The Conservatives must not be afraid to stand up for free markets November 12, 2018 Today’s younger voters were born after the Berlin Wall had fallen and the battle of ideas over economics and the role of the state had been won for a generation. Since then, the world has changed. The Labour party has fallen under the control of people who do not believe in markets, free enterprise, or business. [...]
Shareholders need to hear more than just contrition if they are to believe in the future of M&S November 8, 2018 Another day, another bleak set of results from a struggling high street retailer. This time it was the turn of M&S to take centre stage, reporting falling food and fashion sales and pledging to leave “no stone unturned” in its bid to restructure the business. Blighted by rising costs, more competition, and major changes in [...]
German budget supermarket chain Lidl boosts wages for UK employees November 6, 2018 German budget supermarket Lidl will boost wages for thousands of its workers in the UK, it said yesterday. Lidl said entry-level wages will increase from £8.75 an hour to £9 an hour outside of London and from £10.20 to £10.55 an hour within the capital. The increase will come into effect from 1 March next year, [...]
Marks and Spencer results will reflect the high street’s health November 4, 2018 Results from Marks and Spencer’s clothing range – long the weaker twin to its strong food offering – will be closely watched when the retailer reports on Wednesday, after difficult results for several of its rivals. Consensus estimates from 11 analysts suggest the FTSE 100 firm will post half-year profits before tax of £203m, a [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Tesco share price falls despite taking the fight to supermarket rivals with rising revenues October 3, 2018 Tesco aimed to cement its status as the UK’s largest supermarket today with rising revenue and operating margins as it fights off competition from merging rivals and cheaper competitors. However, shares fell more than seven per cent in morning trading as the retailer missed a key profit metric. The figures The retail giant posted a 13 [...]
Store wars: Aldi is in no mood to be Jack’s of all trades October 2, 2018 Aldi vowed to make Tesco discounter brand Jack’s a dull boy yesterday, saying it will remain the UK’s cheapest grocer. “It will be a real struggle for any more complex supermarket to successfully imitate our model let alone replicate it,” Giles Hurley, chief exec of Aldi UK and Ireland, said as he threw down the [...]
Bumper summer and Booker buyout set to boost Tesco profits September 30, 2018 Tesco will be hoping to post strong first-half profits on Wednesday, as a blistering summer heatwave, successful World Cup run and a royal wedding are all likely to have boosted the firm’s performance. Consensus estimates compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence show that earnings before tax (excluding exceptions) could hit £795m in the first six [...]
Aldi and Lidl continue to attract customers – so what impact will Tesco’s budget chain Jack’s have? September 26, 2018 Recently Tesco unveiled its first Jack’s discount store. With a strong emphasis on Britishness and home-grown products, the brand is seen as a challenger to the German supermarkets, Aldi and Lidl. I have often talked in this column about the growth of both Aldi and Lidl, and YouGov BrandIndex data points to the continued improvements [...]