Pod Point hires Bank of America to help with float plan – report April 7, 2021 Electric vehicle charging firm Pod Point has reportedly brought on Bank of America to work on a potential stock market float. According to Sky News, the firm could go public at some point this year, with Bank of America working together with Barclays on the deal. Pod Point is majority owned by French energy giant [...]
Supermarket clothing sales double as shoppers seek retail therapy April 7, 2021 Supermarket clothing sales boomed last month as consumers sought in-person shopping experiences while non-essential retailers were closed, in a positive indicator of pent up demand ahead of high streets reopening next week. Sales of clothing at supermarkets doubled to £313m in the four weeks ended 27 March. Home and garden sales also collectively jumped to [...]
Panic over: Brits made 117m fewer trips to the supermarket this March March 30, 2021 Brits made 117m fewer trips to supermarkets this month than in March 2020, which was a month that saw supermarket shelves stripped bare as consumers started panic buying ahead of the UK’s first national lockdown. Grocery sales fell three per cent in the four weeks to 21 March 2021, while during the same period last [...]
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 [...]
Lidl bomb: Three injured in explosion at supermarket’s headquarters February 17, 2021 Three people have been airlifted to hospital after a letter bomb exploded at Lidl’s headquarters in Germany. A further 100 employees were evacuated from the building in the German city of Heilbronn after the package blew up at 3pm, according to local media. A bomb squad has been deployed to the supermarket’s HQ and police [...]
FTSE 100 and Wall Street flat in subdued day for markets January 13, 2021 The FTSE 100 was flat by the mid afternoon as markets slipped into a lull after a rapid start to the year. After rising 6.4 per cent last week, London’s leading index has faltered this week with two consecutive sessions of losses. By 3pm the bourse was down 0.05 per cent at 6,751 points. The [...]
Pressure mounts on big four supermarkets as Lidl enjoys record Christmas sales January 13, 2021 Lidl has strengthened the pressure on its competitors by remaining the fastest growing retailer against the UK’s big four supermarkets of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons. The German chain achieved a record Christmas in 2020 with overall sales increasing 17.9 per cent in the same four-week December period versus the previous year. With Christmas favourites [...]
UK supermarkets secure best Christmas on record as online sales double January 6, 2021 Online share of UK grocery sales doubled in December, helping to drive supermarkets to their biggest Christmas on record. A total of 8.5m households shopped for their Christmas groceries online this year, up almost 3m compared to last year and equating to roughly a third of all UK households. This pushed total spend at UK [...]
Grocery sales on track for bumper Christmas after reaching record high in November December 8, 2020 November was the largest month ever for the UK’s grocery market as out of home socialising was restricted by a second national lockdown, figures show. Market researcher Kantar said grocery sales rose 11.3 per cent in the 12 months to 29 November and climbed 13.9 per cent year-on-year in the last four weeks. Last month [...]
Kingfisher joins supermarkets in returning business rates relief December 7, 2020 DIY retailer Kingfisher has joined a list of retailers announcing plans to repay millions in business rates relief it received at the start of the pandemic. The FTSE 100 firm has announced it will pay back £130m in tax relief, pointing to strong sales since it reopened its UK stores in April amid high demand [...]