Businessman who woke up and smelt the coffee February 24, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks to Andrew Rugasira, the Ugandan entrepreneur with a new book and a Good African story to tell THE lives of 14,000 farmers in the Ugandan Rwenzori Mountains have been transformed since Andrew Rugasira had his lightbulb moment in 2002. At the time, he was running a prosperous marketing and events company in [...]
Asda to expand George abroad as UK sales slow February 22, 2013 ASDA is to expand its fast-growing clothing brand George into Europe, Britain’s second largest supermarket revealed yesterday, as it reported a slowdown in fourth quarter sales. The Walmart-owned group said it will launch the brand’s UK website in 24 countries by September after George enjoyed “a record year”. It also plans to open more stores [...]
Premiums at Ageas UK pass £2bn for the first time in 2012 February 21, 2013 INSURER Ageas UK, best known for its partnership with Tesco, yesterday revealed that total written premiums passed £2bn for the first time in 2012. This allowed the company to post an 11 per cent rise in full-year net profits to £82.9m. Ageas managed to increase returns at its Tesco tie-up, which sees motor and household [...]
Tesco voted worst supermarket in survey of 11,000 UK shoppers February 21, 2013 TESCO has been voted the worst of Britain’s nine major supermarkets in a poll carried out by one of the leading consumer groups. More than 11,000 Which? members rated the supermarkets with customer scores based on customer satisfaction and the likelihood they would recommend it to a friend. Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket group, came [...]
More than half of UK consumer spend made in supermarkets February 19, 2013 SUPERMARKETS’ slice of consumer spending has dramatically increased during the last decade as consumers spend less on the high street. Around 58p in every pound spent in the retail sector goes to supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s, up from 46p a decade ago, according to data from the Payments Council, the payments services watchdog. [...]
Suppliers back quarterly tests for horsemeat February 18, 2013 ENVIRONMENT minister Owen Paterson last night said food retailers will conduct tests for horse- meat in processed beef products every three months, in an attempt to restore consumer confidence in the industry. “There was absolute determination in the industry to restore confidence in their products, and I’m pleased to say we look forward to meeting [...]
Sugar drinks levy: More interference won’t end obesity February 18, 2013 AMONG the ten point plan published yesterday by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in its “prescription for the nation’s medical crisis”, the headline-grabber was a tax on sugary drinks. An additional 20 per cent charge “would be an experimental measure, looking at price elasticity, substitution effects, and to what extent it impacts upon consumption [...]
Cameron demands India opens up economy to City February 18, 2013 DAVID Cameron yesterday called on India to open up its economy to British banks and insurers, in return for relaxing UK visa rules for executives from the subcontinent. But the Prime Minister faced difficulty as he waded into the debate over two troubled defence contracts and tried to convince India to hand major infrastructure contracts [...]
Cameron blows UK’s trade horn on India visit February 17, 2013 LONDON’S transport expertise and Tesco’s expansion plans will be high on the agenda during Prime Minister David Cameron’s trade mission to India this week. Cameron will arrive in Mumbai today with a delegation of ministers and business bosses including Standard Chartered’s Peter Sands to speak with trade partners in India. Transport for London has sent [...]
Bottom Line: Tesco hopes to charm shoppers February 17, 2013 When Starbucks opened its first stores in Mumbai last October, queues around the Taj Mahal hotel stretched almost to the Gateway of India – the imposing arch on the harbour under which Boris Johnson held a bike-riding photo call a few weeks later. America’s frothy coffee seemed, at the time, to go down much better [...]