Tesco and Sainsbury’s vs Asda and Morrisons: Britain’s biggest retailers row over Sunday trading laws August 5, 2015 British businesses are readying for a fight over government plans to shake up Sunday trading rules. The government will today open a formal consultation on proposals to give local areas the power to allow large shops to open for longer on Sundays. Current laws allow smaller shops to stay open all day, but limit larger [...]
The Jerky Group and Cruga merge to create £24m beef snacks empire August 3, 2015 The Jerky Group has struck a deal to merge with biltong and meat snacks-maker Cruga to create the largest beef snack manufacturer in Europe with a combined turnover of around £12m. Founded in 2000, The Jerky Group’s brands include Wild West Jerky, Hogbites pork crackling and BullOx Biltong. It also produces Dragon’ Den entrepreneur Joe Walters’ [...]
Tesco drops annoying self-checkout “unexpected item in the bagging area” phrase July 30, 2015 No longer will shoppers be scolded by a machine telling them there are unexpected items in the bagging area, after Tesco announced the decision to drop the intensely annoying phrase from its self-checkouts. After feedback from customers, the supermarket has decided to make the automated voice a little friendlier, calling the current tones "a source [...]
Tesco’s ban on sugary drinks is fine – as long as the government keeps away and consumers can still vote with their feet July 28, 2015 As a libertarian, I don’t quite know what to think about Tesco’s decision to drop Ribena and other sugary drinks for kids. On its own, I can see the advantages. As part of a broader trend, it’s a little worrying. So why might Tesco be doing this? Let’s take it for granted that Tesco [...]
Supermarket wars: Growth at Co-op Food for first time in a year, as Tesco and Asda decline yet again July 28, 2015 The Co-Operative supermarket is back in growth for the first time in a year, as Sainsbury's reclaims its second place position in the sector. The sector experienced slight growth for the 12 weeks to 19 July, with sales up 0.8 per cent year on year – though this was generally experienced by the smaller [...]
The world’s biggest emojis were just created by Tesco Mobile in a field near Bath to cheer up commuters July 22, 2015 The world's biggest emojis have been created in a field near Bath to cheer up weary commuters. With the help of 25 artists and 700 litres of paint, a giant smiling face emoji that spans 100ft – the equivalent of three double decker buses – graced the outskirts of the Somerset city while a mysterious [...]
Tesco’s Harris + Hoole coffee shops lose founders and bosses Nick, Andrew and Laura Tolley July 22, 2015 The founders and bosses of Harris + Hoole, the coffee shop chain part-owned by Tesco, are leaving the company amid the supermarket's asset sell off. The sibling founders Nick Tolley, Andrew Tolley and Laura Tolley, who are chief executive, coffee director and chief design officer respectively will depart next month, Retail Week reports, retaining their [...]
Iceland boss Malcolm Walker: Which? supercomplaint over supermarket offers was “b*****ks” July 17, 2015 Iceland boss Malcolm Walker – the supermarket sector's answer to Michael O'Leary – has blasted the Which? supercomplaint over misleading deals as “bollocks”. The consumer group took a petition signed by more than 100,000 to the Competition and Markets Authority earlier this year, claiming it had found examples of “dodgy special offers” that led [...]
Competition and Markets Authority accuses supermarkets of “confusing” promotions July 16, 2015 You could say the UK's competition body has just told supermarkets to BOGOF, after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) accused supermarkets of "confusing" people about special offers The after a major three-month investigation, the CMA said with 40 per cent of spending on groceries going on items on offer, shoppers are still being misled [...]
Tesco share price falls, sales slide as discounters march on ahead June 30, 2015 Tesco shares were dealt a blow yesterday, after industry figures revealed another slowdown in sales at the troubled supermarket chain – despite its recent efforts to turn itself around. Data from Kantar Worldpanel showed sales at Tesco fell by 1.3 per cent in the 12 weeks to 21 June, underperforming the overall grocery [...]