‘Pump-price competition is broken’: AA disagrees with watchdog’s verdict that 5p tax duty cut WAS passed on at the pump July 8, 2022 Motoring groups have disagreed with Competition and Markets Authority’s verdict that the 5p fuel duty cut was reflected in pump prices, as the watchdog calls for further investigation and more transparency. The CMA’s urgent review, ordered by Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, found an increase “refining spread” added 24p a litre to petrol and diesel over [...]
Lurpak row: ASDA says £6 butter with security tag is not UK-wide policy or related to cost of living crisis July 5, 2022 ASDA has said it does not have a UK-wide policy to put security tags on butter in relation to the cost of living crisis. The supermarket giant responded after a journalist shared an image on social media, showing a pack of Lurpak in one of its stores, costing £6, with a tag on. This comes [...]
Boots posts uplifted sales as owner Walgreens shelves plans for £5.5bn auction June 30, 2022 Boots has posted buoyant quarterly retail sales after its parent company abandoned plans to sell the chemist this week. In third quarter results, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) stated profit was down on last year but had surpassed Wall Street expectations. The retail pharmacy giant posted adjusted earnings of $0.83bn or $0.96 per share for the [...]
Boots’ owner ditches plans for £5bn sale of chemist as market conditions ‘beyond our control’ June 28, 2022 Boots’ US owner has confirmed it has given up on its ambitions to sell the UK chemist after a beleaguered sales process. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has opted to retain ownership of Boots, with the firm citing “unexpected and dramatic change” felt by the global financial markets in the past few months. A statement from [...]
AA praises Asda for not surging petrol prices as diesel approaches dreaded £2 litre milestone June 24, 2022 Motoring group the AA has praised supermarket chain Asda for preventing further fuel surges, as the price of diesel moved within 0.2p of the dreaded £2-litre. The organisation’s fuel price report showed this morning that on average, big oil firms’ forecourt reached the milestone, but it could have been much worse. The AA said while [...]
Cost of living crunch: Shoppers exposed to extra £380 on yearly grocery bill June 21, 2022 Shoppers are now facing an additional £380 to their annual grocery bill as grocery price inflation has hit its highest level in 13 years. According to freshly published data from insight firm Kantar, grocery price inflation hit 8.3 per cent over the past four weeks, the highest level since April 2009. It comes as all [...]
Retail chiefs to meet with Treasury amid fears of fading interest in online sales tax June 20, 2022 Top retail bosses will meet with a Treasury minister later this week with the hopes of reigniting government interest in launching an online sales tax and reforming the current rates system. According to a report by Sky News, executives from retail powerhouses including Amazon, Asda, ASOS, Currys and JustEat Takeaway, are to meet with the [...]
Asda chair calls for business tax relief amid historic inflation levels June 19, 2022 Retail grandee Stuart Rose has said the government was too slow to move on the cost of living crisis and historic levels of inflation. The Asda chair and former Marks & Spencer boss has urged ministers to help struggling households amid the “tough times.” Speaking on Aquis Exchange’s Full & Frank podcast, Rose said Asda [...]
Concerns over Boots auction as buyers struggle to raise finance June 19, 2022 There has been speculation that the sale of Boots may collapse as potential buyers face difficulty with lenders as consumer confidence dwindles. It comes as New York-based private equity firm Apollo and Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries have reportedly proposed an offer of between £5bn and £6bn. The Sunday Times reported that the joint bid was [...]
Tesco to reveal consumer spending habits with update this week June 12, 2022 Supermarket giant Tesco is set to shed more light on how customer spending is holding up as shoppers deal with rapidly increasing food inflation. The UK’s biggest grocer will reveal how trading has performed over the three months to May when it updates shareholders on Friday June 17. Tesco has been resilient despite pressure on [...]