April's most-read stories

Costco opens first Canadian Business Centre store
In a bid to reconnect with business owners, Costco Wholesale opened its first Canadian business centre in Scarborough, Ont. The membership-only warehouse club carries unique items including a $5,500 hot dog cart and a $4,600 refrigerator unit. Read the full story here.

Jim Pattison expresses interest in Sobeys locations
Canadian businessman Jim Pattison told BNN he was committed to Western Canada and if Empire wanted to offload any of its Sobeys or Safeway Canada locations he would gladly take him. Read the full story here.

Loblaw to open 30 new stores and upgrade more than 500 others
Loblaw has big plans for 2017. The company will invest significantly which will help create thousands of retail, trade and construction jobs. Read the full story here.

CBC puts Food Basics in the spotlight about labour practices
In an interview with CBC, a night-time clerk at Food Basics claimed to regularly work 40-hour weeks for less pay than full-time employees. Metro declined to comment. The CBC interview was part of a series about potential changes to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act. Read the full story here.

Four takeaways from Metro's quarterly results
Though food prices are still on the decline, Metro's profit was up in the second quarter, beating analysts estimates. In a call with analysts, CEO Eric La Flèche also discussed the company's plans for ecommerce, the Adonis acquisition and the importance of ethnic markets. Read the full story here.

Unilever to sell spreads division
After rejecting a takeover bid from Kraft Heinz earlier this year, Unileveris selling its spreads division as part of a larger restructuring that will see the consumer products giant combine its food and refreshments units. Read the full story here.

Sears Canada eyes groceries amid transformation
For years Sears Canada has been looking for ways to stop the financial bleed. The struggling retailer's latest attempt at a comeback is a foray into fresh food. Sears executive chairman Brandon Stranzl said the company would announce a grocery partner by the end of the year. Read the full story here.

Attack of the meals kits
In the September 2016 issue, Canadian Grocer explored the growing popularity of meal-kit delivery services in Canada and where the opportunity lies for grocers. Read the full story here.

Walmart laying off employees  in store restructuring
Big box discount retailer Walmart announced it would layoff an unspecified number of store level employees in Canada as it undergoes restructuring. Read the full story here.

Former Kraft Heinz exec joins Crossmark Canada
Mark Ayer is joining Crossmark Canada as senior vice-president of customer development. He was most recently with Kraft Heinz leading its customer and retail business team. Read full story here.