Supermarkets blindsided by ‘shambolic’ stockpiling warning Retail Supermarkets have been caught off guard by the government’s “shambolic” campaign to urge Brits to stock up on supplies of food and water, industry sources told City AM. Retailers were not told the details of the government’s “Be Ready” campaign until days before it was announced and expected it to be a more “low key” [...]
Supermarket giants welcome crackdown on Aldi and Lidl Retail Supermarket giants, including Waitrose and Morrisons, have welcomed the competition watchdog’s decision to crack down on Aldi and Lidl. Lidl and Aldi are currently excluded from a law which bans the UK’s biggest supermarket chains from engaging in so-called ‘landblocking‘. Top grocers have already warned that the existing rules allowed the two German discounters to use a “problematic” [...]
Sainsbury’s hopes to regain narrative after Morrisons merger bombshell Retail Sainsbury’s is set to update the market on its latest numbers this week. But the City has one thing in mind: merger talks with Morrisons, writes Felix Armstrong As Sainsbury’s boss Simon Roberts gears up to face the market later this week, business hacks will be getting used to the usual riposte: no comment. The [...]
B&M joins battle to ‘cherry pick’ Poundland stores in sale October 19, 2026 Discount retailer B&M has joined the tussle to pick off select Poundland stores as its Boston-based owner Gordon Brothers eyes a rushed sale of the company. London-listed B&M European Value Retail is interested in acquiring a small number of Poundland stores, should the retailer be broken up if a buyer for the whole company is [...]
Lidl eyes Poundland bargain as sale of discount retailer ramps up October 15, 2026 Discount supermarket Lidl has tabled a bid for a single Poundland shop in the hope of scooping up more stores if the retailer is broken up, City AM has learned. The German grocery chain has put in an offer to Gordon Brothers, which owns the retailer, in which it would initially buy one store if [...]
Mark Kleinman: Every Lidl helps a new era of supermarket mergers October 15, 2026 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his City AM column. Every Lidl helps a new era of supermarket mergers Every Lidl helps. For that matter, every Aldi does too. With apologies to the creators of Tesco’s famous advertising slogan, that might be the neatest way to encapsulate [...]
Lidl snaps up market share as rival Aldi stalls October 13, 2026 Lidl is the fastest-growing grocer in the UK, new figures suggest, as the discount supermarket grabs more market share while its rivals stall. The German discounter held 8.6 per cent of the UK’s grocer market in the 12 weeks to October, according to Worldpanel by Numerator, up from 8.2 per cent a year ago. This [...]
Sainsbury’s merger talks mark end of supermarket big four October 7, 2026 It is approaching a decade since Mike Coupe, then Sainsbury’s boss, was caught on a hot mic singing “we’re in the money” as his supermarket announced its impending takeover of rival grocer Asda. He was forced to apologise for the outburst, which was caught on camera while he waited to be interviewed by ITV News. “This [...]
Sainsbury’s and Morrisons held talks over blockbuster merger October 5, 2026 Sainsbury’s walked away from talks over a merger with smaller rival Morrisons earlier this year, shelving what would have been the biggest shake-up of the UK’s grocery market in decades. The UK’s second-largest supermarket chain held preliminary talks with its private-equity-owned rival over a merger of the two firms between November 2025 and February this [...]
Lidl doubles down on loyalty pricing despite Aldi attacks October 5, 2026 Lidl grew its profit and revenue last year after pulling in an additional 43m shopping trips, as the discount grocer doubled down on its loyalty price scheme. The German firm and rival Aldi have swept to dominance of the budget grocer market in recent decades, but Aldi has hit out at its competitors for allegedly [...]