Take a punt and profit from M&A recovery October 19, 2009 FOLLOWING a dearth of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the wake of the financial crisis, returning confidence and cash to credit-constrained companies has seen a flurry of deals and bids over the past month. Yesterday, Stagecoach made a fresh all-share offer for its beleaguered rival National Express despite a consortium walking away from takeover [...]
Tesco beats forecasts with 1.4bn profits October 6, 2009 TESCO chief executive Sir Terry Leahy yesterday said that the UK was “past the low point” of the slump as he unveiled bumper profits and sales. Britain’s biggest retailer said that group sales had jumped 8.3 per cent to £30.4bn during the 26 weeks to 29 August – meaning the giant supermarket chain was ringing [...]
Tesco set to report slower sales growth October 4, 2009 TESCO, Britain’s biggest retailer, is set to report slower underlying UK sales growth than rival J Sainsbury for the fifth quarter in a row this week, alongside a small rise in first-half profit. But analysts expect Tesco to flag a stronger second-half profit performance, and some see signs it is beginning to close the gap [...]
UK boss in shock Aldi departure August 12, 2009 Discount retailer Aldi said yesterday its UK chief was stepping down “by mutual consent”, as sales growth at the company tailed off dramatically. Paul Foley, who has spent the past 20 years with the German group, will be replaced by Aldi executive Armin Burger. The budget supermarket had benefited from the slump, as consumers cut [...]
Supermarkets that reacted to slump are strongest July 21, 2009 THE usual assumption is that the stock market is a “leading indicator” for economic confidence. But as today’s cut of YouGov data shows, it doesn’t lead public sentiment, but is actually behind. The graph shows the BrandIndex scores for public perception of “value for money” (rolling monthly average) for Waitrose, J Sainsbury and M&S, alongside [...]
Northern Foods jumps as warm weather boosts barbecue sales July 15, 2009 FOOD manufacturer Northern Foods yesterday reported solid first-quarter trade, boosted by warm weather, and said it was optimistic it could beat full-year profit targets, lifting its shares by 12.2 per cent to 61.7p. Northern Foods, which makes food products and ready meals for retailers as diverse as Marks & Spencer and Aldi as well as [...]
When the going’s tough, the City goes shopping June 28, 2009 SIR Stuart Rose has recently waived more than £1m worth of Marks & Spencers share options, and could come under more pressure at this week’s annual meeting. Discount retailers like Aldi and Lidl have just announced a slowdown in growth, while on TV Mary Portas has moved from advising high street stores to charity shops. [...]
Fast food prospers as consumers loosen belts June 23, 2009 WHILE the recession continues to claim casualties from a variety of sectors, others are finding that an economic downturn has boosted business. One of the sectors whose BrandIndex scores have notably risen is fast food. As usual, we have created a “basket” of brands (Burger King, Domino’s, KFC, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Wimpy). For comparison, [...]
Aldi and Lidl’s growth rate falling behind June 23, 2009 DISCOUNTERS like Aldi and Lidl are now growing less quickly than British stalwarts such as J Sainsbury and Morrisons in a sign that the traditional supermarkets’ fight-back is succeeding, a survey showed yesterday. Britain’s grocery market grew by a recession-beating 6.5 per cent in the 12 weeks to 14 June compared to the same period [...]
CITY VIEWS: how well are the supermarkets coping with the recession? June 23, 2009 ORRAINE NAYLER ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND“I don’t really go to big supermarkets and prefer to shop in my local stores. But I think the budget supermarkets are benefiting from the downturn – the stigma attached to Aldi and Lidl is probably disappearing and people are looking beyond packaging to non-branded goods if they are cheaper.” [...]