Retail Chain News

A fire broke out near a business center and the warehouse of a retail chain was hit in a Russian missile attack overnight on the Black Sea port of Odesa, Ukraine’s officials said early on Wednesday.Air defence forces shot down two missiles over the city, the city’s administration said on its Telegram messaging app.

Norwegian ballast water treatment (BWT) specialist Optimarin said it has secured a two-system contract with Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (FBS) in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. The agreement, which Optimarin said comes ahead of its imminent USCG approval, will see two 500 m³/h capacity Optimarin Ballast Systems (OBS) fitted on a single clean products barge. “The ability to trade in U.S. waters is key to global shipowners who want flexibility for their fleets,” comments Optimarin CEO Tore Andersen.

Indian energy company Reliance Industries Ltd posted nearly flat fourth-quarter profits, in line with estimates, as a slimmer margin in its oilrefining business offset higher revenue. Reliance, which operates the world's biggest refining complex in western India, reported net profit of 56.31 billion rupees for the quarter to end-March, compared with analysts' expectations of 56.62 billion rupees. Its average gross refining margin dropped to $9.30 per barrel from $10.10 a year earlier, although it was up from the preceding quarter's $7.60. Net sales rose 13 percent. Investors have focussed, however, on the oil and gas production business at Reliance, India's second most valuable company which is controlled by its richest man, Mukesh Ambani.

National Retail Systems, Inc. (NRS), a provider of logistics services to U.S. retailers, pharmaceutical companies and consumer goods manufacturers, announced it has been selected by Pep Boys, an automotive aftermarket service and retail chain, to provide an import container transload solution at the Port of Savannah. NRS will dray Pep Boys container imports from the Port of Savannah to the company’s crossdock facility in Pooler four miles from the port. NRS’s facility is specifically designed for high-speed, high-volume transload, which reduces logistics costs by transferring freight from ocean-going containers to larger and safer over-the-road trailers. The 176-door crossdock and special project warehouse stretches almost a quarter of a mile long on 52 acres.

Wärtsilä Group's first Environmental Report was ranked the best separate environmental report in 2001 alongside M-Real's report in a competition held in Finland annually to judge the environmental and social responsibility reporting of Finnish companies. The Wärtsilä report is the first report to be published by a Finnish mechanical engineering company. It has been prepared with highly ambitious objectives, adopting the model of the Global Reporting Initiative. The report describes the company's products and their environmental impact. The whole reporting competition, comprising the report, Internet pages and annual report, was won this year by the wholesale and retail chain Kesko Oyj. Wärtsilä Group published its first Environmental Report in June 2001.

Offshore services group Bourbon SA said net profit jumped 90.2 percent to $135.4m in the first half from $71.2m a year ago as both its main businesses achieved strong performances. EBITDA surged 40.2 percent as sales climbed 29.7 percent, primarily generated by revenue growth in the offshore division and higher freight rates for the bulk division, it said. In the second half, offshore division operations will benefit progressively from the 25 new vessels scheduled for delivery in a continued strong market context, while the bulk division will continue to benefit from the high level of freight rates, Bourbon said. Second-half results will be favorably affected by the sale of Bourbon's remaining 30 percent stake in retail chain Vindemia, the company said.

To the dismay of some oil companies, as well as oil, freight, and passenger shipping companies, a growing number of environmental prosecutors are seeking - and winning - fines and punishments they insist are high enough to deter pollution from deliberate or even accidental oil pollution. The U.S. consistently leads the world in such prosecutions, although Canada, Australia, and a growing number of European nations are following suit. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL), the world's second largest cruise operator, has been the most prominent catch - paying more than $27 million in fines in the U.S. over the past two years. In court, RCCL…