Asda cuts jobs and demands three-days-a-week return to office November 6, 2024 Asda has announced job cuts and asked its staff to return to the office three days a week in the latest move in its turnaround plan. In an internal email on 5 November, the grocer said it was changing its office attendance policy at its George House site in Leicester as well as its Asda [...]
Marks and Spencer shares up on double-digit growth as turnaround pays off November 6, 2024 Marks and Spencer has reported another bumper set of results ahead of the golden quarter as its turnaround plan continues to pay off. The company’s share price rose by nearly five per cent in early trades and reached a level not seen since 2016. Profit before tax rose 17.2 per cent to £407.8m, up £348.1m [...]
Ocado announces new chair sooner than expected October 31, 2024 Ocado has announced KKR senior advisor Adam Warby will succeed Rick Haythornthwaite as its chairman in December. As well as working for KKR, Warby also serves as chair of management consultant firm Heidrick & Struggles, and previously held various positions at Microsoft and IBM. Earlier this year, Ocado said Haythornthwaite would step down to focus [...]
Convenience stores issued £634m warning ahead of Budget October 29, 2024 A lobby group has warned convenience stores could be set for a huge bill next year as tax hikes are expected to be included in the Autumn Budget. The Association of Convenience Stores has said the sector will face a potential bill of £634m due to wage increases, plus changes to National Insurance contributions and [...]
Asda flies in Morrisons and M&S execs as turnaround plan gathers pace October 22, 2024 Asda has added two new members to its leadership team as it looks to bolster the firm amid a significant turnaround plan. Laura Lepley will join in December from Morrisons as vice president of central operations, while Mark Henry will join in January from M&S as vice president of retail in the south of England. [...]
Supermarkets face calls to ban plastic for fresh goods October 17, 2024 An influential environmental NGO has called for the Government to ban plastic packaging on fruit and vegetable products in a bid to make grocery shopping more environmentally friendly. Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) have called for a ban on packaging for 21 products including apples, carrots and tomatoes to reduce food and plastic waste. [...]
The ‘battle for value is on’ at UK grocers as supermarkets push discounts October 8, 2024 Higher spending at supermarkets over the last month has been driven by sales of discounted goods as grocers compete to bring financially-stretched customers through their doors, according to fresh data. Grocery price inflation increased slightly to two per cent during the four weeks to 29 September, up from 1.7 per cent last month, according to [...]
Tesco ups guidance after first-half performance ‘exceeds expectations’ October 3, 2024 Supermarket giant Tesco has upped its profit guidance following another strong period of trading for the UK’s biggest grocer. Tesco increased its retail adjusted operating profit guidance to £2.9bn, from £2.8bn, after it “delivered volume growth ahead of expectations”. Continuing sales at the grocer grew 3.5 per cent in the 26 weeks ended 24 August [...]
Lower costs help Co-op return to profit September 25, 2024 The Co-op said this morning that lower costs had helped the company return to profit in the first half of its financial year. Profit before tax grew to £58m in the first half of 2024 from a loss of £33m in the same period last year. The company, which also operates a funeral service, legal services, [...]
Tesco boss Ken Murphy: ‘The AI revolution is upon us’ September 18, 2024 Tesco boss Ken Murphy has said that personalised grocery offers like Tesco Clubcard could “nudge” consumers towards making healthier decisions and that the AI “revolution is upon us” in retail. The Tesco chief executive said that, for example, an AI programme could note someone’s high sodium intake and encourage them to buy lower-sodium and healthier [...]