Asda’s confident new boss is a boon for shoppers, and a threat to rivals Opinion Asda's bold new boss may have spooked rivals, but shoppers will come out on top, writes Susannah Streeter in today's Notebook.
Broker questions Asda’s turnaround plan London broker Jeffries has questioned whether Asda’s sales will rise quickly enough to meet the demands of its turnaround plan. Last week, UK supermarket giant Asda announced a drop in yearly sales, alongside a significant turnaround plan aiming to bring the supermarket back to its roots. Key to this plan is a significant investment in [...]
Time to breakup? Which UK stocks might benefit from selling assets Retail Selling assets is a fashionable activity for UK stocks: WH Smith announced this morning that it is exploring a possible sale of its high street business to focus on its travel trade, following in the footsteps of Reckitt Bensicker, Marston’s and DCC, all of which have sold assets to unlock value recently. The news from [...]
Lidl boss warns retailers are ‘reeling’ after Budget tax raid November 20, 2024 The boss of budget supermarket Lidl has warned retailers are “reeling” following Labour’s tax raid in the Autumn Budget. The German supermarket’s UK boss Ryan McDonnell said the discount brand was staring down the barrel of “tens of millions of pounds” in extra costs. This comes after the Chancellor unveiled a £25.7bn tax-raising package, with [...]
Badenoch claims Reeves’s Budget was designed to ‘milk private sector’ November 13, 2024 The Labour government’s “ideological” Budget was “designed to milk the private sector”, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has claimed. Quizzing Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) today, the Conservative leader accused the Labour leader of “having nothing to offer but platitudes”. She said: “Their ideological Budget was designed to milk the private sector and [...]
Price rises loom as Budget hits Sainsbury’s with £140m costs November 7, 2024 Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts has cautioned that new government measures will hit shoppers with higher prices by adding £140m to the supermarket’s costs. These include a National Insurance hike, and a rise in the UK minimum wage. The increased National Insurance contributions, as announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Autumn Budget, will surge [...]
Sainsbury’s: FTSE 100 retailer warns Reeves’ budget may push up food prices November 7, 2024 Chief executive of Sainsbury’s Simon Roberts has warned that Reeves’ decision to increase employer’s national insurance contributions (NICs) by 1.2 per cent to 15 per cent next April could lead to price inflation. Sainsbury’s has estimated the cost of the change at £140m, according to the Guardian. “This industry operates on very low margins, and there just [...]
Sainsbury’s sells Argos credit cards for £720m in financial services retreat October 31, 2024 Sainsbury’s has struck a deal to sell its Argos credit card portfolio for roughly £720m as the supermarket withdraws further from financial services to focus on retail.
Brits urged to adopt pandemic habits ahead of ‘worst winter in history’ October 11, 2024 With flu, Covid and RSV cases rising earlier than expected , Dr Hilary is calling for Brits to self-diagnose at home where possible.
Sainsbury’s to sell ATM machines after exiting core banking business September 25, 2024 Sainsbury’s has agreed to sell its ATM machines to operator Notemachine three months after offloading most of its banking business to Natwest.