Grocery inflation slowed as supermarket discounts deepened Retail Grocery inflation in January slowed for the first time in six months after supermarkets lowered prices in response to stretched household budgets. Inflation was 3.3 per cent in January, easing from 3.7 per cent in December, according to the latest figures from Kantar. Prices rose for chocolate, juices and butters, but fell for cooking sauces, [...]
Stuart Rose is wrong: the world has moved on from the shop floor Opinion Stuart Rose has claimed that remote working is “not proper work”. That may make sense for retail but it’s wide of the mark when it comes to legal and financial services, says John Hayes Stuart Rose, the former head of supermarkets, Asda, Ocado and M&S and one of the most influential retailers of the past [...]
Former Asda and M&S boss Lord Rose: WFH is ‘not doing proper work’ Business The increase in home work has created a generation who are “not doing proper work,” according to the former boss of Asda and Marks & Spencer. Speaking to BBC Panorama, Lord Rose said more working from home was a part of the UK economy’s “general decline” and that productivity was suffering as a result. “We [...]
Ocado shares surge after online grocer reports record-breaking year January 14, 2025 Ocado Retail’s sales boomed in the weeks leading up to Christmas, vastly outperforming the broader market with double-digit revenue and customer growth. In a trading update issued today, the company, a 50:50 joint venture between Ocado and Marks and Spencer, reported revenue growth of 17.5 per cent in the 13 weeks to 1 December. Ocado [...]
The week’s best wine: sod Dry January – why I’m doing ‘Try January’ instead January 14, 2025 City AM’s wine columnist Libby Brodie on the best wine to buy this week, and where she’s been drinking it Last week I touted the Damp Lifestyle and this week I recommend exchanging Dry January for Try January. The beauty of wine is that it offers a kaleidoscope of flavours from all over the world, [...]
M&S: City broker slashes share price target on lower profit prospects January 10, 2025 Berenberg has downgraded its share price target for Marks and Spencer following lower estimates of long-term growth for the high street darling. The broker downgraded its price target from 410p to 384p, a cut of six per cent, due to a decrease in its profit estimate. “The potential for upside surprise now looks more limited [...]
Grocery spending hit record high at Christmas as Brits favour food over gifts January 7, 2025 Grocery spending hit a record high this Christmas as Brits dined out on premium goods and fizz, in a marked contrast to the anaemic growth in retail spending. Overall take-home sales at the grocers rose by 2.1 per cent over the four weeks to 29 December compared with last year. Brits splashed out on premium [...]
Wine without the Snobbery January 7, 2025 JANUARY always feels a rather grim time to decide to go “dry”. I feel no reason to punish myself for enjoying the indulgences of festive season and besides, being a wine writer and consultant, I would be out of a job. I do however like to embrace the “damp lifestyle” and over the years have [...]
Why Dry January is just another month for this alcohol-free beer brand January 3, 2025 Highlighting a year of growth, we take a look at some of the biggest and most recent achievements of the rapidly-growing alcohol-free beer brand, Days Brewing. Two friends, one pandemic and a few cold (alcohol-free) beers later – a long-lasting business was created. In 2020, former AB InBev man Mike Gammell and ex-Propercorn marketing chief [...]
IAG, Rolls-Royce and Natwest: The FTSE 100’s winners of 2024 December 31, 2024 The FTSE 100 returned 5.8 per cent in 2024, but under the surface, a clear gap has emerged between the blue-chip index’s winners and losers. Quite a few stocks have fallen out of London’s main index, with companies like Burberry and Ocado being replaced by giants like Games Workshop and Alliance Witan. While around half [...]