Can debt-ridden Morrisons become a Big Four supermarket again? Retail “Nothing but difficult” is how one retail analyst describes the road ahead for Morrisons boss Rami Batiéh. Since taking charge of the grocer in November 2023, the chief executive has faced an uphill battle, as the group – once a firm member of the UK’s ‘big four’ – is outpaced by its rivals. Batiéh, whose [...]
Budget supermarket Iceland’s sneaky jab at Big Four management consultants Retail Supermarket chain Iceland has shared a subtle dig at management consultants on its website. There is a tongue and cheek reference to a £16m spend on external consultancy firms which include Big Four giant PwC, during a turbulent era for the business in the early 2000s. The retailer, known for selling frozen food, published a [...]
Supermarkets ‘actively shielding’ shoppers as food inflation falls again Retail Food inflation fell again in July to its lowest level in nearly five years, as retailers claim they are “actively shielding” consumers from worse price rises. The rate of food price inflation slipped to 1.3 per cent last month, down from 1.7 per cent in June, to reach the lowest point since September 2021. Industry [...]
Picky Brits: Heatwave fuels surge in finger food spending August 18, 2026 Record summer temperatures have driven a surge in “picky bits” spending as British shoppers rush to the chilled aisle in a boost to UK supermarkets. The sweltering heat is causing Brits to cut back their grocery bills, instead spending little and often on items like olives and quiche, according to figures from Worldpanel by Numerator. [...]
Burnham’s crackdown on ‘price-gouging’ splits supermarkets August 17, 2026 Tesco and Sainsbury’s have stood firm after the boss of Aldi hit out at loyalty discounts, as a “price-gouging” row threatens to divide British supermarkets. Giles Hurley, the chief executive of the discount grocer, has backed the government’s plans to clamp down on retailers which offer “misleading” discounts which do not offer real-terms value. Aldi [...]
Aldi boss wades into supermarket ‘price-gouging’ row August 16, 2026 The boss of Aldi has waded into the bitter row over whether supermarkets are profiteering off of struggling customers as he backed a government crackdown on “rip-off” discounts. Giles Hurley, the chief executive of the discount grocer, said the government is “right” to take on misleading discounts and promotions “in their work to tackle cost [...]
Could a ‘land blocking’ rule change spell danger for Aldi and Lidl? August 13, 2026 German discounters Aldi and Lidl have rapidly taken control of the UK’s budget grocery market in recent years. But could new curbs on ‘land blocking’ slow their insurgency? Only a few decades ago, Lidl and Aldi were oddities. By 2008, the German discount supermarkets had been in the UK for more than 10 years but [...]
Brits think supermarkets are profiteering – despite slowing food inflation August 12, 2026 The majority of Brits think that supermarkets are profiteering from rising food prices caused by the Iran war despite the Chancellor John Healey recently admitting there was little evidence of the practice, new polling has revealed. Some 70 per cent of UK voters believe that supermarkets are making “excessive” profits from food inflation, according to [...]
Back to basics: Sainsbury’s gradual retreat from the British high street August 8, 2026 Sainsbury’s deal to sell its catalogue retailer Argos marks the latest step in the grocer’s years-long retreat from a high street conglomerate back to its core food business. The FTSE 100 supermarket giant holds a 15 per cent market share of grocery stores, second only to Tesco. But the firm once had a sprawling business [...]
Sainsbury’s to sell Argos in £120m cut-price deal July 31, 2026 Sainsbury’s has said it will sell long-struggling catalogue retailer Argos for £120m, a fraction of the £1.4bn it bought it for a decade ago. The supermarket giant has struck a deal with Swift Partners – a new company led by On the Beach chairman Richard Pennycook and former Morrisons boss Trevor Strain. Their takeover will [...]