Is it time for Mike Coupe to check out as Sainsbury’s boss? May 1, 2019 Mike Coupe was met with rapturous applause from his fellow directors when he stepped up to the microphone this morning, as he hailed the coming of an era in Sainsbury’s history that would see it thrive having merged with long-time rival, Asda. Coupe spoke boldly about price cuts and cost savings, and finished with a [...]
Sainsbury’s slips behind supermarket rivals after Asda merger blocked April 30, 2019 Sainsbury's sales fell behind those of rivals in the three months to the end of April, according to data released just a week after the supermarket's £7.3bn Asda merger was blocked. Sainsbury’s suffered a 1.2 per cent fall in sales compared to the same period last year, data group Kantar's statistics showed, while Aldi and Lidl [...]
Which telecoms companies have the worst customer service? April 30, 2019 Talktalk has been named and shamed in a report into customer satisfaction at UK telecoms firms, ranking bottom of the table for the third year running. The latest report by regulator Ofcom revealed which broadband and phone companies have the most and least satisfied customers, based on the complaints it received last year. Read more: [...]
Exclusive: Lawyers who took on Lloyds and Tesco launch new funder-backed firm April 29, 2019 A group of lawyers who are taking on Lloyds Banking Group and Tesco in multi-million pound group actions have launched a new firm backed by a heavyweight litigation funder. The new firm – Harcus Parker – is a breakaway from London firm Harcus Sinclair led by its head of litigation Damon Parker. The firm has [...]
Sainsbury’s: Buyers bet that shares have seen the low April 26, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. Trading within a whisker of a record low, a lot of bad news is already written into the share price. Yesterday’s humiliation of Sainsbury (J) (LSE:SBRY) and its boss Mike Coupe has not stopped investors from piling into the supermarket giant’s shares in the belief the chain can bounce [...]
Competition watchdog kills Sainsbury’s £7.3bn Asda merger: What went wrong? April 25, 2019 Almost a year to the day since Sainsbury’s first revealed that it was in merger talks with Asda, it has all come crashing down. In late April 2018 the two retail giants were losing market share to German discounters Aldi and Lidl, and the threat of Amazon moving into the grocery sector was very real. [...]
Which consumer survey reveals UK’s worst mobile network providers April 23, 2019 Vodafone has been ranked the UK’s worst mobile operator as big-name providers continue to lag behind their smaller rivals. Vodafone was rated the worst network, while O2 and EE completed the bottom three, according to the latest survey from consumer group Which. Read more: Vodafone broadband advert banned by watchdog for misleading consumers Virtual network [...]
Tesco and Dunelm defy retail gloom April 16, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. Impressive updates from Tesco and Dunelm show opportunities still exist in the embattled retail sector. A big hike in the Tesco (LSE:TSCO) dividend and an “incredible” trading update from Dunelm Group (LSE:DNLM) today combined to remind Brexit-weary investors there is life in the retail sector after all. The near-doubling [...]
China is proving a tough market for western brands – here’s the common mistakes that companies keep making April 12, 2019 Last week, the International Monetary Fund upgraded its 2019 growth forecast for the Chinese economy to 6.3 per cent, up from 6.2 per cent. For comparison, the UK economy is only expected to grow 1.2 per cent this year. It’s worth noting these figures, because they highlight why many brands in the UK and elsewhere [...]
CBI chief calls for second Brexit referendum if MPs can’t ‘get their act together’ April 11, 2019 Another EU referendum should be held if MPs are unable to “get their act together” and sign off a Brexit deal, the president of the CBI has insisted. Speaking after the EU granted a second delay to the UK’s withdrawal from the organisation, John Allan said going back to the public could well be the [...]