The only grocer recognized, the award commends commitment to creating an inclusive work environment that reflects the diversity of colleagues, customers and the communities around them.

Reflect our Nation’s Diversity is one of five principles of Loblaw’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment.

“Loblaw is honoured to be recognized as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers.  We are proud of the progress we have made in reflecting diversity in the products we sell, the people we attract and the workplace culture we create. We are committed to focusing on improving our efforts to better reflect our nation’s diversity,” said Judy McCrie, executive vice president, human resources and labour relations, Loblaw in a press release.

Loblaw has an Inclusion Council, made up of senior leaders from across the organization. Its role is to identify goals and opportunities, and monitor progress.

Some of the initiatives that helped Loblaw earn its place on Canada’s Best Diversity Employers list include its Women@Loblaw program that is aimed at increasing the number of women in senior and executive positions through networking and professional development.

As well, the grocer has implemented diversity initiatives such as access to reflection/quiet rooms, diverse food options in cafeterias, and sourcing authentic products from first generation manufacturers.

And Loblaw’s diversity recruitment strategy includes newcomers to Canada, visible minorities, women, Aboriginal Canadians, persons with disabilities, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community, and youth and mature workers.

The discounter says net income was $5.16 billion, or $1.50 per share in the three months ended Jan. 31. That compares with $6.05 billion, or $1.70 per share, in the year ago period.

Including results from certain tax benefits, the retail recorded $1.51 per share for the quarter.

Net sales rose 5.9 per cent to $122.28 billion.

The company’s namesake business had a 1.5 per cent increase in revenue at stores opened at least a year, its second consecutive quarterly gain after facing a more than two-year slump.

Analysts were expecting earnings per share of $1.46 on revenue of $123.9 billion.

Stewart Samuel, IGD senior North American analyst, said: “While Walmart has once again delivered a strong set of results, with both sales and profit growth, what is interesting is that they are underpinned by an improving performance in its core domestic market.”

He adds that the focus on Every Day Low Prices (EDLP), significantly increasing the range of products offered and multi-channel has certainly had an impact on its performance, helping the US stores division to deliver two consecutive quarters of same stores sales growth.

Although its international operations continue to be the main driver of growth, a strong core domestic operation is essential to support this.

Going forward, Walmart will continue to invest in mature and emerging markets. In Canada alone over 70 new stores will be opened, while Mexico, Brazil and China will continue to account for the greatest proportion of its investment, said Samuel.

Walmart also recently announced it had taken a controlling stake in Yihaodian, a Chinese online retailer.

“E-commerce is an area that Walmart is aiming to lead in globally, a goal that is being driven by its @WalmartLabs division.  A number of acquisitions made in 2011 have enabled the retailer to significantly increase its capability in terms of both mobile and social commerce. While this has started to deliver new initiatives, such as iPhone apps and its Shopycat app for Facebook, we can expect to see much more experimentation in these areas,” said Samuel.

Dufresne joins George Weston, owner of Canada’s largest chain Loblaw, after six years at Montreal-based Metro. He will step into the new role on March 26.

“Richard is a hands-on and an extremely qualified finance executive. With his extensive experience and proven track record of success as a CFO, we believe he will make a substantial contribution to the company and will be a welcome addition to our executive team,” George Weston president Pavi Binning said in a statement.

The company had been searching for a new chief financial officer since Binning–the former CFO–was made president last July.

George Weston is due to report its fourth-quarter and year-end earnings March 1.

In its last report in November, the baked goods and grocery giant turned in a big rise in profit that beat analyst expectations.

The Toronto-based company said net earnings attributable to shareholders soared 50 per cent to $264 million or $1.94 per share, compared with $176 million or $1.26 in the same 2010 period.

Revenue for the three months ended Oct. 8 was $10.06 billion, up from $9.8 billion in the prior-year period, which ended Oct. 9.

The increase was primarily due to improvements in the performance of its two operating segments, Weston Foods and Loblaw.

George Weston, controlled by the Weston family, is a fresh and frozen baked-goods company that owns brands like Wonder and D’Italiano breads. George Weston also owns about 63 per cent of Loblaw.

Like others in the food business, George Weston Ltd. has been facing increases in raw material and others costs and started charging 3.5 per cent more last spring.

In the first half of 2012, higher commodity and input costs are expected to continue to put pressure on operating margins, indicating that further price increases may be in the offing.

Economists have estimated Canadians will be paying between five and seven per cent more for groceries on average by the end of the year, due to poor crops around the world, more farmers selling their corn for ethanol fuel rather than food and the effect of the economic recovery driving prices higher.

Marketing director Rob MacKay said the details of the partnership have not been disclosed.

However, the three founding members of the chain–Ken Schley, John Briuolo, and Noel Hayward remain in control of the company.

Pattison, who also owns Overwaitea Foods and Save-On Foods chains, will be able to provide capital for future opportunities.

“These are exciting times for Quality Foods and, now that Jim Pattison has joined our organization, we’re planning to get into the game big time,” MacKay said Friday to canada.com.

He added that Quality Foods has had a wish list of projects it has wanted to develop for some time, including upgrades and renovations at existing stores and maybe some new ones.

Current plans include major renovations at its Turner Road location in Nanaimo that will include the construction of a second floor on the building, which will house kitchen wares and home decor supplies in a unit called A Step Above.

A Step Above stores have been constructed in Quality Foods’ newer locations, but there are no plans at this time for similar upgrades and additions at the company’s other two locations in Nanaimo.

Pattison, ranked the third wealthiest person in Canada, and wasn’t available for comment on the new partnership.

The Jim Pattison Group is the third-largest privately held company in Canada with an estimated net worth of around $5.8 billion U.S.

Over the years, there’s been a bevy of new grocery stores being constructed and renovated in Nanaimo including three Save-On-Food locations in the city as well as Costco and the Superstore in the north end.

Wally Wells, president of the Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce, said in the article that someone like Pattison wouldn’t invest in Quality Foods if it meant the stores would be in direct competition with his other grocery store chains.

“Each of the grocery store chains carry different brand names that appeal to different shoppers and markets,” Wells said in the article.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Grocer’s posted on its news feed that Jones will take on his new role March 9.

Current president Steve van der Leest will be retiring.

According to the company’s press release, Jones has been with the company for 37 years, having started as a bagger in Cranbrook, B.C.

He has worked in 23 different stores across B.C.

For the past 10 years, has been a key member of the senior management team at Overwaitea.

The big-box chain operator has agreed to increase its stake in Yihaodian’s holding company to approximately 51 per cent, Wal-Mart said late Sunday.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. It still must be approved by Chinese government regulators.

Yihaodian has been in business for less than four years. Yet it already sells more than 180,000 products, ranging from groceries to electronics to clothing. It has 5,400 employees and a next-day delivery network across Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Chengdu.

Wal-Mart eCommerce executive Neil Ashe said the deal improves Wal-Mart’s access to Chinese consumers who increasingly use smartphones and social media to shop.

“Our further investment in Yihaodian demonstrates that we are committed to investing in China in a key growth industry and developing all that goes with it: logistics, infrastructure, innovative talent and new technologies that will help China meet its development goals,” said Ashe, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Global eCommerce.

Yihaodian co-founder and chairman Gang Yu said Wal-Mart’s carefully managed supply chain will make the Chinese firm more efficient.

Wal-Mart operates more than 10,000 retail stores under 69 different names in 28 countries.

Wu will be in attendance at a pop-up shop at 363 King St. W. in Toronto on Feb. 23. It is slated to open at noon.

A Target-branded tote has also been created exclusively for the debut Canadian pop-up store, and prices for the collection range from $10 to $45.

Wu, who grew up in Vancouver, created the white, one-shouldered inaugural gown worn by U.S. first lady Michelle Obama.

“Working with Target has allowed me to reach a much broader audience and I’m so excited that my Canadian fans will have a chance to experience this collection for the first time,” Wu said in a release.

“My collaboration with Target reflects my classic design esthetic and is filled with feminine pieces that will brighten up any woman’s wardrobe.”

Target will donate an amount equal to 100 per cent of the sales from the event to United Way Toronto.

According to a press release, Dufresne, who has been with the company six years as senior vice-president, chief financial officer and treasurer, resigned Monday to “accept a position with another organization.”

Metro said the appointment of his successor will be announced at a later date.

Prior to joining Metro, Dufresne worked in investment banking, focused on corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions.

Dufresne played a key role in a series of major transactions in the retail sector, notably the acquisition of A&P Canada by Metro in 2005.

Dufresne is a graduate of Laval University in actuarial science and holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business.

If so, what toppings should be on it? How about pancetta, to catch the current bacon trend? Or should it feature ingredients grown in Canada, to reach the local-food movement?

These are the sorts of questions food product developers ask themselves as part of their work day. Is cheese still hot? What can I do with Moroccan flavours? If meat on a stick is popular, would dessert on a stick also sell?

Sari Goldenberg, a food product developer for Loblaw, spends hours reading about food, thinking about food, travelling to other countries to taste food, and cooking food. If she sees a trend being yakked about on food blogs that she likes, chances are that you will be able to buy a product based on it in a few months.

“The Internet is my best friend,” says Goldenberg with a big smile.

Goldenberg is enthusiastic about all aspects of food. As one of 12 product developers working on branded lines such as President’s Choice and Blue Menu, she feels she has the perfect job.

She and her fellow product developers work from a large test kitchen at the grocery chain’s headquarters in Brampton, Ont. Two full-time chefs and three freelance chefs help them develop their ideas.

Developers have varied backgrounds but usually a degree in a food science or culinary skills. Goldenberg graduated from the George Brown Culinary Institute in Toronto, worked in restaurants and as a caterer served hors d’oeuvres to Bill and Hillary Clinton.

From their travels around the world and the Internet, Loblaw’s developers, who are assigned specific food categories such as deli, bakery or “frozen grocery,” bring their ideas to the test kitchen to bounce off their fellow foodies. Sometimes the chain will identify a particular hole in a product line that they would like to fill.

Goldenberg, who specializes in deli products, recently came up with a new President’s Choice-branded blue cheese using milk from Canadian cows, something the retailer had wanted to add to its lineup for ages.

“I know a lot about cheese. It is my specialty,” says Goldenberg. “I force myself to eat a lot of cheese.”

She doesn’t sound too unhappy at the assignment.

The concept for the new product is worked out around a table in the test kitchen, where product developers gather twice a day to discuss their own concepts and give feedback on others. They decide if the idea has a home in their product lines–is it Blue Menu (health-oriented) or does it fit somewhere else?

In the Case of the New Blue Cheese, for instance, Goldenberg first sampled cheeses from various shops to decide what direction she should go. Pungent or passive? What sort of sensory or visual appeal was wanted?

These questions were discussed with the team and when a decision was reached that an “entry-level” blue was the ticket, Goldenberg worked with a cheese maker to come up with some samples, which she brought back to the group at the test kitchen for feedback.

Once a sample got the thumbs-up, such issues as cost, packaging and the size of the production run were established and an order went back to the manufacturer for production. For some products, there might be some back and forth between the product developers and the plant as the final decisions are made.

Then it is committed to production and writers who create the copy for the packaging as well as the chain’s Insider’s Report magazine are brought into the loop to come up with descriptions to entice shoppers into tossing it into their shopping carts.

It’s a fast turnaround–Loblaw doesn’t do product testing with consumers in the traditional sense. This enables them to get new products on store shelves quickly.

It does use volunteers from among the 3,000 employees who work at its headquarters for testing. They can sign up to test products and give feedback to the product development team.

The ultimate test comes when the product hits store shelves. At Loblaw, there is no hard time frame put around when a product is deemed a success, says Ian Gordon, senior vice-president of Loblaw brands.

“We have a lot of products that are amazing, but they take two, three years for customers to find,” says Gordon.

Sheer volume in sales is not the only measure of a hit, says Gordon. They also look for “high repeat” sales–a product that maybe doesn’t sell in huge volume but that some customers just love and buy repeatedly.

And they know from experience that certain ingredients are “polarizing”–some people will never buy products that contain mushrooms or olives, for instance. “People either love them or hate them,” says Gordon.

Sometimes products don’t work out. Fresh mayonnaise, which Loblaw’s developers loved and thought delicious, didn’t sell. Shoppers conditioned to buying mayonnaise in a jar may have been confused by one sold alongside yogurt in the refrigeration aisle, says Maria Charvate, vice-president of product development.

Timing is everything, says Charvate. “We’ve launched products ahead of their time.”

For Goldenberg, the payoff comes when she sees something she developed on the shelves at her local store. She still remembers the time she saw her first baby–smoked meat rolled and packaged in a pouch–for sale.

“You see all the work you’ve done come to fruition. It’s very satisfying.”

The United Food and Commercial Workers local 175, which represents 1,500 employees at 12 Zellers stores, said Monday the three-year deal increases wages and boosts severance pay if the stores shut down.

Four of the Zellers stores covered by the deal–in Toronto, Oshawa and Brantford–will be converted into Targets as part of the U.S. retailer’s Canadian expansion strategy.

A fifth unionized store, in Windsor, Ont., which was also bought by Target, will convert to a Sobeys supermarket. Target has signed an agreement with Sobeys to supply food to its department stores.

The U.S. retail giant announced last year that it would spend $1.83 billion to take over the leases of as many as 220 Zellers stores from Zellers’ owner the Hudson Bay Trading Co.

Target, known for offering designer fashion collaborations at discount chain prices, plans to open its first Canadian stores in 2013.

The company said Monday that its deal for the Zellers locations is a real estate transaction and not an acquisition of the business.

The union has started a national campaign asking Target to guarantee that Zellers workers will continue to be employed at the stores changing over and is also asking Target to abide by all of the provisions of the new agreement.

If Target does not agree, Zellers’ 10,000 full-time employees and 18,000 part-time workers will lose their jobs when the Zellers stores close.

Target said only that it will give the Zellers employees an opportunity to apply for jobs at its Canadian stores.

Target is looking for about 100 staff by the end of the year, and more than 500 by the time it officially opens in 2013. The retailer plans to open 125 to 135 Target stores beginning in 2013 with each store expected to employ 150 to 200 staff.

In the U.S., Target has been successful at defeating union election petitions in the past, even in union strongholds like Detroit.

Walmart, an employer that has a rocky relationship with unions, will take over 39 other current Zellers locations across Canada.

Over the past decade, the UFCW has failed several times to unionize Walmart stores. In 2004, the company shuttered a Canadian store after it became the first in North America to win union certification. In 2000, 11 workers in the meatpacking department at a store in Jacksonville, Tex., voted to join the UFCW. Soon after, Walmart began stocking only pre-wrapped meats, effectively eliminating the positions.

UFCW Canada represents more than 250,000 members and represents Zellers workers at 15 stores in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.

Target has purchased the leasehold interests of 189 sites currently operated by Zellers Inc. and it says about $10 million to $11 million will be invested to remodel each outlet.

The locations include 45 in Ontario, 19 in Quebec ,15 in British Columbia, 13 in Alberta, five in Manitoba, two each in Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador and one each in New Brunswick and PEI.

Target already has more than 355,000 employees and is the second-biggest discount retailer in the U.S. after Wal-Mart.

Target is expanding to Canada in a similar way Walmart did in 1994, when it bought the chain of Woolco department stores in Canada, refurbished them and renamed them under the Walmart banner.