Trading Partners

WASHINGTON -- A new report released yesterday by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (IOM) here claimed food and beverage marketing aimed at kids points them to high-calorie, low-nutrient products. In the industry's defense, GMA, meanwhile, claimed its members were already doing many things to offer kids healthy choices.

PARIS -- Carrefour Group, the world's second-largest retailer, with annual revenues of more than $110 billion, plans to deploy an enterprisewide data management suite for strategic corporate and operating company data management across its four largest markets, called the G4 Group.

NEW YORK -- Although organic and functional foods have generated a healthy amount of interest in the United States in recent years, these categories still have a lot of room to grow -- especially when compared to other markets around the globe. That's the conclusion of global consumer and marketplace information provider ACNielsen, which released results from a new global online survey yesterday.

SCARBOROUGH, Maine -- Hannaford Brothers Co. has successfully implemented the IBM System z9 mainframe as the nerve center of its on-demand supply chain for over 300 retail stores and five major distribution centers. The new system is the culmination of a three-year, $1.2-billion development effort involving 5,000 IBM engineers, software developers, and security experts worldwide.

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. -- Piggly Wiggly and Fresh Brands here have pledged 1million pounds of food donations to the Hunger Task Force through a new yearlong "Stomp Out Hunger" campaign.

ISSIQUAH, Wash. -- Following a successful pilot earlier this year, warehouse club retailer Costco Wholesale and marketing information company Information Resources, Inc. have fully deployed the Costco Collaborative Retail Exchange (CRX) program across Costco's major food and nonfood departments in the United States.

SUNBURY, Pa. -- Weis Markets, based here, celebrated the opening of a new superstore in Boonsboro, Md. over the weekend. Earlier this fall the 158-store chain broke ground for a new superstore in nearby Thurmont, Md.

SKOKIE, Ill. -- Jeff Posner, e.v.p. and chief procurement officer of Topco Associates LLC, a privately held cooperative which provides procurement, quality assurance, packaging, distribution, and other services to the grocery and foodservice industries, will speak at the Daymon Worldwide Forum in May on supplier/retailer partnerships.