Japanese whisky, the spirit of Christmas November 11, 2009 IF JAPANESE whisky sounds like a joke – something akin to the Jamaican bobsleigh team, or Indian wine – then you clearly don’t know very much about spirits. At last year’s World Whisky Awards, Yoichi 20-year-old was voted the best whisky in the world, while Suntory’s Hibiki was voted the best blended whisky. If you [...]
Tesco starts to close gap on faster growing rivals October 13, 2009 TESCO, the UK’s largest retailer, is closing the gap on faster-growing competitors, market researcher TNS WorldPanel said yesterday. TNS, which tracks sales growth in the grocery sector, said sales at Tesco, which has been growing less quickly than rivals in recent months, rose 4.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to 4 October. This was [...]
Tesco starts to close gap on faster growing rivals October 13, 2009 TESCO, the UK’s largest retailer, is closing the gap on faster-growing competitors, market researcher TNS WorldPanel said yesterday. TNS, which tracks sales growth in the grocery sector, said sales at Tesco, which has been growing less quickly than rivals in recent months, rose 4.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to 4 October. This was [...]
Profits slide at John Lewis as crunch hits September 17, 2009 THE John Lewis Partnership, seen as a bellwether for middle-class consumer confidence, yesterday reported a 20 per cent dive in first-half profits. Despite a strong performance from its grocery chain Waitrose, the group said pre-tax profits were down by £21m to £86.3m in the six months to 1 August. The group’s department store, famed for [...]
Profits slide at John Lewis as crunch hits September 17, 2009 THE John Lewis Partnership, seen as a bellwether for middle-class consumer confidence, yesterday reported a 20 per cent dive in first-half profits. Despite a strong performance from its grocery chain Waitrose, the group said pre-tax profits were down by £21m to £86.3m in the six months to 1 August. The group’s department store, famed for [...]
What to drink this Christmas December 6, 2009 Champagne As chosen by Esme Johnston, director of www.fromvineyardsdirect.comPerrier JouetBelle EpoqueCream and honey, brioche and lingering nutmeg notes make this special edition bubbly a delightful classic that’s wonderful with food or on its own. £86.95 at www.thedrinkshop.com Serge Mathieu Superb grower’s champagne, it’s nutty and golden with creamy richness and a light, punchy mousse. Great [...]
J Sainsbury sales growth slows down October 7, 2009 J SAINSBURY, hot on the heels of supermarket archrival Tesco, yesterday revealed that its second quarter sales growth had slowed as food inflation eased in the autumn. Sainsbury’s said like-for-like sales growth, excluding fuel, slowed to 4.6 per cent rise for the 16 weeks to 3 October down from seven per cent in the previous [...]
J Sainsbury sales growth slows down October 7, 2009 J SAINSBURY, hot on the heels of supermarket archrival Tesco, yesterday revealed that its second quarter sales growth had slowed as food inflation eased in the autumn. Sainsbury’s said like-for-like sales growth, excluding fuel, slowed to 4.6 per cent rise for the 16 weeks to 3 October down from seven per cent in the previous [...]
Banks and oil lead the markets lower October 7, 2009 EUROPEAN shares closed lower yesterday with banking and oil stocks leading the fallers, as investors booked profits ahead of the US third-quarter corporate results season. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 0.4 per cent at 988.76 points. The benchmark index is up 19 per cent this year and has surged 53 [...]
Supermarkets that reacted to slump are strongest July 21, 2009 THE usual assumption is that the stock market is a “leading indicator” for economic confidence. But as today’s cut of YouGov data shows, it doesn’t lead public sentiment, but is actually behind. The graph shows the BrandIndex scores for public perception of “value for money” (rolling monthly average) for Waitrose, J Sainsbury and M&S, alongside [...]