2014 brings bad news for Britain’s supermarkets January 9, 2014 Tesco has announced a disappointing set of results for the Christmas and New Year period. In the UK like-for-like sales were down 2.4 per in the six weeks to 4 January. Group sales for the period fell by 1.2 per cent. Chief executive Philip Clarke commented: We continued to invest in the most compelling offer [...]
2013 Christmas quiz – The Answers December 20, 2013 1. Between spring and autumn 2013, which of these countries received the largest upgrade to its 2013 GDP growth forecast from the IMF? a. Indiab. United Statesc. United Kingdom ANSWER – United Kingdom. In April, the IMF forecast the UK would grow by 0.7 per cent in 2013. By October, the IMF had raised this [...]
2013 Christmas quiz: Test your knowledge December 19, 2013 Ian Stewart, Deloitte’s chief economist, poses the trickiest economics questions of the year 1. Between spring and autumn 2013, which of these countries received the largest upgrade to its 2013 GDP growth forecast from the IMF? a. Indiab. United Statesc. United Kingdom 2. Which luxury asset class saw the biggest increase in value between 2003 [...]
Supermarkets slump as half of UK shoppers head to discounters December 17, 2013 FOR THE first time ever, more than half of the UK shopped in either an Aldi or Lidl in the last three months, putting pressure on bigger retailers as the shift toward discount shopping continues unabated. Sales at Aldi surged by 30.7 per cent in the 12 weeks to 8 December while its smaller discount rival [...]
Bottom Line: Aldi and Lidl are not just for Christmas December 17, 2013 IF, AS the saying goes, the customer is always right, then the future of British grocery shopping could soon start to look very different. In the past three months, one in two of us has been to either Aldi or Lidl – the so-called budget supermarkets that now make up a combined seven per cent of [...]
Brand Index: Never mind the hare and bear – Brits are going budget December 17, 2013 OUR RECENT online focus group of people from the so-called “squeezed middle” revealed that they are not feeling the benefits of the economic recovery and also have virtually no faith in politicians (from any political party) to help improve their lot. This week I will delve into which brands the squeezed middle are warming to this [...]
London Report: Supermarket slump sees FTSE fall again after Monday’s lift December 17, 2013 BRITAIN’S main equity index fell yesterday, with big supermarket groups hit by fresh signs of a loss of market share, while uncertainty over future US monetary policy also weighed on the market. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed down by 0.6 per cent, or 36.01 points, at 6,486.19 points, retreating after a 1.3 per cent [...]
Mutuals will stay high street bit players for many Christmases yet December 17, 2013 MUTUALS and co-operatives have been promoted as the acceptable side of business by both arms of the coalition. Nick Clegg has lauded the Waitrose and John Lewis model. Advisers to David Cameron, as well as Vince Cable, have argued that the banking sector would be more stable if more companies followed the mutual model. But [...]
I mince pie with my little eye… December 17, 2013 This week, we salute the humble mince pie. They’re as much a part of a British Christmas as Buck’s Fizz, crackers and pigs in blankets. Here, the City A.M. team gives their verdict on the best luxury pies in the run up to the big day Konditor & Cook Mince Pie Dozen 7.8/10 With the [...]
Supermarket shares slide as customers move to discounters December 17, 2013 More than half of us shopped at Aldi or Lidl in the last 12 weeks for the first time, according to Kantar Worldpanel data. That's seen more premium supermarkets take a hit – Sainsbury's are down by over 2.8 per cent, Tesco by nearly 1.5 per cent, and Morrison has seen a fall of 1.4 [...]