Supermarket/Grocery

AUSTIN, Texas - Whole Foods Market Inc. on Wednesday reported sales and earnings for the 13-week quarter and 53-week fiscal year ended September 30, 2001. Sales for the quarter increased 21% on an adjusted basis over the prior year, slightly above the company's 15% to 20% guidance.

MONTVALE, N.J. - The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company Inc. (A&P) today announced it will close 39 stores to improve operating results. A majority of the closings will take place before the end of the fiscal year (Feb. 23, 2002).

WASHINGTON - Retail sales in October soared by 7.1 percent, resulting in the biggest one-month gain ever recorded, The Associated Press reported.

LONDON - A bomb exploded in the parking lot at a Tesco store in Thailand, the BBC reported today. It was the third time the UK retailer's Thai subsidiaries had been targeted since July.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. today reported record sales and earnings for the quarter ended October 31, 2001. Net income for the quarter was $1.481 billion, up from $1.369 billion for the similar prior year quarter. Total sales were $52.738 billion, an increase of 15.5 percent over the similar prior year quarter.

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - UCCnet, a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization that provides item registration and global data synchronization based on industry developed standards, announced today The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. (A&P) will utilize the organization's business-to-business Internet-based services.

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Brazil's largest retailer Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao (CBD), popularly known as Grupo Pao de Acucar, today finalized negotiations to acquire 100 percent of supermarket chain Supermercados ABC, Reuters reported.

LONDON - Carrefour, the French hypermarket chain, will sign an agreement today with the Chinese State Economic and Trade Commission that will allow it to resume supermarket openings, which have been suspended for six months, the BBC reported.