Target Canada has reported a 63.1 per cent sales growth for the second quarter, ending on August 2. The sales during this three-month period were $499 million, thanks to the new stores that have recently opened. There was an 11.4 per cent decline in comparable sales, as this is the first period with comparable sales for Target Canada.

While the gross margin rate for the second quarter was 18.4 per cent, this is a decline from 2013’s second quarter of 31.6 per cent. Other results included a 30 per cent increase over last year’s 18 per cent from $231 million in digital sales. Meanwhile, the company’s American counterpart experienced a decrease in sales transactions by 1.3 per cent.

“While results from the quarter didn’t meet our expectations, we are seeing some early signs of progress as we work to improve results in the U.S. and Canada,” Executive Vice President John Mulligan told Grocery Business. “In the U.S., traffic trends continue to recover and monthly sales are improving, with July comparable sales up more than one per cent. Better U.S. sales have continued into August, driven by early back-to-school results. In Canada, the team is making important changes to operations and the merchandise assortment with a focus on delivering improved results by this holiday season.”

A recent study shows that tea has antioxidant properties that could reduce non-cardiovascular mortality by 24 per cent. Tea drinkers often have other positive and healthy habits that also support this conclusion, the study notes. A total of 131,401 people between the age of 18 and 95 participated in the study. Participants either did not consume any coffee or tea, consumed between one to four cups a day, or drank more than four cups a day.

Study results showed that those who drank coffee were at greater risk for cardiovascular diseases, especially those with a smoking habit. Those who drank coffee tended to smoke more often than those who did not, as only 17 per cent of coffee abstainers smoked. 45 per cent of those who did not drink coffee exercised regularly, compared to a 41 per cent of coffee drinkers. On the other hand, tea drinkers were more active, with 43 per cent of those who drank tea moderately exercising regularly versus 46 per cent of heavy tea drinkers. Heavy tea or coffee drinkers had a 4-5 mmHg higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) and a 3 mmHg lower diastolic blood pressure (DBP).

“Overall we tend to have a higher risk profile for coffee drinkers and a lower risk profile for tea drinkers,” Professor Nick Danchin of the cardiology unit at the Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris told CTV News. “We also found big differences with gender. Men tend to drink coffee much more than women, while women tend to drink more tea than men.”

Loblaw has announced that it has raised around $230,000 for local charities with their Give a Little, Help a Lot and Smile campaigns, thanks to the customers who donated at the cash register while making their purchases. The campaigns ran throughout Western Canada and involved cashiers asking customers if they would like to donate.

Between the two campaigns, over $5.4 million have been raised since 2008. The proceeds have gone towards a variety of causes, such as nutrition programs and healthy meals in schools, medical equipment and patient care, and sports and recreational programs for kids.

“Customers and employees donated generously to our Give a Little, Help a Lot and Smile fundraising efforts and we are extremely grateful for their contributions,” Loblaw Community Investment Senior Director Peggy Hornell told Canadian Grocer. “These campaigns show that small acts, like donating a toonie at the cash register, can make a significant improvement to the livelihood of children in our community.”

Loblaw has opened a new BOX store in Hamilton, Ontario, as part of the new discount grocery banner that Loblaw has acquired. The store is a small retail location that offers discounted prices on groceries such as dairy, baked goods, fresh food, and others.

“At BOX, we don’t spend money in advertising a weekly flyer or building fancy displays. That’s why you’ll find great low prices in every corner, every day,” says the official statement on the BOX website.

Other locations for BOX include Calgary and Windsor, Ontario. As the BOX stores are much smaller than those of No Frills, it allows for room to open BOX stores in malls,  plazas and other smaller locations. While the product range is smaller than No Frills, the prices are lower, according to the Hamilton Spectator. 

Recently appointed Target Corp. CEO Brian Cornell expressed to St. Paul Business Journal of Minneapolis that he has no intention of turning Target into a grocery store. Cornell has experience in the food and supermarket industries, as he was CEO of PepsiCo, Sam’s Club and Safeway prior to his Target position. Cornell stressed that style, fashion and apparel is the “core to the DNA of this company.”

Other topics Cornell commented on include the Target Canada team, omnichannel retailing, and the reticent consumer. He said he’s confident that the Target Canada team is a solid one, and that omnichannel is critically important to Target’s success, as well as commenting on traditional middle class continuing to be strained in terms of consumers.

In an effort to stay competitive with Amazon, Google announced it is in the process of developing its own delivery drones in its research laboratory. Other programs being experimented on at Google’s “X” lab include self-driving cars, Google Glass, Internet beaming balloons called Project Loon.

Google’s “Project Wing” may take several years before it is fully operational, though in test flights, the company’s drones were able to deliver a first aid kit, candy bars, dog treats and water to two farmers over a distance of one kilometer in Australia.

In order to get the drones off the ground, Amazon and Google require government approval to fly commercial drones in several countries, including the U.S, where commercial use of drones is largely banned.

Google could use the drones for same-day delivery on purchases, as opposed to the cars it currently uses in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and New York. In addition to using the drones as a delivery vehicle, Google states in its Project Wing pamphlet that the drones can also be used to carry emergency supplies to areas damaged by natural disasters.

“Self-flying vehicles could open up entirely new approaches to moving goods, including options that are cheaper, faster, less wasteful and more environmentally sensitive than what’s possible today,” says Google in its Project Wing pamphlet.

Health Canada plans to hinder abuse of controlled-release prescription narcotics by modifying the labels of the opioids in question to be used for those suffering with severe pain only, according to Federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose at the 147^th Canadian Medical Association general council meeting in Ottawa.

Canada is second to the United States in per capita use of prescription opioids. In a 2012 Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey, over 400,000 Canadians admitted to abusing prescription drugs including opioids, stimulants and tranquilizers and sedatives. According to Ambrose, the yearly rate of opioid-related deaths grew by a whopping 242 per cent between 1991 and 2010.

“Quite frankly, these numbers are frightening, unacceptable and the reason why our government is taking action,” Ambrose told Postmedia News. “We must develop practical solutions that will prevent [prescription drug] abuse while keeping medications available for patients who really need them.”

Retail sales in Canada have risen 1.1 per cent to $42.6 billion in June, the sixth consecutive month showing growth. Sales rose by 4.7 per cent over the past six months as compared to the same period last year, and 4.8 per cent for the month of June as compared to the same month last year, the best number seen since October 2013. In terms of volume, sales rose by 0.6 per cent in June.

Gains were shown in eight out of 11 subsectors, or 71 per cent of the retail trade. Food and beverage stores saw a sales increase of 1.3 per cent in June. Supermarkets and grocery stores saw the same increase after seeing a sales decline in May.

Federated Co-op is introducing a new system in effect that will help customers make local food choices with labels and a local scoring system on the products. The campaign, titled the At Home campaign, will debut in Alberta and British Columbia later this week. It will be available in Saskatchewan and Manitoba in mid-September.

The campaign will feature Grown at Home products of fresh fruits and vegetables, Raised at Home products of sustainable and quality meat products, and Produced at Home goods that focus on new and innovative products.

Federated Co-op has partnered with Edmonton-based Localize to introduce a scoring system for each item to go on the shelves. The scoring system is out of 10 and labels the product based on location, ownership, and source of ingredients. Those who rate a 7 or higher will be separated into the Grown at Home, Raised at Home, and Produced at Home categories to be sent to the stores.

Wal-Mart Inc. is in the works to introduce a MasterCard credit card that is chip-enabled. According to the blog post on the company’s official website, the new card will serve “as a more secure payment means for cardholders.”

Users of the card will get $5 back for every $500 they spend, as well as saving 5 cents per gallon of gas at select Walmart gas stations. They will also save 15 cents through the “Great Gas Rollback” promotion that will be taking place until September 8. The Wal-Mart co-branded card can be used anywhere that accepts MasterCard.