Trading Partners

TROY, Mich. - Kmart Corporation on Friday announced that John T. McDonald Jr. has been named executive vice president and chief financial officer.

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.

NEW YORK - A county commissioner in San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday criticized Albertson's Inc. for closing three of its San Antonio stores on the South Side of town, calling the decision a "planned attack" on the community.

WASHINGTON - The Food Marketing Institute and The National Council of Chain Restaurants on Monday announced a collaboration on efforts to further develop and support industry policies and programs to strengthen animal welfare and food quality.

GUATEMALA, Costa Rica, The Netherlands - Paiz Ahold, the 50/50 joint venture of food retailers La Fragua and Ahold in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, has signed an agreement with Costa Rican supermarket and hypermarket company CSU to form a new joint venture, bringing together all of their operations in the Central American region.

DALLAS and Lawrenceville, N.J. - UCCnet today announced The viaLink Company has joined UCCnet's "Partners In Sync" program as a preferred alliance partner. The agreement is intended to accelerate the adoption of standards-based data synchronization for consumer package goods trading partners.

LONDON - Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket chain, has announced plans to expand its market for organic food to #1bn ($1.46 billion) within five years, the BBC reported. The company claims it is already the country's largest organic retailer.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has purchased the rights to exclusively sell 35mm Polaroid film, The Associated Press reported on Tuesday.