FRANCE: Carrefour is under pressure from its biggest investors to sell operations in China and Brazil. Colony Capital and billionaire Bernard Arnault are pushing Carrefour chief executive Lars Olofsson to sell the businesses, which have lost almost 30% of their market value since 2007. However, sales in Brazil and China have notched up double-digit growth in recent times unlike France, where sales have suffered during the recession.
ZIMBABWE: Nestlé has defended buying milk from a Zimbabwean dairy seized from white farmers and now operated by the wife of President Robert Mugabe. The manufacturer said the tumultuous local economy forced it to buy milk on the open market as many of its contracted suppliers had gone out of business.
"During the last few years Nestlé has witnessed the collapse of Zimbabwe's dairy industry," the company said. "As a result Nestlé was forced to purchase milk on the open market from a wide variety of suppliers on a non-contractual basis. This includes milk from the [Mugabe-owned] Gushungo Dairy Estate, which today accounts for between 10% and 15% of Nestlé's local milk supply. Had Nestlé closed down its operations in Zimbabwe, it would have triggered further food shortages and hundreds of job losses among employees and milk suppliers."
DENMARK: Espen Larsen, head of Aldi in Denmark, has reportedly left the business. Local press reports said Larsen will join German retailer Rewe Group. Aldi is understood to have appointed a successor but has declined to comment. Larsen is the second major departure from Aldi recently, after MD Paul Foley left the business in August.
RUSSIA: Rampant alcoholism in Russia has prompted government plans to curb the sale of alcoholic drinks. Minimum wholesale and retail pricing is set to be introduced, as well as tighter limits on the hours when alcohol can be sold. Other plans include banning the sale of beer through kiosks and markets, which account for 50% of total sales. Russia has one of the highest rates of alcohol consumption in the world.
ZIMBABWE: Nestlé has defended buying milk from a Zimbabwean dairy seized from white farmers and now operated by the wife of President Robert Mugabe. The manufacturer said the tumultuous local economy forced it to buy milk on the open market as many of its contracted suppliers had gone out of business.
"During the last few years Nestlé has witnessed the collapse of Zimbabwe's dairy industry," the company said. "As a result Nestlé was forced to purchase milk on the open market from a wide variety of suppliers on a non-contractual basis. This includes milk from the [Mugabe-owned] Gushungo Dairy Estate, which today accounts for between 10% and 15% of Nestlé's local milk supply. Had Nestlé closed down its operations in Zimbabwe, it would have triggered further food shortages and hundreds of job losses among employees and milk suppliers."
DENMARK: Espen Larsen, head of Aldi in Denmark, has reportedly left the business. Local press reports said Larsen will join German retailer Rewe Group. Aldi is understood to have appointed a successor but has declined to comment. Larsen is the second major departure from Aldi recently, after MD Paul Foley left the business in August.
RUSSIA: Rampant alcoholism in Russia has prompted government plans to curb the sale of alcoholic drinks. Minimum wholesale and retail pricing is set to be introduced, as well as tighter limits on the hours when alcohol can be sold. Other plans include banning the sale of beer through kiosks and markets, which account for 50% of total sales. Russia has one of the highest rates of alcohol consumption in the world.
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