USA: In one of his final speeches before he hands the reins to Mike Duke, Lee Scott, the outgoing president and chief executive of Wal-Mart, has spoken about the big issues facing US retailers. Last week Wal-Mart issued a surprise profit warning after posting lower-than-expected sales growth for the key Christmas period. Its US like-for-like sales in the US rose by just 1.7%, well below projected growth of 2.8%, while total sales dipped fractionally to $46.5bn (£32bn). In his speech to the National Retail Federation, Scott spoke of the need for businesses to take on greater social and environmental responsibility, and rise to the “high expectations” of the Obama administration. 

Estonia: Finnish supermarket chain Prisma Peremarket plans to expand in Estonia this year. A new store will be built in Narva, in the north east and will be the first hypermarket outside Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, selling general merchandise as well as groceries. Managing director Janne Lahavien said the recession provided “favourable” conditions for expansion and keeping prices down. 

UAE: Falling milk prices have prompted Nestlé to reduce the price of milk products in the United Arab Emirates following discussions with government officials in the United Arab Emirates. Milk products are expected to fall 15% in price in the wake of Nestlé’s meeting with the director of consumer protection, Dr Hashim Al Nuami. The move follows drastic falls in the wholesale price of milk across the world, with prices in the United States nearly halving over the past 12 months. Prices paid to farmers in Europe have also fallen, with consumer prices expected to fall later this year.

Canada: Loblaw, Canada’s largest food retailer, has announced that its stores in Toronto will be charging $0.05 for carrier bags. The supermarket has introduced the measure several months before a ban on bags is imposed by law. The store will start charging for bags in an effort to encourage customers to bring their own. The policy will be implemented across the rest of its Canadian estate from 22 April, to coincide with Earth Day.

Germany: Discounter Edeka is set to create 8,000 new jobs in Germany this year, following the retailer’s acquisition of Plus. Chief executive Markus Mosa said that he expected the business to grow as consumers turned to cheaper retailers, with 5% sales growth expected this year. Edeka plans to expand its market share in Germany to 30% by 2010 from the current 27% by opening 1,000 new stores between 2008 and 2010. On 1 January, Edeka officially took over Plus, the discount chain of local retailer Tengelmann. Germany’s competition authority gave the green light to the merger of Edeka’s Netto stores with the Plus chain at the end of 2008, making the group the third-largest in the discount supermarket sector.