Aldi just became the UK’s fifth largest grocer February 7, 2017 Aldi has become the UK's fifth largest grocer by market share, overtaking the Co-op. According to data from Kantar Worldpanel, Aldi grew its sales by 12.4 per cent in the 12 weeks ending 29 January. Its share of the market now stands at 6.2 per cent. Read more: A Lidl competition: Aldi becomes the highest-paying supermarket in the UK [...]
When it comes to public perception it pays not to short-change staff February 1, 2017 Towards the end of December, there was a row involving luxury department store Harrods. Waiting and kitchen staff took industrial action because they alleged that the business’s owners retained up to 75 per cent of service charge, which reduced pay by up to £5,000 a year. Harrods has subsequently vowed to let staff keep 100 [...]
Five numbers that explain the merger between Tesco and Londis owner Booker January 27, 2017 This morning, Tesco announced it would be making the biggest supermarket merger in UK history and would be gobbling up wholesaler Booker Group. Here are five key numbers that explain the landmark deal. £3.7bn The deal has valued Booker at £3.7bn; each Booker shareholder will get 0.861 shares and 42.6p in cash for every Booker share. [...]
Why the UK is falling out of love with fashion: M&S, Debenhams and Ted Baker offer solutions to the high street clothing crisis January 24, 2017 In 2016, Britons were focused less on fashion, and more on enjoying themselves. We ate out and drank more, but spent less on clothes. In other words, we “shifted towards the experience economy”, according to Richard Lim, chief executive of Retail Economics. “Since Brexit, the components within the economy holding up well have been consumer expenditure [...]
This is the most popular brand in the UK (and it’s not even from here) January 19, 2017 Aldi and Lidl have topped YouGov's ranking for the most popular British brands, beating well-heeled rivals John Lewis and Marks & Spencer. Every week last year YouGov asked a group of consumers whether they had heard good or bad news about the biggest brands in Britain – and the German immigrants came out on top. Read more: Aldi bags [...]
A Merry Lidl Christmas: Lidl doubles Prosecco sales in record Christmas trading January 11, 2017 Lidl has bagged its best ever Christmas sales figures as it doubled its Prosecco sales in December. The discount grocer celebrated a 10 per cent sales increase year-on-year in December, but shoppers weren't just reaching for the booze – sales of carrots parsnips, Brussel sprouts and potatoes jumped 60 per cent. Turkey sales increased by 40 per [...]
Supermarkets had a record Christmas – but prices are rising January 10, 2017 Supermarkets had a record Christmas period in 2016, with sales growing at their fastest rate since June 2014, but prices are finally starting to rise following the Brexit vote. The latest figures from Kantar Woldpanel show that sales were up 1.8 per cent for the 12 weeks ending 1 January. Consumers spent nearly half a billion pounds [...]
Aldi bags record Christmas sales after a year of store openings January 9, 2017 Aldi boosted its Christmas sales in 2016 after a bumper year of store openings. The discount supermarket opened seventy new stores throughout the year, leading it to 15 per cent year-on-year sales growth in December – its highest growth since landing in the UK in 1990. Aldi did not disclose its like-for-like sales growth for the [...]
Christmas spending splurge fails to push high street sales into positive territory January 6, 2017 High street shops ended a disappointing year with a dismal performance during the festive season, failing to land positive sales despite bumper spending in the week before Christmas. Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, meaning shoppers had an extra day to spend, but like-for-like sales growth on the high street still came in at [...]
A Lidl competition: Aldi becomes the highest-paying supermarket in the UK January 5, 2017 Aldi has given its employees a late Christmas present as it unveiled new pay rates this morning – and boasted that the new deal will make it the highest-paying employer in the supermarket sector. The supermarket is known for offering the cheapest groceries in the UK, but is now insisting it won't settle for a [...]