Fort new outlets by the greatest FMCG-giant this year

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Wednesday it is spending half a billion dollars this year to expand in Canada, the latest example of a retail rush north to take advantage of Canada's relatively robust economy and eager-to-spend consumers.

Wal-Mart's Canadian arm will open 40 supercenter-format stores in the next fiscal year, though only eight of these will be new stores. The remainder will consist of expansions or remodelings of existing stores, as well as store relocations. The expansion is expected to increase the number of Wal-Mart stores in Canada to 333 by the end of January 2012, including 164 supercenters. As of Dec. 31, 2010, Wal-Mart had 323 stores in Canada, including 119 supercenters.