CBI distributive trades survey: Britain’s retailers are expecting a slow summer July 29, 2015 A widely watched industry survey has shown UK retailers expect sales volumes to weaken further next month, after an already disappointing performance in July. The CBI distributive trades survey said 30 per cent of firms expect sales volumes to rise in the year to August, while 17 per cent said they expect them to fall, [...]
Sainsbury’s share price edges up as it sells pharmacy business for £125m July 29, 2015 Shares in Sainsbury's rose 0.7 per cent to 261.1p after it announced a deal with the German owner of UK chain LloydsPharmacy to sell its pharmacy business for £125m. Read more: Growth at Co-op for the first time in a year as Tesco and Asda decline yet again As part of the deal, Celesio’s LloydsPharmacy will [...]
Supermarket wars: Growth at Co-op Food for first time in a year, as Tesco and Asda decline yet again July 28, 2015 The Co-Operative supermarket is back in growth for the first time in a year, as Sainsbury's reclaims its second place position in the sector. The sector experienced slight growth for the 12 weeks to 19 July, with sales up 0.8 per cent year on year – though this was generally experienced by the smaller [...]
David Cameron looks to City for new business advisory group with bosses from BP, EasyJet and Santander July 27, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron has appointed a new slate of 19 City leaders to his business advisory group, including more than a dozen chief executives of UK blue chips. The chief executives of BP, Legal & General, EasyJet, Land Securities, the London Stock Exchange Group, Persimmon, Asda, ARM, Severn Trent and Rolls Royce all [...]
The Co-operative Group gets upgrade from S&P: The Co-op is moving up in the (credit ratings) world July 23, 2015 Good news (at last) for the troubled Co-op Group. Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has upgraded its credit one notch to BB, saying the outlook for the business “is stable”. This pat on the back comes after the business returned to profit in April, turning around the situation a year earlier when it made [...]
There could be a pill that stops gluten intolerance in just three years July 23, 2015 For years, gluten intolerance has stopped millions of people enjoying some of the most delicious foods around, but scientists at the University of Alberta in Canada think they've found a way to treat the disorder. Read more: Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Asda recall “gluten free” products over fears they contain gluten They have created a [...]
Amazon Prime Day is not the new Black Friday as British retailers have little appetite for mega sales… yet July 15, 2015 Not content with helping bring the horror of shoppingeddon to the UK in the form of Black Friday, Amazon is now attempting to create its own, even bigger version, with Prime Day. Last year Black Friday went from being a US tradition us Brits mocked as the embodiment of America's tendency to take things to [...]
Eagle Eye wins Sainsbury’s vouchers deal July 7, 2015 EAGLE Eye Solutions, a retail and hospitality voucher firm backed by Sir Terry Leahy, saw shares jump 7.3 per cent yesterday after striking a deal with the ex-Tesco boss’s former supermarket rival Sainsbury’s. The company, which floated on Aim last year, will handle all of Sainsbury’s digital offers and vouchers using its so-called AIR platform, [...]
Wagamama hires retail veteran Allan Leighton as new chairman July 5, 2015 Asian restaurant chain Wagamama is set to appoint Allan Leighton as chairman, paving the way for further expansion overseas. The retail and leisure veteran, best known for turning around supermarket chain Asda, has had a prolific career chairing and advising companies including Royal Mail, the Co-operative Group, and retailers BHS, Peacocks and Pandora. [...]
Tesco share price falls, sales slide as discounters march on ahead June 30, 2015 Tesco shares were dealt a blow yesterday, after industry figures revealed another slowdown in sales at the troubled supermarket chain – despite its recent efforts to turn itself around. Data from Kantar Worldpanel showed sales at Tesco fell by 1.3 per cent in the 12 weeks to 21 June, underperforming the overall grocery [...]