Apr 10, 2013 CSNews CHICAGO – The convenience store industry saw record sales of $700.3 billion last year. In-store sales increased 2.2 percent to reach a record $199.3 billion, while motor fuels sales increased 2.9 percent to hit a record $501 billion, according to figures revealed today at the NACS State of the Industry Summit. The industry’s overall sales in 2012 reflected real growth per store, with sales outpacing the 0.7-percent increase in the number of U.S. c-stores last year, noted NACS, the Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing. In-store sales growth was driven by double-digit sales gains in several product segments: alternative snacks, which includes meat snacks and health, energy and protein bars (up 12.2 percent); liquor, a relatively small subcategory (up 11.6 percent); cold dispensed beverages (up 11.3 percent); and sweet snacks (up 10.3 percent). Convenience store pretax profits reached a record $7.2 billion in 2012, but taken…

Dr Marcele De Sanctis Oppeus International is a boutique, Australian-owned consultancy dedicated to “Finding and Supporting Great Leaders.” Based in Melbourne with offices in Sydney and Singapore, we support our clients on Executive Search, Leadership Assessment, Governance Reviews and Remuneration across a number of industries including Retail, Mining, Oil and Gas, Education, Infrastructure, Health and Financial Services. In Executive Search, we have been privileged to recently support one of Australia’s leading convenience retailers in Innovation and Business Development, successfully appointing an outstanding Executive to drive innovation strategy in an increasingly competitive market. In undertaking this search, Oppeus International gained significant insights into the sector and built on our understanding of the current candidate pool for Senior Executives in the convenience retail and broader industries. From a leadership and talent perspective, we provide the following commentary: – A clear opportunity exists in convenience retail to attract individuals who bring global thinking…

JANE E. BRODY April 1, 2013, The New York Times A new report, prepared by experts from three leading universities, projects that a small, steady reduction of sodium in the American diet could save up to half a million lives over the next decade. And a more rapid reduction could save even more lives — as many as 850,000. The Finns have already proved this projection. As described last month in The New England Journal of Medicine, since the early 1970s, when Finland launched a national campaign to reduce salt intake, daily consumption has dropped by 3,000 milligrams a day in men and women, with a corresponding decline in death rates from stroke and coronary heart disease of 75 to 80 percent. In the last decade or so, many food producers have introduced low-sodium or reduced-sodium versions of popular products, including soups, vegetables, fish, sauces, cereals, nuts, dips and even…

Colin Kruger April 4, 2013 The AGE Coles has denied that a major review of its health and nutrition product offerings is designed to squeeze branded products off its shelves in favour of private-label replacements. Documents obtained by Fairfax Media reveal Coles sent a tender request to suppliers just before the Easter long weekend, giving them barely two weeks to present potential new products to the review, including offerings for its private-label range. Categories up for review include weight management products, sports nutrition, Coles’ ”good for you” health food range, and its ”free from” range, that includes gluten-free products. ”Our intention is to expand and develop our presence in these areas,” Coles said in a message to suppliers late last week. Suppliers must present their new product proposals by Monday, April 15, with meetings to be held over the duration of that week. Coles intends to have the new product…