M&S sales rise but year ahead set to be harsh January 11, 2011 MARKS & SPENCER saw sales rise in the key Christmas period but the retailer warned that 2011 would be tough, with austerity measures and the spectre of inflation rises to take their toll. Same-store sales rose 2.8 per cent in the UK in the 13 weeks to 1 January despite the impact of the snow. [...]
Northern Foods and Greencore plan merger November 17, 2010 Food manufacturer Northern Foods has agreed to merge with Ireland’s Greencore Group to create a combined group with annual sales of around £1.7bn. The deal will see the creation of a combined business to be named Essenta Foods which will be headquartered in Dublin, the companies said in a joint statement. Northern Foods shareholders will [...]
Frozen food fall hits Northern November 9, 2010 Northern Foods yesterday posted a 34 per cent fall in first-half underlying pre-tax profit as it was hit by lower demand at its Frozen division, which makes pizzas to pies. The company, which makes own-label products for retailers as diverse as premium food seller Marks & Spencer and discounter Aldi, said trading conditions at its [...]
Restructuring cuts Northern Foods’ costs October 5, 2010 food manufacturer Northern Foods saw sales growth accelerate in its second-quarter and said it was changing the structure of its business to save money as it braces for a possible double-dip recession. “We don’t know whether there’s going to be a double-dip or not but we are planning for it and keeping a weather eye [...]
Lidl loses UK managing director after one year September 6, 2010 LIDL UK managing director Frank-Michael Mros is understood to have stepped down from his post. According to reports in Germany, where Lidl is based, Mros, who replaced Marcel Oosterwijk last summer, stepped down from the post last week. Lidl declined to comment yesterday. His appointment was controversial as he was the previous boss of Germany [...]
Food inflation to benefit UK supermarkets September 6, 2010 UPWARD pressures on food prices appear to be here to stay. Global demand is increasing while droughts and fires last month hit harvests in Russia and Ukraine. Market researcher Kantar Worldpanel anticipates that UK grocery inflation will rise to an annualised 4 per cent by the end of 2010 from its current rate of 2 [...]
Aldi’s co-founder Theo Albrecht dies July 28, 2010 THEO Albrecht – one of the founding brothers of the Aldi grocery chain – has died at the age of 88. Albrecht had a personal fortune of more than £10bn. He died in his home city of Essen, on Saturday. Together with his brother Karl, two years his senior, he built up Europe’s biggest budget [...]
Graduates with chutzpah can find jobs July 28, 2010 IT’S tough out there for graduates. A survey by the Association of Graduate Recruiters found that for every job there are 68.8 applicants, with the number going up to 205 for jobs in food, confectionary and cosmetics. Aldi, the supermarket chain, received 12,000 applications for 50 places on its management scheme. Seventy-eight per cent of [...]
Northern Foods revenues slide July 13, 2010 Food manufacturer Northern Foods said sales fell in the first quarter of its fiscal year, reflecting its decision to pull out of low margin contracts. The company, which makes own-label products for retailers as diverse as premium food seller Marks & Spencer and discounter Aldi, said yesterday comparable sales were down 1.6 per cent in [...]
Northern Foods relies on Goodfella’s June 1, 2010 NORTHERN Foods has said it hopes the relaunch of Goodfella’s pizzas will help it to cope with tough trading conditions as it yesterday repor?ted flat annual profits. Chief executive Stefan Barden said the firm aimed to replicate the success it achieved with the relaunch of its Fox’s biscuits, which lifted it to number two in [...]