Walmart Stores acknowledged last year that it had big problems to solve in its U.S. grocery business, fortune.com reports. Customers thought its fresh food was unappealing and often found empty shelves because of problems in the supply chain. Furthermore, rivals had started to undercut the retail giant on prices. This week, Foran was in New York to update Wall Street on Walmart’s progress at its stores, so that “by the time we hit holiday season, our stores are clean, tidy, well-merchandised and run by engaged associates.” Three of his ideas are: 1) Improving how quickly products go from the backroom to shelves. 2) Discounting fresh food that is nearing expiration to move it more quickly. 3) More to do on having the lowest prices. At the end of this article, more on Walmart expecting to invest heavily in coming year. Tesco washing fruit better
Tesco has maintained it has rigorous safety checks for all fruits after a customer feared killer spiders could have infected a consignment of bananas, independent.ie reports. In a statement, Tesco confirmed that lab results show that the skin of the banana contained a harmless spider. "We have apologised to the customer for the inconvenience. We can reassure all our customers that we have a rigorous testing system in place for all fruit,” it told the Limerick Post. “We have recently introduced additional treatments at source and we now wash all bananas twice using a higher pressure hose before reaching the shelf."German Lidl sets out for US expansion
German discounter Lidl is gearing up for expansion with a brand new corporate office based outside of Washington D.C., germanpulse.com reports The first big step in the rollout is the supposed $56.6M purchase of commercial building in Arlington, Virginia by Lidl’s real estate affiliate. It is believed that Lidl will be using a majority of the building to house their American corporate offices, including a food lab and test kitchen.UK: M&S reports positive Q4 sales
M&S Q4 results for the 13 weeks to 28th March 2015 show total group sales up 1.9%, a significant turnaround on Q3's -1.6%, IGD Retail Analysis reports. Marks & Spencer saw its food sales grow by 3.7% in Q4 (+0.7% like-for-like), according to its quarterly results to 28 March 2015, esmmagazine.com reports. Internationally, sales have improved since Q3, but M&S reported a second successive quarter of negative sales in Q4, down 3.8%. 
Netherlands: Ahold's Chairman to resume his roleAhold announces that Jan Hommen will resume his role as Chairman of the Supervisory Board with immediate effect after temporarily stepping down as Chairman on June 14, 2014, nasdaq.com reports.
US consumers shift shopping strategies
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the overall cost for food consumed at home went up 2.9% year-over-year from February 2014 to February 2015 (the most-recent month figures are available for). That's above the 20-year historical average of 2.6% for grocery increases. Fresh fruit saw above-average price increases. The largest increases were for beef, oregonlive.com reports. 
Carrefour first retailer in DubailandInternational supermarket chain Carrefour has been signed on as the first retailer for the upcoming mega mall in the Living Legends development in Dubailand, its developer Tanmiyat Global confirmed, gulfbusiness.com reports.
UK: Booker updates on Q4
Leading UK wholesaler Booker has revealed its trading performance for the final quarter of 2014/15, showing total sales up 1.0%, with like-for-likes in the core Booker business up 1.7%, IGD Retail Analysis reports. This represents a slowdown on Q3, with performance impacted by the growing influence of inflation across the wider market for food and drink. Booker's sales to retailers grew by 2.7% in the 52 weeks.Helio signs new deal with Auchan Polska
Helio SA said on Wednesday that the total value of its contract with Auchan Polska in the last 12 months is 11.8M zlotys ($3.2M), Reuters reports. The company delivers dried fruit snacks to Auchan Polska and the contract of biggest value ($63.000) was signed on March 3. UK families to spend more
Families enjoyed a £16 boost to their weekly incomes in February and are gearing up for a bumper Easter, according to Asda’s latest Income Tracker, yorkshirepost.co.uk reports. The grocer said families across the UK now have £184 a week to spend on the things they want, rather than the items they need, which is 9.2% higher than this time last year. President and CEO of Asda, Andy Clarke, said: “This month’s tracker brings positive news that discretionary incomes continue to climb.Grocer BILLA might be leaving Bulgaria
German corporation REWE Group, represented in Bulgaria by two popular supermarket chains BILLA and PENNY Market is allegedly in the process of selling their locations across Bulgaria, novinite.com reports. According to unconfirmed information reported by Kapital daily, the procedures have already been launched and the results will be visible in less than two months. Simply and Auchan launch new loyalty scheme in Italy
Italian retailers Auchan and Simply have launched the new multi-partner loyalty program LaTua!Card, with the goal of strengthening the relationship with the customer, esmmagazine.com reports. Walmart expects to invest heavily in the coming year
Walmart expects to be in heavy investment mode for the next 18 to 24 months as the company improves the way it handles inventory and outfits more locations, with in-store pickup for online orders, esmmagazine.com reports. “We have as a top priority to grow sales and market share,” Greg Foran, head of Walmart’s U.S. operations, said at the event. “And that starts with improving the core and concurrently investing in the future.”
