Sainsbury’s cuts back on Nectar loyalty rewards April 12, 2015 Sainsbury’s has halved the number of Nectar points its customers can earn, sparking fears that frustrated shoppers will turn to discounters such as Aldi and Lidl instead. The retailer made changes to the loyalty scheme this weekend, meaning members now only earn one point for every £1 spent in-store and online, as opposed to two [...]
Majestic Wine gets Naked truth from new CEO Rowan Gormley April 12, 2015 The new chief executive of Majestic Wine says he will “unleash” the retailer’s entrepreneurial spirit and shake-up its online business following the £70m acquisition of younger rival Naked Wines. Rowan Gormley founded Naked Wines in 2008 after coming up with the idea of using crowdfunding to help forward-fund independent vineyards in return for exclusive wines [...]
Easter “masks” wider problems in supermarket sector as price war continues to take toll on Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and Morrisons April 10, 2015 Supermarkets experienced their first growth in spend during March – but the early Easter is “masking” the sector's problems, Nielsen claims. Sales rose 0.7 per cent for the four weeks to March 28 against the same period last year. The last time grocers saw an increase in spend was April last year, when Easter distorted [...]
Aldi becomes sixth biggest food retailer but sales growth slows April 8, 2015 ALDI has overtaken Waitrose as the UK’s sixth biggest supermarket, according to figures out yesterday that also cautioned that growth among the discounters was slowing. Aldi’s sales grew by 16.8 per cent in the 12 weeks to 30 March compared with a year earlier, taking its market share to 5.3 per cent, data from Kantar [...]
Aldi plans store assault on Greater London April 8, 2015 Aldi is planning to open a further eight stores in Greater London this year, creating 600 new jobes, as part of the supermarket's plans to double its presence around the UK. The new stores will be in Enfield, South Norwood, Tooting and Coulson. It will also open in Ewell, Surrey; Dartford in Kent and Essex [...]
Aldi knocks Waitrose off its spot as UK’s sixth biggest supermarket April 8, 2015 Aldi has overtaken Waitrose to become the UK's sixth biggest supermarket. The budget supermarket, which has recorded double-digit sales growth for the past four years, now has 5.3 per cent of the country's spend on groceries, according to Kantar Worldpanel. Waitrose is still in growth – in fact just one of three to see [...]
Zero inflation is the new normal: The world can’t evade its debts forever March 31, 2015 Zero inflation is trending. The consumer price index in the UK was at the same level in February as it was a year earlier. The reporting of this figure on the BBC website created some unintended amusement, however. The drop to zero, we were told, was “sharper than many analysts had expected”. And what was [...]
Five Morrisons execs leave as Potts swings axe March 24, 2015 Five members of Morrisons' management team are on the way out, after new boss David Potts swung his axe. Group customer marketing and digital director Nick Collard, group retail director Martyn Fletcher, group property and strategy director Gordon Mowat, group logistics director Neal Austin and convenience managing director Nigel Robertson are all leaving. "I will [...]
Surprise as UK inflation falls to zero for first time since current records began in 1989 March 24, 2015 Inflation fell to zero in February for the first time since current the current records began in 1989, moving Britain closer to deflation, official statistics showed today. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics showed prices didn't increase at all in February compared with the same time a year ago. The figure came [...]
Aldi aims to leave rivals in its wake by adding 60 new stores March 23, 2015 Discount retailer Aldi looks set to outpace the big four this year as it ramps up plans for further expansion by opening 60 new stores in the UK this year. While the chain opened its first UK outlet 25 years ago, it was not until the onset of the financial crisis – and the subsequent [...]