From Greek elections and Apple’s record-making profits to Thameslink floods and Afren’s misery: Here’s what got us talking this week January 30, 2015 News was dominated by results from the US this week, but it was Apple that really made waves with its history-making profits of $18bn in one quarter. Here are five things that put that into perspective. (Hint: It's huge). Meanwhile as the results of the Greek election began to sink in, investors started reacting. [...]
Tesco closures prompted by discount rivals January 29, 2015 DISCOUNT rivals Aldi and Lidl could be the reason that supermarket giant Tesco decided to shut 43 of its stores. The retail group announced earlier this month that it was closing unprofitable branches across the UK, and yesterday revealed which stores it had singled out. Of the 43 listed, 74 per cent are within two [...]
Analysis: Why has Tesco chosen to shut these 43 stores? January 29, 2015 Tesco has now announced the 43 stores that it plans to close. 18 Express stores, 12 metro stores, seven superstores and six Home Plus stores. The closures will start taking effect from March. What does it tell us about their location strategy when one looks at the stores set to close? It is a [...]
Tesco store closures: 74pc of axed branches have an Aldi or Lidl nearby January 29, 2015 Discount supermarkets could be partly responsible for Tesco's plans to close 43 unprofitable stores in the UK – with the vast majority of struggling stores located near a low-price alternative. In a bid to change the fortunes of the struggling supermarket, Tesco's new chief executive Dave Lewis announced the store closures yesterday, saying the decision was [...]
Waitrose plans expansion and 2,000 new jobs January 27, 2015 Waitrose announced plans yesterday to create 2,000 new jobs as the upmarket supermarket continues to expand its presence and grab a greater slice of the grocery market. The chain, owned by the John Lewis Partnership, will open 14 new stores from spring this year including seven Little Waitrose convenience stores and seven supermarkets, including one [...]
Mooove over Sainsbury’s: Waitrose claims its dairy farmers get the cream of milk prices January 26, 2015 Premium supermarket Waitrose has lifted the lid on its dairy practices following Sainsbury's attack ad last week, insisting it pays “a fair price” for its milk. The John Lewis Partnership-owned grocer was among those to appear on the naughty list of businesses that were accused of not supporting British fresh milk farmers. The [...]
Tesco launches supplier network as supermarket rebuilds trading relationships January 22, 2015 Tesco has launched an online network for its 5,000 suppliers, as the supermarket attempts to heal the rift with its trading partners. The supermarket giant has come under fire in recent months for the way it deals with its suppliers as the fall-out from its £263m profit blackhole continues to land. The revelation [...]
Two of the big four supermarkets pay less than the cost of production for milk, Sainsbury’s advert claims January 21, 2015 Sainsbury's has revealed how much supermarkets pay farmers for milk- and claims that at least two of the big four stump up less than the cost of production. The figures have been released as part of the grocer's latest ad campaign, which claims that “at Sainsbury's we support our British fresh milk farmers,” asking [...]
Ex Tesco-chief Sir Terry Leahy: Supermarket suffered “failure of leadership” under Philip Clarke January 19, 2015 The man widely credited with turning Tesco into Britain's biggest supermarket chain has criticised his successor, saying there was a "failure of leadership." "People tried very hard to do the right thing, it clearly has not worked," former chief executive Sir Terry Leah said in an interview to be broadcast on the BBC's Panorama programme tonight. "In [...]
In a supermarket version of The Apprentice, Alan Sugar would have a whale of a time January 16, 2015 Imagine an Apprentice supermarket special – Alan Sugar, flanked by his experts, reviewing the practices of the big supermarkets each week. “[Morrisons' soon-to-depart chief exec] Dalton Phillips, you took far too long to introduce smaller convenience stores, ecommerce and a delivery service. The other supermarkets have had these things for years. Honestly, man. What [...]