Parramatta. 'Another tough year' for API

Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, based at Camellia, has forecast a first-half net profit to rise by as much as 10 per cent compared with a year ago but chairman, Peter Robinson, chairman, has warned, in The Australian Financial Review, it will be another tough year”for the company as the retail environment remains shaky.

Region. Retail stores open and close

German discount supermarket chain, Aldi, which has its Australian business based at Minchinbury, plans to open 30 stores a year “for the foreseeable future”. The company currently has 202 stores. The company also plans new distribution centres in Sydney and Melbourne over the next three years, at a cost of $250 million each. Meanwhile, furniture and electrical goods retailer, Harvey Norman, has announced the closure of its Domayne store in Campbelltown and the possible closure of others. Figgins Holdings earlier announced the closure of its 43 Shoobiz stores, many of which are in the region.