AMERICA NEWS ON FASTMOVING

Johannesburg - South Africa imported white maize from the United States last week for the first time since 2004, the country's Grain Information Service (SAGIS) said on Tuesday (19 April). read more

Perhaps no other retailer is profiting as well from Americans' changing eating habits than Sprouts Farmers Market, which reported record sales and earnings for the fourth quarter. read more

At Home has added four more locations to its growing store portfolio. read more

Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday and Valentine's Day, Victoria's Secret's Angels are taking to the field for an epic game of football in a new omnichannel video campaign. read more

The retirement of Kroger’s Nashville division president Rick Going and the earlier appointment of a new Fred Meyer president gave the supermarket company the opportunity to elevate two other executives. read more

Delhaize Group’s Food Lion division is enjoying success with an extensive transformation initiative called “easy, fresh, and affordable,” as it works to complete a pending merger with Royal Ahold. read more

The Golub Corp., operators of the Price Chopper grocery store chain, named Scott Grimmett as president and CEO. read more

A just-released holiday survey reinforces the dominance of the omnichannel shopper. read more

Specialty gourmet gift retailer Harry & David wants to make sure information about its stores is as easily accessible as possible. read more

There is a new lifestyle publication in circulation — and it is the product of two diverse companies. read more

Looking at the wide array of taps at bars these days, we seem to be in a golden age of beer. The world is awash in ales, lagers, and porters, many made by small breweries, which are gaining an ever-bigger share of the market. read more

Target Corp. has made grocery and perishable products a big part of its turnaround strategy, and is committing to do so for the foreseeable future. read more

Texas – Whole Foods Market and Instacart have officially been collaborating for online grocery deliveries for one year, and have moved an impressive amount of merchandise in that time. read more

California - A new survey details what methods Americans are using to pay for goods and services — and which ones are gaining steam. read more

The multiple award-winning Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky – South Africa’s first and only premium, 100% single grain whisky - is making its United States debut this July in Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri. read more

Brand-building expert and consultant Denise Lee Yohn has released her annual outlook for the year, “Brands to Watch in 2015.” read more

South Africa is the 81st most prosperous country in the world, according to the Legatum Institute’s prosperity index, a position down from 77th in 2013, and far away from its 67th position in 2009. read more

Boston - Walmart.com asserted its basket price leadership position over both Amazon.com and a Walmart supercenter, according to Kantar Retail’s third annual Wal-Mart versus Amazon pricing study. read more

The digital world has clearly revolutionised the retail environment. However, through all of the changes, one facet of the marketplace has remained surprisingly unaltered … the integral role that the in-person shopping experience plays in motivating and qualifying a consumer’s purchase decision.  read more

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, who will be stepping aside from the position at the end of this year, took a salary cut to $67.3 million (R755 million) – significantly less than $78 million (R875 million) he was paid in 2013. read more

Berlin - Workers at four of Amazon.com's German distribution centres have started a two-day strike in a long-running dispute over wages.  read more

The rand firmed against the dollar late on Friday after the US nonfarm payrolls report showed America created fewer jobs than expected in July, easing fears that interest rates in the world’s largest economy would be raised soon. read more

Arlington, Va. - The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), along with several retail brands, has launched the Retail Cyber Intelligence Sharing Center (R-CISC), the centerpiece of which is a Retail Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Retail-ISAC). read more

Cape Town - A new Coca-Cola advertisement which features a multilingual patriotic song has garnered both kudos and brickbats. read more

Americans bought fewer cars in May, pulling retail sales down for the first time in nearly a year. Sales among U.S. retailers fell 0.2 percent last month, the Commerce Department said. It was the first decline after 10 straight increases. read more