tell them what they need to do – like having the proper infrastructure in place – to supply produce to Walmart. The company wants to reduce the number of miles perishable fruits and vegetables travel from farm to market by purchasing locally-grown produce for stores, and is encouraging farmers to grow crops traditionally produced in their regions.

Walmart has found itself embroiled in a controversy resulting from China’s efforts to improve food safety standards after several recent scandals. Walmart stores in southwest Chinese city Chongqing were caught selling ordinary pork mislabeled as organic. Thirteen stores were closed for two weeks and two store managers were arrested.The CEO of its Chinese unit and a top human resources executive resigned for “personal reasons.” The controversy comes at a bad time for Walmart, which is relying on the Chinese market to help make up for inadequate sales growth in mature markets. Part of the problem stems from the fact that Walmart has been unable to centralize source decisions because of a lack of relationships with local companies and the local government, according to the Financial Times.

Retail grocery chain Supervalu Inc. reported a 2nd quarter profit of $60 million (28¢ a share), up from a loss in the same period last year of $1.47 billion. Sales in the quarter were $8.4 billion, down slightly from last year’s $8.7 billion. The company’s gross profit margin for the quarter was static at $1.9 billion compared to last year. According to the company, a small  decline in gross margin as a percent of net sales reflects a higher LIFO charge and the impact of higher fuel sales. CEO Craig Herkert said the company’s “8 Plays to Win” strategy is picking up steam and a business transformation is moving ahead according to plan.

The Mexican unit of Walmart Stores reports that its 3rd quarter profit rose 15 percent to $4.87 billion pesos (US$360 million) on revenues of 91.04 billion pesos, a profit increase of 4.25 billion pesos from the same period last year. According to Wal-Mart de Mexico SA (“Walmex”), it was the biggest profit increase of the fiscal year. Revenues were up 11 percent from last year. The company has opened 215 stores in Mexico, and 43 in Central America, so far this year.

International retailer METRO AG announced that the chairman of its supervisory board, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kluge, has resigned from the board effective in a month. The Haniel family, a part owner of METRO AG, requested that METRO AG's management board consider the appointment of Franz Markus to fill Kluge’s seat on the supervisory board. The management board issued a statement noting its "highest respect and appreciation" for Kluge's decision and thanking him for his support in repositioning the company during “challenging times” in a “constructive and trustful manner."

A U.S. study of Mature Baby Boomers (MBBs, 55 to 64 years of age) and Mature Millennials (MMs, 25 to 34) finds that the two generations have similarities – and key differences – in their attitudes toward foodservice. A key similarity is an attraction to dining out: the combined 151 million people are responsible for nearly $65 of every $100 spent in restaurants. The two generations view restaurant cleanliness, taste, value, convenience and customer service as the most important qualities of a restaurant. Key differences that the foodservice industry needs to be aware of: 72 percent of MBBs order food by phone compared to 59 percent of MMs; nine percent of MBBs order via the Internet compared to 32 percent of MMs, and 25 percent of MMs use Smartphones to make reservations and check menus, but only 10 percent of MBBs.

The Associated Press reports that Target Corp. has decided that all of its fresh and frozen seafood must be sustainable and traceable by 2015. The company has been at the forefront of efforts to adjust their policies regarding seafood as concerns rise about overfishing and the environmental impact of some fishing methods. In the past two years, for example, Target has stopped selling Chilean sea bass and orange roughy in its stores because of concerns related to overfishing. Last year the company pulled all farmed salmon from stores, because of pressure from consumers and environmentalists concerned that salmon farms are bad for the environment.

A research scientist at Norway’s SINTEF Technology and Society says a lot of the Western world’s food supply is wasted by food producers, consumers and restaurants who believe that food has run out of shelf life, when in fact “it is perfectly OK.” According to Jan Ola Strandhagen, a third of the world’s supply of food could be saved using advanced technology – and a change in attitude – before it reaches the waste bin. Information from the retail food sector about consumer buying habits, and how much food ends up in store trash bins, would allow “surgical precision” in the production of food. That kind of information would influence the logistics of food distribution: “when and where, and in what quantities, individual products are delivered to retail outlets.”

Market analyst Euromonitor reports that the Japanese beauty and personal care market is enduring stagnant sales, even among traditionally downturn-resistant skin care products, thanks to the recession that began in 2008. Sales of cosmetics and personal care products in Japan dropped by one percent in 2010, compared to a two percent slide in 2009. Job insecurity and a dismal economic outlook have instilled a sensitivity to price, causing a swing toward cheaper mass products. And consumers willing to pay a premium for high-end cosmetics are looking for quality products that deliver value. The trend toward price-consciousness will probably push manufacturers to trot out products that will appeal to the mass market, intensifying competition. Also, greater interest in effective anti-aging solutions will likely force manufacturers to back efficacy claims with scientific evidence.

A Mintel research study has found that three out of five U.K. Internet users are ”most likely” to compare financial product prices online to save time and money. Thanks to the uncertain economy, busy schedules and scarcity of free time, price comparison sites have become “the most popular source of financial information in the U.K.,” especially for home and auto insurance, but increasingly for savings accounts and credit cards. In the last ten years, online services have leapt ahead of other information sources, including friends and family. Only 42 percent of survey respondents said friends and family were their top source of financial product pricing information. Forty-six percent of all Internet users have researched car insurance on a price comparison site, with 80 percent of those going on to buy coverage.

British retailer Tesco has contracted with NCR Corporation to install SelfServ Checkout stations in stores across Central and Eastern Europe. SelfServ Checkout allows customers to scan, bag and pay for products themselves. According to NCR, Tesco is the first retailer in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary to make self-checkout technology available. Self-service stations have also been installed in Tesco stores in the U.K., Ireland, the U.S. and South Korea. Tesco says more than ten million shoppers use them every week in the U.K., accounting for more than a third of store transactions.

Whole Foods Market and Earth University, which exports sustainably grown bananas, have partnered to send five shoppers to Costa Rica to learn about ethical banana production. The  Whole Foods Market’s Earth University offerings include fresh bananas and frozen bananas and pineapples. The grocer’s Whole Trade program certifies growers for paying fair wages and providing safe working conditions, in addition to showing concern for the environment. Whole Foods shoppers can enter the contest by signing up online through September 30. Winners will experience Earth University’s hands-on teaching of sustainable agriculture, and responsible business and community development, the company said.

An online survey of 2,112 adults conducted in August for Whole Foods Market found that food prices have had a major impact on their food buying patterns. Eighty-two percent said current food prices have affected their grocery shopping, and more than 75 percent said they have changed their cooking and eating habits due to the economy. Large majorities saying they would buy natural or organic foods if they could afford it. Seventy-one percent said they would buy natural/organic foods over conventional foods if the prices were the same. And 70 percent said they would buy organic if prices fit their budgets. Twenty-four percent said natural/organic foods would account for only a quarter of their total household food purchases in 2011.

East Coast grocery retailer Stop & Shop has partnered with Unilever to donate $150,000 to Feeding America and member food banks during September to feed local children and families. The money will buy more than one million meals through hunger relief organizations such as regional food banks and pantries. Every dollar donated buys eight meals from Feeding America. Stop & Shop is conducting special promotional events in September in conjunction with the initiative, including Popsicle Parties and Stuff-A-Truck days. According to the companies, 25 percent of American children face hunger every day.

Walmart says its hiring of Lev Khasis, former CEO of Russia’s X5 Retail Group NV Stores Inc., Russia’s retail sales leader, does not mean that it is looking to enter the Russian retail market. The company says it is still interested in expanding into Russia, despite the fact that it shut down  its office in Moscow late last year. "We still believe the Russia market has promise,” a Walmart spokesman says, adding that it is looking for the right market opportunity. X5 Retail agreed to buy a possible Walmart acquisition target – Russia’s Kopeika grocery chain – shortly before Walmart announced it was closing the Moscow office.

The popularity of couponing has not waned as the economy sputters toward a recovery. Mobile couponing, though a small segment of the total digital couponing segment, has nevertheless experienced significant growth, up 117.6 percent since last year, according to eMarketer. In a new report the analyst firm estimates that nearly 20 million American adults will redeem a mobile coupon this year, including coupons or codes received via SMS, applications, mobile web browsers, and other methods. The company says that by 2013 use of mobile-based digital coupons will nearly double, with 16.5 percent of all adult mobile phone users in the U.S. redeeming a coupon.

The competition is getting tough as home fragrance product marketers unveil new entries that cater to the demands of increasingly sophisticated consumers. Market data show that sales of home fragrance products at supermarkets, drug stores, and mass merchandisers (excluding Walmart) were essentially level – at about $850 million – during the year ending in July 2011. Upcoming new offerings include Halloween and fall season-focused candles; exotically fragranced candles and room mists; and spray, aerosol and plug-in air fresheners. Products are coming in high-end scents – vanilla bean fused with lavender? – and in novel shapes, like pillar candles. Meanwhile, Febreze is on a roll: air freshener revenue over the past 12 months hit $1 billion, and the brand was featured in 37 new product releases.

French retail chain Carrefour reported a 2.3 percent increase in sales in the first half of 2011 to €39.6 billion ($56.3 billion), but a drop in profit of €927 million ($1.3 billion), compared to a profit of €14 million a year ago. The company attributed the drop in profit to “unsatisfactory performance” in France and a “tough environment” in Europe. Weak sales and unsatisfactory profit performance were the key problems in France, along with underperformance in Italy and Greece. Latin America, however, experienced solid growth in sales, and included an “encouraging turnaround” in Brazilian hypermarkets. The company also reported good growth in China and a confirmed recovery in Taiwan.

Global retail chain Carrefour says it is beefing up its in-house brand testing by creating a test panel comprising 15,000 French households. By the end of 2012, Carrefour will have 5,000 of its own-brand products undergoing scrutiny by the consumer panel. The company says this is the first time a French retailer has enlisted the help of consumers in testing, evaluating and influencing a product line. “With this panel, Carrefour is reinventing its quality approach by giving consumers a central role in the development of its branded products,” the company says in a statement.

Retail grocer Tesco Homeplus announced it is opening what it says is the world’s first virtual store in a Seoul, South Korea, subway station. Commuters can point their Homeplus app-enhanced smartphones at the virtual displays of 500 products on the walls of the Seonreung station, scan the barcodes using their phones, and add the product to their virtual shopping cart. Selected products are then delivered to their homes, often the same day. If shoppers scan their grocery selections before 1:00 p.m., items will be delivered the same evening, according to the company. The initiative is part of a Tesco company strategy to increase market share in South Korea without adding physical stores.