Retail round up: What’s happening on the high street? January 11, 2019 Not as bad as it could have been. That’s the general feeling about high street performance over Christmas after major retailers and the supermarkets published their festive figures this week. The British Retail Consortium says that 2018 was the worst Christmas for retails for 10 years but, as ever, the figures show there are winners [...]
Super Thursday: Embattled retailers could learn from the Tesco turnaround plan January 10, 2019 It wasn’t only children who traditionally looked forward to Christmas: time was when Yuletide sales could be guaranteed to give a substantial boost to Britain’s retailers. No longer. A slew of dismal results published today showed Christmas figures sharply down for a number of household names including M&S and Debenhams, in what the British Retail [...]
Tesco reports sales boost over Christmas period January 10, 2019 Tesco has beaten expectations after the supermarket reported a 2.6 per cent boost in like-for-like sales over the Christmas period. The sales success was driven by the grocer’s “festive five” vegetable offer, which sold 19.7m units over the three weeks to Christmas, promotions on lamb and beef joints and 25 per cent off six bottles [...]
Aisle be damned: The knives are out for big UK grocers January 9, 2019 Aldi and Lidl’s tills jingled all the way in December – handing them their highest-ever combined market share for the festive season, data from Kantar Worldpanel showed this week. All the major supermarkets lost market share in the 12 weeks to 30 December as Aldi’s sales jumped 10.4 per cent while Lidl’s were up 9.4 [...]
Sainsbury’s suffers Christmas sales slowdown as Black Friday hurts the supermarket January 9, 2019 Like-for-like sales at Sainsbury’s fell by 1.1 per cent over the Christmas period, the supermarket said today. Total sales excluding fuel dropped by 0.4 per cent in the 15 weeks to 5 January, while general merchandise sales fell by 2.3 per cent and clothing by 0.2 per cent. Read more: Aldi sales hit £1bn in record Christmas [...]
Discounters win war of the supermarkets amid sluggish Christmas growth January 8, 2019 Aldi led the way during a record-breaking Christmas for groceries, even as sales growth slowed across the sector. The supermarket increased sales by 10.4 per cent, narrowly beating fellow discounter Lidl to the top spot, figures from Kantar Worldpanel show. “The discounters have continued to make their mark over Christmas: two-thirds of all households shopped [...]
Supermarkets drop fuel prices for seventh time since October January 7, 2019 Supermarket chains Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons will cut prices at fuel pumps from tomorrow as a lower oil price continues to be passed on to consumers. For the seventh time since late October Asda has said it will lower the price at its 320 petrol stations. Customers will pay 1p per litre less for unleaded petrol, or no [...]
Sainsbury’s begins search for new banking chief as Peter Griffiths prepares to retire January 3, 2019 Sainsbury’s has begun the search for a new chief executive of its banking division after confirming Peter Griffiths will step down next year. Griffiths, who has been in charge of Sainsbury’s Bank since 2012, will step down in 2020, Sky News first reported. The supermarket chain confirmed it was in the “early stages” of finding [...]
If you’re not into wine and beer, here are the Christmas spirits we think you should stock up on over the festive period December 19, 2018 Whether you’re looking for a gift, throwing a party, or fortifying yourself to spend time with your family, the festive period is a peak time for boozing. Here are some suggestions to get you in the Christmas spirits: Appleton Estate Rare Blend 12 Year Old Jamaica Rum Christmas and rum go together like pirates and rum. [...]
Carrot or stick? For Aldi and Lidl, equal pay goes hand in hand with commercial success December 13, 2018 Kevin the Carrot, who once again features in Aldi’s Christmas advert, is proving a bigger hit with shoppers than even Elton John, star of the John Lewis ad. Soft-toy versions of the animated vegetable sold out at 4am on the day of release in some areas and have reportedly provoked fights among customers desperate to [...]