Asda promises turnaround after sales hit rock bottom August 19, 2015 ASDA chief executive Andy Clarke insisted that the company was seeing the first “green shoots” of a recovery despite revealing its worst ever quarterly result in the 16 years it has been owned by US chain Wal-Mart. The supermarket chain, which recently lost its position as Britain’s second-largest food retailer to Sainsbury’s, said like-for-like sales [...]
UK immigration: Businesses including Asda, Lloyds Banking Group, Rolls-Royce, Siemens warn Tories over migration curbs August 14, 2015 Britain’s biggest businesses have warned the government against tightening rules for employing foreign workers, saying that new restrictions could increase costs, jeopardise graduate schemes and encourage firms to move their operations overseas. Asda, Lloyds Banking Group, Rolls-Royce, Siemens and others made their case in formal submissions to the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), a group of [...]
Sainsbury’s TU clothing website goes national August 13, 2015 Sainsbury’s has launched its TU clothing website across the UK for the first time today, as it seeks to challenge high street rivals and bolster its position in fashion. The supermarket chain, which has been trialling its online service since August last year, said its TU womenswear, menswear and childrenswear are now available for next [...]
Round and round in Broadgate circle August 12, 2015 Broadgate circle will become a speed-cycling hub today, as the business campus welcomes the return of the ASDA StreetVelodrome Series Super Final. The pop-up velodrome will see the fastest members of the public from the regional heats compete to win the series alongside pro-riders including Olympic track gold medallist Craig MacLean, elite rider and TV [...]
Pandora rings up strong sales in UK August 12, 2015 DANISH jewellery brand Pandora said UK sales jumped by a third in the second quarter, as consumers snapped up its charm bracelets, rings and necklaces. The group, which was led until recently by former Asda boss Allan Leighton, said group revenue increased by 41.4 per cent to DKK 3.6bn, thanks to strong growth in the [...]
Decline of physical entertainment market slows – but DVD, CD and video game sales still slide August 10, 2015 Things seemed to be looking up for physical entertainment market. Although fewer people are buying video games, CDs and DVDs, the rate of decline has slowed in the last quarter, while several major retailers even recorded an increase in sales. Figures released this morning by Kantar Worldpanel show that the physical entertainment market shrank by three [...]
Supermarket sales slide into reverse as price war hits petrol pumps August 10, 2015 A fierce supermarket price war at both the tills and the petrol pumps has caused sales in the sector to shrink for the first time since records began over 20 years ago. With retailers kicking off another round of petrol price cuts today, fresh data shows how supermarket giants’ troubles are dragging on the UK’s [...]
Dairy farmers blockade Morrisons distribution centre over falling milk prices August 7, 2015 Dairy farmers have stepped up their protests against supermarket price wars, saying they will not be “bullied by British retailers”. This week has seen a swathe of protests directed at supermarkets including Morrisons and Asda. Last night farmers and their families staged a human blockade at Morrisons' regional distribution centre in Bridgwater. Unions [...]
Tesco and Sainsbury’s vs Asda and Morrisons: Britain’s biggest retailers row over Sunday trading laws August 5, 2015 British businesses are readying for a fight over government plans to shake up Sunday trading rules. The government will today open a formal consultation on proposals to give local areas the power to allow large shops to open for longer on Sundays. Current laws allow smaller shops to stay open all day, but limit larger [...]
Jerky Group and Cruga form beef snacks empire August 4, 2015 THE JERKY Group has merged with biltong and meat snacks-maker Cruga to create the largest beef snack manufacturer in Europe with combined turnover of around £12m. Founded in 2000, The Jerky Group’s brands include Wild West Jerky, Hogbites pork crackling and BullOx Biltong. It also produces Dragon’s Den entrepreneur Joe Walters’ beef jerky brand Texas [...]