Aldi and Lidl sales growth slows as discounters struggle to compete with Big Four’s online capabilities March 2, 2021 The growth of the discount supermarkets Lidl and Aldi has slowed as the Big Four UK grocers benefitted from their more established online presence during the pandemic. German budget grocers Lidl and Aldi reported that sales were up 10.9 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively in the 12 weeks to 21 February. However, three [...]
Labour’s Anneliese Dodds hints at support for online sales tax on tech giants March 1, 2021 Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has called for the government to level the taxation playing field between digital and bricks and mortar retail in a potential call for new online taxes. Dodds said at a pre-Budget address on Bloomberg that there was a “big gulf on how businesses based in bricks and businesses based on clicks [...]
Online share of grocery sales hits record level during third lockdown March 1, 2021 The third national lockdown pushed the share of online grocery sales to a record high in January, double the level the previous month. The pandemic has accelerated the shift to online shopping with Britain’s big four supermarkets expanding their capacity during the crisis. The online share of grocery sales hit 16 per cent in January, [...]
Plus-size fashion retailer N Brown reshuffles board amid chairman’s exit February 25, 2021 N Brown, the plus-size fashion retailer, announced this morning that its chairman will step down to focus on his other business activities. The firm, which owns Simply Be and Jacamo, said Matt Davies will leave the group from 31 March and will be replaced by Ron McMillan, who will subsequently give up his senior independent [...]
Asda puts 5,000 jobs at risk in online shopping push February 25, 2021 Asda has put around 5,000 jobs at risk as it aims to simplify the business and focus on its online shopping offer. The grocer this morning said it had begun formal consultations with 5,000 employees, but that it will create 4,500 new jobs in online operations this year. The supermarket has proposed the simplification of [...]
Asda web sales soared 76 per cent ahead of billionaire Issa brothers takeover February 18, 2021 Asda web sales soared 76 per cent in ahead of billionaire Issa brothers takeover
Could the ‘circular economy’ be the answer to post-Covid growth? February 18, 2021 January’s third lockdown and fallout from Brexit have added insult to the injuries inflicted in 2020, and Britain’s economic outlook hasn’t been looking very bright in recent weeks. With the Chancellor continuing to pump money into relief schemes, with more desperately needed cash set to be announced in the March budget, those early pandemic conversations [...]
WPP buys Brazilian software engineering firm DTI Digital February 10, 2021 Creative transformation company WPP has acquired DTI Digital, a leading digital innovation and software engineering firm. DTI’s digital services help clients become more connected to their customers, through the development of support systems such as data collection software. The Brazilian company scales up its expert development teams in response to client needs, comprising more than [...]
Burnley and Asda are unlikely warnings of debt-driven troubles February 10, 2021 It has been a week of mixed messages. Not just on the release from lockdown, but on the economy. The Bank of England indicated that banks have been given six months to prepare for negative interest rates. The Monetary Policy Committee was quick to clarify that this did not mean that they would necessarily cut [...]
UK supermarket chiefs call for online sales tax on firms like Amazon February 8, 2021 Some of the UK’s largest retailers, including Tesco and Asda, have called for Rishi Sunak to “rebalance the tax base” between online and bricks and mortar retail in an apparent push for a new digital sales levy on firms like Amazon. In a letter to Sunak, 18 chief executives and union bosses said “online retailers [...]