Supermarket sector tops customer service list for pandemic performance July 15, 2020 The supermarket sector topped the list for customer service during the coronavirus crisis, according to the latest research, as grocers stepped up to the challenge to serve shoppers throughout the lockdown. The sector’s score increased four per cent compared to last year, according to analysis by KPMG. Financial services, which was the next best performing [...]
McDonald’s to cut prices following government VAT break July 14, 2020 McDonald’s has announced it will slash prices after the government announced a VAT cut, as the fast food giant gears up to open for dine-in customers for the first time since March. McDonald’s said it had recommended that franchisees reduce prices on meal deals and classic products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with [...]
Aldi extends Deliveroo trial with 11 extra UK stores July 14, 2020 Budget supermarket Aldi has extended its current trial with Deliveroo by adding an extra 11 stores, including five more in London. The extension more than doubles the number of stores running the trial delivery partnership, after eight stores in Nottingham launched the Deliveroo service in May, with Camden following in June. Aldi stores in London [...]
Vegan milk firm Oatly raises $200m from investor group including Oprah Winfrey and Howard Schultz July 14, 2020 Vegan milk producer Oatly has raised $200m from a group of investors led by Blackstone, including Oprah Winfrey, actress Natalie Portman and former Starbucks boss Howard Schultz. The investment round, which was also backed by Jay Z’s Rocnation, will be used to fund the company’s growth plans, which include expansion in current markets and new [...]
Lidl to open 25 new stores in the UK this year creating 1,000 jobs July 14, 2020 Lidl has said it plans to open a new store every week until Christmas, seeing 25 new branches and 1,000 more jobs. The budget supermarket also plans to invest £1.3bn in the UK for 2021 and 2022, which will see the creation of 100 new stores and around 4,000 new jobs. Lidl aims to have [...]
Fever-Tree shares fall as bar closures impact sales July 14, 2020 Fever-Tree’s share price fell more than five per cent this morning, as investors took stock of its trading update amid the coronavirus pandemic. While the first two months of this year were in line with the company’s expectations, the drinks maker said trading had been “dominated” by coronavirus from March onwards. Its so-called on-trade division [...]
Consumer spending surges as lockdown restrictions end July 14, 2020 Brits rushed back to the shops in June after lockdown restrictions ended, prompting the biggest jump in sales since May 2018 as consumers indulged in some much-needed retail therapy. According to new data from the British Retail Consortium, total sales rose 3.4 per cent in June in the first month of growth since lockdown measures [...]
DFS to cut jobs at Dwell and Sofa Workshop as revenue falls £271m July 14, 2020 Furniture firm DFS has announced that it will cut jobs as part of a restructuring programme after the coronavirus pandemic caused revenue to drop £271m year-on-year to £725m. The company said that the cuts would take place at subsidiaries Dwell and Sofa Workshop, and were necessary in order to maintain DFS’ “future competitiveness”. The restructurings [...]
Revenue soars at Ocado during lockdown July 14, 2020 Retail sales for the first half of 2020 for online grocer Ocado jumped 27 per cent to £1bn, as Brits did their supermarket shopping from home. The group reported a loss before tax of £40.6m in the six months to the end of May, citing an increase in investment to handle increased demand as a [...]
Lockdown London: A tale of two cities July 14, 2020 On Sunday evening, a friend and I had a game of tennis in a small unremarkable suburban local park. Surrounded by terraced houses, it is the kind of park of which there are 3,000 dotted across the capital. Too hilly for a game of football but with a couple of rarely used tennis courts for [...]