Christmas just got tougher for Tesco, Sainsbury and Morrisons: Lidl adds “discount” oysters to its deluxe range November 21, 2014 In a year dominated by the rise of the discount grocer, it's perhaps no surprise that Lidl and Aldi will be pulling out all the stops to bring consumers a bit of low-cost luxury. Lidl, which launched a £5 lobster in 2009, has a track record of doing exactly that but this year it's pulling [...]
Retail rebounds as shops shrug off growth fears November 20, 2014 SALES on the high street saw a rebound in October after a sharp September dip. Retail sales volumes were 0.8 per cent higher in October than in September, according to figures published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics. “Given recent concerns that the UK economy has been losing momentum and the importance of consumer [...]
Supermarket price war fails to save sector as it enters negative sales territory for first time on record November 18, 2014 The supermarket "price war" has failed to help kick-start sales, with the sector falling into negative territory for the first time since records began in 1994. Sales were down 0.2 per cent for the 12 weeks to November 9, according to Kantar Worldpanel. The average basket price of everyday goods such as milk, bread [...]
Supermarkets Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons told they must shrink to survive in war against discounters Aldi and Lidl November 17, 2014 Supermarkets need to dramatically scale down their store estates if they want to stop haemorrhaging sales and return to growth, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs who sent a stark warning to the retail industry. In a research note published yesterday, Goldman Sachs said Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons must cut space by around 20 per [...]
Are you a Waitrose Wendy or a Tesco Tracey: How do the UK’s supermarket shoppers look? November 17, 2014 What does a Waitrose shopper look like, and how would you tell them apart from a Sainsbury's regular? There's actually not much to choose between them, according to YouGov, which has just released the best visualisation tool we've seen for a while. What YouGov says is particular (as opposed to generally true) about [...]
Sainsbury’s Christmas advert 2014: Storm surrounding marketing seen by turn as epic or disrespectful November 16, 2014 The film had its world premier on Wednesday. Some 8m people have already tuned in to see it and it has split critics down the middle, being described as “a masterpiece”, “grim”, “epic”, and “disrespectful”. It’s not the latest blockbuster movie, but Sainsbury’s two-minute Christmas ad. There was a time, not so very long [...]
Asda sales fall for first time since 2010 but market share grows as boss Andy Clarke heralds strong performance in “distressed market” November 13, 2014 Having largely kept its head above water as sales and market share sinked at fellow supermarkets, Asda is finally feeling the pinch. The supermarket published figures today showing sales slipped for the first time since 2010 during its third quarter. The UK’s second largest supermarket said like-for-like sales fell 1.6 per cent in the three [...]
Sainsbury’s to slash prices as profits plunge November 12, 2014 SAINSBURY’S boss Mike Coupe said yesterday that the retailer was “taking the fight to the enemy” as he unveiled plans to cut costs and its dividend to fund a £150m price offensive against its discount supermarket rivals. The grocer’s nine-year run of uninterrupted sales growth came to a grinding halt this year as changing shopping [...]
March of the discounters: Sainsbury’s share price rises as it promises £150m price cuts November 12, 2014 Newly-installed Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe has taken the bull by the horns, promising a £150m "investment" in price cuts in order to compete with increasingly powerful discounters such as Aldi and Lidl. Investors were clearly impressed: shares rose four per cent as the market opened. The supermarket posted results showing its worst first-half performance [...]
Aldi to hire 35,000 new staff for expanding discount drive November 10, 2014 GERMAN discounter Aldi is to create 35,000 new jobs and employ up to 1,000 apprentices as it continues to expand its presence in the UK, the company announced yesterday. During a visit from the Prime Minister David Cameron to the chain’s headquarters in Atherstone, Warwickshire, Aldi reiterated its commitment to increasing the number of stores [...]