E-commerce grocery sales plateau boosts Aldi’s market share to peak levels June 22, 2021 The growth of e-commerce sales in the grocery market has plateaued, giving the likes of Aldi an opportunity to grow its market share after not making use of online sales in the past year. The percentage of e-commerce sales in the grocery market remained flat at 13.4 per cent in the four weeks to 13 [...]
MPs to write to competition watchdog over potential takeover of Morrisons June 22, 2021 The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee is reportedly preparing to write to the Competition and Markets Authority over the takeover of Morrisons. The MPs’ decision to intervene followed concern from a group of Labour MPs that a private equity takeover of the UK’s fourth biggest supermarket would put thousands of jobs at risk, the [...]
Michelin starred Pied à Terre in Fitzrovia stops lunch due to ‘Brexit and Covid’ June 21, 2021 In another sign of the post-Covid recruitment crisis, one of London’s oldest Michelin-starred restaurants has closed its lunch service until further notice. Fitzrovia’s Pied à Terre says Brexit and Covid have impacted recruitment so badly it is no longer able to open for the whole day. The restaurant said it could not “protect the welfare [...]
Private equity interest: Why is Morrisons such an attractive takeover target? June 21, 2021 Morrisons has rejected a £5.5bn takeover approach from a US private equity firm amid speculation that more UK supermarkets could be snapped up. Shares in Morrisons jumped earlier this morning following confirmation of the rejection at the weekend, as the chain said potential bidder Clayton, Dubilier & Rice “significantly undervalued” the grocer with its 230p-per-share [...]
Amazon destroying hundreds of thousands of unsold items every week June 21, 2021 Amazon is destroying hundreds of thousands of unsold items every week, amounting to millions of items each year, many of which are new and unused. An undercover investigation by ITV found Smart TVs, laptops, drones, hairdryers, top of the range headphones, computer drives, books and thousands of sealed face masks were sorted into boxes marked [...]
Heavy rain waters down consumer enthusiasm as footfall slows June 21, 2021 Footfall fell by 3.1 per cent last week across all UK destinations, as rain put off shoppers from heading outside. The high street was the hardest hit area during the last week, with footfall falling 5.4 per cent, according to the latest data from Springboard. In shopping centres and retail parks, where less time is [...]
Amazon retains crown as world’s most valuable brand June 21, 2021 Amazon has retained its place as the world’s most valuable brand, growing 64 per cent this year to $684bn – equivalent to the GDP of Poland. Amazon’s value grew by $268bn in the last year, according to data from Kantar, as a locked down world turned to the retailer for their online shopping. After Amazon, [...]
Hotel Chocolat agrees to buy struggling beauty business for… £4 June 21, 2021 Hotel Chocolat has agreed to fully acquire Rabot, a beauty business that was born through a joint venture with the chocolatier, for £4. Rabot was established in 2016 as a joint venture between Hotel Chocolat and Andrew Gerrie, the chocolate retailer’s non-executive chairman. The business was created to develop a range of beauty products inspired [...]
UK supermarket shares rocket with Morrisons up 30 per cent after takeover bid June 21, 2021 Morrisons’ share price leapt 30 per cent just minutes after the market open this morning, in wake of news a private equity firm approached the supermarket with a £5.5bn takeover bid. In fact, shares in all major UK’s biggest supermarkets soared on this morning after Morrisons rejected a takeover bid from a US private equity [...]
McDonald’s maps out post-Covid expansion in UK and Ireland June 20, 2021 McDonald’s has announced a major post-Covid expansion in the UK and Ireland, with the fast food chain set to open 50 new restaurants and create 20,000 new jobs. The fast food giant is also planning to introduce “Grab & Go options in areas with a high worker population and improved click and collect facilities”. There [...]