Asda to invest over £500m and create 5,000 jobs January 23, 2012 Asda, the British arm of US retailer Wal-Mart Stores has said it it will invest over £500m this year, opening 25 new stores and three depots and creating up to 5,000 jobs. Britain’s second-biggest supermarket group behind Tesco also said it would extend and refurbish 43 existing stores. The 25 new stores will add over [...]
Peacocks and Past Times hit the wall January 16, 2012 PEACOCKS has confirmed it plans to call in administrators after talks with its lenders to restructure £240m of debt collapsed. The board, chaired by former Asda boss Allan Leighton, said it is still in talks with potential investors but had filed its notice of “intention to appoint an administrator” to try and protect the 611-store [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland pulls plug on Peacocks January 15, 2012 PEACOCKS, the fashion retail chain, is teetering on the brink of administration after Royal Bank of Scotland, one of its senior lenders, pulled the plug on talks to refinance the company. A syndicate of 18 lenders, including Barclays, Goldman Sachs and hedge funds including Och Ziff and Perry Capital, had jointly been working on a [...]
Founder Walker moving ahead in race for Iceland January 15, 2012 RISING concerns over competition laws could clear the way for Iceland Foods founder Malcolm Walker to take control of the supermarket once again. Walker, the chief executive, has moved ahead in the race because Iceland is believed to be worried that a deal with another retailer would not be approved by the Competition Commission. Last [...]
TESCO TO BET £500M ON UK FIGHTBACK January 12, 2012 A RATTLED Tesco is set to splash around £500m on revamping its UK store network and recruiting new staff after it stunned the City with its first profit warning in twenty years. Chief executive Philip Clarke is ready to sanction an investment of “hundreds of millions” of pounds in Britain after the supermarket yesterday posted [...]
Tesco’s marketing strategy needs a new broom in 2012 to sweep away its Clubcard January 12, 2012 THESE were bad figures, Tesco can’t get away from that. Britain’s biggest retailer reported its worst Christmas sales performance for decades on Thursday and warned it would see minimal profit growth next year. Down 1.3 per cent like-for-like (including VAT) in the UK was much worse than any other figures we’ve had from the major [...]
Sainsbury’s sales top forecasts January 11, 2012 Grocer J Sainsbury beat Christmas sales forecasts as store extensions and its expansion into convenience outlets, online shopping and non-food ranges helped it weather a tough market. Britain’s third-biggest supermarket group behind Wal-Mart’s Asda and industry leader Tesco said on Wednesday sales at stores open over a year rose 2.1 per cent excluding fuel in [...]
Our schools must be open to business so we can have a bright economic future January 10, 2012 NOW that pupils are back at school, it’s time to help them get down to business. One key question they need to be asked is: “Hands up who wants to go into business?” Their answer will not only shape the life chances of millions of young people, but will also have a dramatic impact on [...]
Tesco loses market share in run-up to Xmas January 10, 2012 Britain’s biggest retailer, lost grocery market share in the run-up to Christmas as rivals fought back against its price-cutting campaign and cash-strapped shoppers flocked to discount stores, according to new data. Market researcher Kantar Worldpanel said grocery sales rose 4.8 per cent in the 12 weeks to 25 December. That lagged a 5.9 per cent [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WERE MORRISONS’ RESULTS IN LINE WITH EXPECTATIONS? January 9, 2012 PHILIP DORGAN | PANMURE GORDON Christmas trading was slightly below best expectations, although in line with the market. Morrison’s shares were fantastic performers in 2011 and, while we see no real downside, we expect others within the sector to pick up the baton in 2012. CLIVE BLACK | SHORE CAPITAL We deem such a performance [...]