In addition to most of the features of other ordinary mobile phones, CD’s new mobile phone also has a mini mobile phone that resembles a USB key. Users can put the main mobile phone in a handbag while using the mini mobile phone to make calls.

Produced by a small manufacturer called ModeLabs in France, the new mobile phones are reportedly priced around EUR3,500. Sidney Toledano, CEO of CD, says that they hope to increase their sales volume through these mobile phone products.

At present, CD’s annual sales are about EUR787 million. Toledano hopes that the new mobile phone business will bring about EUR200 million income each year to the company.

Overall, Vester is to open three new hypermarkets in Ukraine by the end of 2008, Interfax reported. Vester Hyper outlets will appear in Khmelnitsky, Kharkov and Severodonetsk. The store in Khmelnitsky will be opened in Q3 2008 on an area of over 4,500 m2. The investments in this outlet will exceed $3.2m.

In addition, this year Vester is to start projects on the opening of hypermarkets in Borispol and Sevastopol, Interfax reported. Overall, the company aims to invest some $41m in the launch of 13 outlets, jointly covering over 45,000 m2 in Kharkov, Mariupol, Sevastopol, Khmelnitsky as well as in Lvov and Dnipropetrovsk Provinces. By 2011 Vester is to open 50 hypermarkets and 24 supermarkets, taking up 307,000 m2 in 35 Ukrainian cities. Currently, Vester operates a chain of 52 outlets in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

After rated among the world’s top 250 retailers in 2008, Chinese retailers, including Gome, Bailian Group, Suning, and Dashang, were again entered on the list this year, with their average ratings up 71 places.

Published by one of the world’s largest accounting firms Deloitte and the authoritative U.S. retail magazine Stores, the list provided the 2009 edition of the top 250 retailers in the world. According to the list, the worldwide retail industry was affected by the global financial crisis, with the impact on the United States, Britain, and Japan being the most obvious. But retail markets in Russia, South Korea, and China still had good performances, with two Russian retailers and four Chinese retailers climbing rapidly in the list.

Statistics showed that four Chinese retailers were included in the top 250 retailers in 2008. Apart from the Shanghai-based Bailian Group which sat at the 101 place, the other three, Gome, Suning, and Dalian Dashang Group, were all out of the top 200.

In the 2009 edition, Chinese electronics retailer Gome was up 155 places from 218th to the 63rd; Chinese electronics retailer Suning up 63 places from 216th to 152nd; Shanghai Bailian Group up 10 places to the 91st; and Dalian Dashang Group up 57 places to 167th.

In addition, the U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart still held the first place in the list, followed by French Carrefour, and the in third to the fifth places were Tesco from Britain, Metro from Germany, and Home Depot from the United States.