We spoke to Linda Bolton of Natural Calm Canada about being named one of Canada’s top female entrepreneurs by PROFIT Magazine and Chatelaine.

When Target launched in Canada, it relied heavily on the fact that many Canadians had already experienced shopping at Target stores across the border and came to expect the same service on home field.

According to a survey of 1,000 Canadian women by Headspace Marketing, residents of Quebec were less familiar with Target than Canadians across the rest of the country. Now, less than a quarter of Quebec women have shopped at Target stores in the U.S. compared to over half of Canadian women in other provinces.

When Target launched in Quebec, it adopted the same formula for its launch as it did in the rest of the country. The company also made an effort to appeal to residents of the province by having local celebrity Mitsou pose next to Bullseye, Target’s mascot. It made deals with local designers and complied with French language laws in the province across its operations.

Meanwhile, another survey by ResearchNow states that nine out of 10 Canadian women have shopped at Target stores at least once in the past year. 61.7 per cent of these women rated their shopping experience as good or very good, while 7.3 per cent rated it as bad or very bad. Women from Quebec are less likely to rate their experience at the store as good, as only 52.1 per cent did so, while 38.4 per cent of Quebec women rated their experience there as neither good nor bad compared to 28.7 in the rest of Canada.

The survey further asked Canadian women which departments they would shop at the store. Most women stated they would buy clothing and accessories there, at 61.8 per cent. Meanwhile, 48.6 per cent of women said they would shop in the home décor section, and 49.9 per cent would purchase everyday items from the retail giant. 44 per cent of women said they would buy their groceries from Target, and 31.5 per cent would pick up beauty essentials from the store. Quebec shoppers, however, do not see the retailer as a place to purchase clothing, accessories, home décor, groceries and everyday items.

If Target wants to appeal to its Quebec shoppers, it will have to make some changes to get on their shopping lists.

The Canadian retail sector experienced a drop in sales during July after seven months of gains. Sales dropped by 0.1 per cent to $42.5 billion, according to Statistics Canada.

General merchandise sales fell by 2.7 per cent to $5.3 billion as clothing and accessories stores experienced a 2.3 per cent drop to $2.3 billion. Purchases across all industries excluding motor vehicles dropped by 0.6 per cent. Meanwhile, economists had predicted that there would be little to no change.

In the midst of being sold by its U.S. parent company, Sears Canada Inc.’s Douglas Campbell, has stepped down from his role as CEO.

Campbell has held the position for one year and is leaving for personal family issues. He will continue on in the role until Sears Canada finds a replacement, but will not be staying past Jan. 1, 2015.

During his time as Sears Canada CEO, Campbell has cut jobs, outsourced some operations and sold leases of key stores back to their landlords, including its flagship Toronto Eaton Centre location, in order to raise money.

Sears Canada “remains committed to continue the strategy of optimizing productivity, realizing value from desirable assets and creating a highly relevant retailer in Canada with a focus on rural and suburban locations.”

Sears Holdings Corp. said in May that it is “exploring strategic alternatives for its 51 per cent interest in Sears Canada, including a potential sale of Sears Holding’s interest or Sears Canada as a whole.” It went on to say that Sears Canada will “cooperate fully with Sears Holdings in this process to achieve value for all shareholders.”

Calgary Co-op has appointed former Sobeys executive Ken Keelor as CEO. Keelor will replace Ken Woo, who took over as CEO from Deane Collinson in April when Collinson announced his retirement.

Keelor was previously the vice president of national procurement at Sobeys. He has also held the position of vice president of private label procurement and global sourcing for the company. He has also worked as chief merchandising officer for Katz Group, the pharmacy chain, in 2011.

“Keelor was selected for his understanding of the retail food sector and experience in the industry, which spans 24 years across merchandising and marketing through to private label procurement and global sourcing,” Laura Sullivan, chair of the board of directors for Calagry Co-op, told Canadian Grocer. “We are pleased that Mr. Keelor will be carrying on the tradition of the Co-op values, our mission and vision, while building upon our current strategy to ensure we meet the changing demands of our marketplace.”

Costco Wholesale Canada and American Express, its only accepted method of credit payment, will no longer be working together, according to the retailer.

Ron Damiani, Costco spokesperson, told Canadian Grocer that the country’s 88 stores would be accepting the payment method until Dec. 31, after which time they have not disclosed its replacement, though will be discussing options soon.

According to an American Express spokesperson, the two companies worked together well, though were unable to come to a new agreement. However, it was noted that this change only affects Canadian stores.

The Food and Drug Administration has announced that new food safety rules will be put in motion following some farmers expressing worry over the former proposals potentially hurting their business. The former proposals required farmers to take extra precautions for contamination and other areas, along with a requirement to submit food safety plans to the government.

The FDA’s new regulations help farmers meet water quality standards and harvest crops more easily. The FDA’s deputy commissioner Michael Taylor told Canadian Grocer that they are aiming to achieve food safety in a practical way.

“This approach has less potential to impose economic hardship on organic farmers, while at the same time supporting the safest food supply in the world,” Gwendolyn Wyard from the Organic Trade Association told Canadian Grocer. The revised rules are due to be finalized next fall.

According to researchers from the Lund University Diabetes Center in Malmo, Sweden, eating high-fat dairy products could lower a patient’s risk for type 2 diabetes. The study showed that those subjects with the highest consumption of high fat dairy products lowered their chance of developing type 2 diabetes by as much as 23 per cent, provided the fat is unsaturated.

The study was conducted with 26,930 patients over 14 years. 60 per cent of patients were women, aged 45 to 74 years.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved genetically modified corn and soybean seeds that are used against an effective weed killer that’s been around since the ‘40s. The approval has been a long time coming since most weeds have grown resistance to glyphosate, a herbicide mostly used for corn and soybeans.

The USDA responded to questions about the use of 2,4-D risking public health by saying that if the seeds and herbicide are approved, the use of 2,4-D could rise by approximately 200 per cent to 600 per cent in the next six years, as reported by Canadian Grocer. The EPA has determined that the chemical is safe for the public and for agricultural workers to use, with the USDA following up that it has approved the seeds.

McKesson Canada, a company focused on providing the healthcare industry with medicines, supplies and developing information technologies, has appointed Alain Champagne as its new president. He replaces Nick Loporcaro in the role, after Loporcaro was appointed president of McKesson Specialty Health.

Champagne has worked at the company since 2010, and was most recently its Senior Vice President of Pharmaceutical Distribution and Operations.

“Alain brings a deep knowledge of McKesson Canada’s business and customers to his new role and will focus on continuing to bring value and growth opportunities to all the company’s partners,” said McKesson Corp.’s Executive Vice President and Group President Paul Julian in a press release.

“I am delighted to take on this new role and continue the work initiated with Nick Loporcaro to position McKesson Canada for future growth,” said Champagne in a press release. “Our portfolio of businesses allows us to solve the significant health care challenges we face as a country. We are committed to bringing added-value serices and solutions to all our customers and partners with the ultimate goal of improving patient access to care and outcomes.”