Asda and Sainsbury’s mega merger could hit Aldi and Lidl’s trollies October 17, 2018 Britain’s store wars are intensifying by the day but the force is still strong with German discounters Aldi and Lidl. The price-cutters continued to steal market share from the Big Four supermarkets in the 12 weeks to 7 October, figures from the closely-watched Kantar Worldpanel report showed yesterday. Aldi’s sales growth, its fastest since January [...]
Customers stay sweet on Cadbury’s despite low-tax owner October 17, 2018 Last week, several news outlets carried the news that Mondelez International – owners of chocolatier Cadbury – paid no corporation tax in 2017, though the company made profits of £185m. Mondelez’s subsidiaries were reported to have paid a combined total of £5.9m to HMRC. The news drew opprobrium from figures such as shadow chancellor, John [...]
Barbie on a bull run: Resurgent sales in the All-American figurine have proved a saving grace for toy making giant Mattel October 16, 2018 When it happened three years ago, it may have passed you by: after all, Donald Trump had just announced he was running for President, and the EU referendum campaign was getting under way. So you’d be forgiven for not noticing, in 2015, that Barbie dolls had just been given adjustable ankles. And yet the fact [...]
Walmart lowers earnings projections after online push hits profits October 16, 2018 Asda-ower Walmart lowered its earnings forecast for the financial year, after it warned online retail acquisitions would hit profits. The supermarket said its takeover of Indian e-commerce company Flipkart, the largest in the company’s history, would reduce earnings per share by 60 cents in the next financial year, and between 25 and 30 cents this [...]
Oasis and Warehouse Group appoint new chief executive October 16, 2018 Oasis and Warehouse chief executive Liz Evans has stepped down and will be replaced by chief operating officer Hash Ladha, the company announced today. Evans, who has been with the company for eight years after joining the high street brands as managing director in 2010, was credited with returning Warehouse back to profitability and achieving award-winning [...]
Third Jamie Oliver Group finance executive quits in just over a year October 16, 2018 Jamie Oliver Group director James Gregory has left the company, becoming the third finance executive to leave the TV chef's business in just over a year. The string of departures come at a tough time for the business, and the casual dining sector in general, as 12 of the Jamie's Italian brand restaurants were closed this year [...]
Aldi and Lidl to be part of watchdog probe into Sainsbury’s takeover of Asda October 16, 2018 The UK’s competition watchdog will be factoring in the role of major rivals and potential threats to suppliers as part of its probe into the planned Sainsbury’s and Asda merger. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said this morning that as part of its investigation into the J Sainsbury takeover of rival Asda, the “level [...]
London business benefits scaleup Perkbox travels across the channel October 16, 2018 Employee engagement scaleup Perkbox, which taps companies such as Ikea, Odeon and Deliveroo to provide benefits and discounts to small business employees, has today made its first foray outside of the UK to launch in France. The London company, which has approximately 250 employees under its own wing, is set to open up a new [...]
Footasylum records £4m loss as difficult retail environment hits profits October 16, 2018 Footwear retailer Footasylum was hit by losses of over £4m in the first half of the year, as the UK's difficult trading environment on the high street took its toll. The figures For the 26 week period ending on 25 August 2018, Footasylum reported an adjusted loss before tax of £4m, compared with a profit of £2.3m [...]
Shopping spree: Aldi and Lidl gain market share at expense of big three supermarkets October 16, 2018 The UK's biggest supermarkets lost ground to their budget rivals in the three months into the start of October, as the return of chilly weather marked the end of a bumper summer of growth. Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda all lost market share to Aldi and Lidl, with Tesco shedding 0.6 percentage points and Sainsbury's losing 0.4 percentage points [...]