Asda boss Andy Clarke adds £500m fuel to the supermarket price war with Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons as well as discounters Aldi and Lidl ahead of supermarket Christmas earnings bonanza January 10, 2016 Asda is throwing a further half a billion pounds at the supermarket price war as boss Andy Clarke predicted another "challenging" year for the sector. "There is currently no growth in the food market and the rise of the limited assortment discounters means that we must take radical action to win back our customers," said [...]
Former Asda executive Paul Kelly faces prison over £180,000 flood victims fraud January 6, 2016 A former Asda executive could face time in prison after defrauding the supermarket's charity fund of £180,000. Paul Kelly, a former vice-president of corporate affairs at the Leeds-based firm, pleaded guilty to seven counts of fraud at Leeds Crown Court on Monday after diverting money that was intended for assisting flood victims to support his partner's ballet company, Murley Dance, [...]
Card Factory gets new chief executive Karen Hubbard from B&M to replace Richard Hayes January 6, 2016 Card Factory has appointed the current chief executive of bargain retail chain B&M, Karen Hubbard, to fill the shoes of its outgoing boss. Hubbard will take over from Card Factory's chief executive, Richard Hayes, in Mid-April. Hayes is due to leave at the end of June, after a four-month transition period. Hubbard held a number of senior [...]
Tesco, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl, Asda and Sainsbury’s: What to expect from the supermarket sector’s Christmas results January 5, 2016 Supermarkets were going for broke this Christmas, after a poor year of trading for the likes of Tesco, Morrisons and Asda, with Sainsbury's the only one of the Big Four in growth in the run-up to the festive period. But with challengers Lidl and Aldi stealing market share from the price conscious, while Marks & Spencer and [...]
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons diesel prices lowered to 99.7p falling under £1 for first time since 2009 amid falling oil prices January 3, 2016 The price of diesel will fall below £1 for the first time since 2009 at all Big Four supermarkets as Tesco and Asda were first to announce the cost of filling up will cost less, bringing a new year gift to motorists across the country. Supermarkets will drop the price per litre to 99.7 pence from Monday, with both [...]
Amazon expands Pantry online supermarket as it lays out fresh challenge to UK’s Big Four supermarkets Asda, Tesco, Sainbury’s and Morrisons December 29, 2015 Amazon’s foray into the supermarket sector has quickly become a success, after the online retail giant announced plans to expand its new Pantry service in the UK next year. In other words, there's more disruption ahead for the UK’s troubled traditional supermarkets. The “Big Four” – Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons – are struggling to keep up [...]
The UK’s spending power fell to its lowest in 12 months in November December 29, 2015 It seems the UK's shoppers are feeling less flush, after a new survey found they had £193 of spare cash last month – that's £14 a week, compared with November last year. But while Asda's Income Tracker suggested weekly income has now risen by double digits for 13 months in a row, it was lower than the £17 [...]
Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons and even Lidl supermarkets slash Christmas 2015 advertising spend December 22, 2015 Britain's beleaguered supermarkets have slashed the amount of cash they are spending on advertising over Christmas this year, with Tesco and Sainsbury's cutting budgets by as much as 30 per cent. Troubled Tesco made the biggest cuts to its festive advertising, spending almost £3m less in a four week run up to the big day compared to last [...]
Sir Ken Morrison has taken a £6m stake in rival Sainsbury’s December 21, 2015 The outspoken former chairman of Morrisons has taken a £6m stake in rival supermarket Sainsbury's. Sir Ken Morrison now owns 2.6m share in Sainsbury, while his son William owns 2.1m, giving the pair a combined £11.9m stake. The man who once told Morrisons' chief executive Dalton Phillips his strategy was "bulls***" has gone further than just implied support. [...]
In the last days of Christmas, Asda gave to me: £4m investment into customer service December 17, 2015 Getting stressed about Christmas shopping? Asda thinks it might have the solution. The Walmart-owned supermarket has just ploughed a further £4m into its customer service department for the last two weeks ahead of the big day, hoping to take the fuss out of the festive season. The company has deployed 8,000 staff as "Go-Getters for Forgetters", [...]