Sainsbury’s beats Tesco, Asda and Morrisons as only top supermarket in growth while Kantar warns of impact Amazon Fresh will have on sector September 22, 2015 Yet more bad data for the Big Four was released today – plus a hint that there could be a fresh problem facing the UK's supermarket sector, in the form of Amazon Fresh. Sainsbury was the only supermarket among the Big Four to keep pace with the sector's growth over the last quarter, with Asda's [...]
Lidl promises to pay above the National Living Wage to all its UK staff September 18, 2015 Lidl has already beaten the big four supermarkets on price. Now, the German discounter also plans to trump them on employee benefits, after revealing that it will pay its staff above the living wage from October. The fast-growing chain announced yesterday that it will adopt the new higher rate it expects the Living Wage [...]
Lidl plots London expansion drive with 280 stores September 11, 2015 German discounter Lidl is going after London middle class shoppers with plans to open a huge swathe of stores in upmarket boroughs, including Notting Hill and Mayfair. The retailer, which has been rapidly gaining market share, yesterday announced ambitious plans to open 280 stores in London and the M25 area. The areas it [...]
John Lewis Group warns of lower profits for 2015 due to higher pension costs September 10, 2015 The John Lewis Partnership has warned of lower profits this year on the back of pension charges and low price inflation. The figures John Lewis reported a 1.9 per cent increase in revenue to £4.5bn for the first half of the year ending 1 August against the same period last year. Like-for-like sales were down [...]
Aldi and Lidl market share: The only way is up for discount supermarkets September 9, 2015 No-frills retailers such as Aldi and Lidl are set for decent growth in the UK, with experts predicting that an overall rise in spending will offset any substitution towards pricier retailers as the economy recovers. “With consumer confidence at its highest point in many countries since the global recession and economic growth expected to continue… [...]
Tesco: Here’s who is eyeing up its South Korean business Homeplus September 8, 2015 Embattled retailer Tesco has reportedly invited five private equity firms, and one department store chain, to bid for its South Korean unit Homeplus which is valued at around about $6bn (£3.9bn). US-based KKR and Carlyle Group are among the potential runners and riders, according to a report by Reuters. London-based CVC Capital Partners, Hong Kong-based Affinity Equity Partners and [...]
Ex-Sainsbury’s boss Justin King takes on first big role since leaving September 7, 2015 The former chief executive of Sainsbury's, Justin King, is set to take on his first major role since leaving the supermarket last year. King, who is widely credited with reversing the fortunes of the supermarket chain, is due to become vice-chairman of private equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners. "A source close to Terra Firma [...]
“Drastic Dave” Lewis is delivering at Tesco with £4.2bn sale of South Korean arm Homeplus to MBK September 7, 2015 Ever since Dave Lewis was appointed chief executive of Tesco last year, he has made strengthening the balance sheet a priority for the troubled retailer. Although Homeplus in South Korea was a profitable business, the focus has been on protecting Tesco’s UK market share in light of increasing competition from lower priced discounters, such as [...]
Milk emergency: Farmers face water cannons as they stage huge protest in Brussels against falling prices September 7, 2015 Today, thousands of farmers have driven their tractors into Brussels to protest against falling milk prices in Europe. They are gathering outside the headquarters of the European Union, bringing traffic to a standstill. The protest coincides with an emergency meeting held by the EU Agriculture Council in the Belgian capital. Anti-riot police have [...]
Morrisons pulled up on Match & More price-match advert claims against competitors Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi and Lidl August 26, 2015 Morrisons has been told it must be clearer about its promise to match the prices of competitors, including Aldi and Lidl. The supermarket's Match & More scheme, which is the only one of the big four to match the prices of the German discounters, has been pulled up by the advertising watchdog for not clearly [...]