A new generation of banks August 5, 2010 BRITAIN saw the launch of its first new high street bank in many years recently, with the opening of Metro Bank’s first and only branch so far on High Holborn. The launch featured no end of gimmicks – including balloons, goodie bags and free dog biscuits – to persuade consumers that the bank offers something [...]
Autonomy disappointed by lacklustre results July 22, 2010 Software firm Autonomy posted forecast-lagging quarterly earnings and lower margins, raising analyst concerns that growth was slowing and sending its shares sharply lower. Shares in the group, which have outperformed the FTSE 100 by 16 per cent since the start of the year, fell as much as 12 per cent yesterday as the market expected [...]
Amazon set to sell groceries July 7, 2010 Ocado’s £1.1bn float was dealt another blow yesterday when internet giant Amazon launched a competing grocery delivery business. Amazon has long toyed with the idea of branching into food delivery, and already does so in the US and Germany, but the timing of the decision heaps pressure on Ocado. Analysts have already questioned the value [...]
Ocado to float June 24, 2010 ECHOES of the dotcom bubble returned to the City yesterday, as an online grocery delivery firm that has not turned a profit in 10 years confirmed it will float with an estimated value of £1bn. Ocado said it will seek to raise £200m when it floats this year and expects existing shareholders to cash in [...]
Sainsbury’s school uniform push June 23, 2010 Sainsbury’s has launched its biggest ever “Back to School” range in a bid to boost profit – giving mums 500 uniforms to “road test”. The latest range offers 12 Back Tu School products. Sainsbury’s is the eighth largest schoolwear retailer by volume, and has the fastest growing range on the high street with a 3.1 [...]
Sainsbury’s supermarket to shuffle top jobs June 21, 2010 J SAINSBURY became the latest supermarket to shuffle its management team yesterday, in an attempt to cement its plans for long-term growth. The UK’s third-biggest grocer has promoted chief financial officer Darren Shapland to the post of group development director, overseeing business development and group strategy. Mike Coupe, currently trading director, will become the group’s [...]
Sainsbury’s sales grow at sluggish pace June 16, 2010 SAINSBURY’S followed its arch-rival Tesco in unveiling lethargic first quarter sales growth yesterday, weighed down by low food inflation and a challenging consumer environment. Like-for-like sales for the first quarter grew at their slowest rate in five years, just 1.1 per cent, excluding fuel sales, which jumped due to inflammatory oil price pressures. Including petrol, [...]
HOW DOES SAINSBURY’S PERFORMANCE COMPARE TO ITS PEERS? June 16, 2010 JAMES MONRO | S&P EQUITY RESEARCH “These results put Sainsbury’s in line with Tesco in terms of growth, adjusting for Clubcard sales, but we would have liked to see more given the benefit of two weeks of World Cup sales. But Sainsbury’s may need more margin investment to keep up with its rival over the [...]
Supermarket showdown as rivals report June 13, 2010 SUPERMARKET giants Tesco and J Sainsbury are this week expected to report fairly flat sales growth for the first quarter of the year, signalling a slowing of consumer activity across the food sector. Tesco is expected to report sales growth of between zero and 1.5 per cent tomorrow for the first quarter according to analysts, [...]
Tesco is a better pick than Sainsbury’s June 13, 2010 THOSE looking for proof the UK is going to bump along the bottom for a while before making a convincing exit from recession need only look at this week’s supermarket sales figures. Now the comparatives are beginning to get tougher, things are looking decidedly lacklustre. Analysts at RBS reckon J Sainsbury will report flat UK [...]