Every Lidl helps when it comes to boosting local house prices September 21, 2014 Living close to a discount store such as Lidl can increase the price of your property by almost £30,000, according to research released today. Research by online estate agents Housesimple.co.uk looked at the location of Lidl supermarkets in some of the major towns and cities across the UK and found that, in 80 per cent [...]
Marketing to millennials: Is Generation Y really all that different? September 21, 2014 Talking to advertising and media executives these days, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there’s an alien group lurking among UK consumers. Millennials, we are told, are different. Born between 1980 and 1995, they split their summers between south-east Asia and Bestival, often sporting torn jeans, face paint and/or a pair of Google Glasses. When [...]
Philips needs solid numbers if he’s to see through his three-year plan – Bottom Line September 11, 2014 So you’ve had a row with your other half, and the next day, with the ensuing awkwardness still lingering, your eyes drift towards the posh chocolates in Waitrose. Combine ’em with some flowers, you reckon – chuck in a faux-sentimental card and maybe even a two-day break in Bruges – and hey presto, problem solved. [...]
Tesco beware: Aldi to double UK store count September 11, 2014 Tesco beware – Aldi has set its sights on the UK as a market ripe for growth, and it's backing its expansion plans with £70m. The budget supermarket today announced plans to almost double the number of stores in the UK from 531 to 1,000, and expand its UK headquarters in Atherstone, Warwickshire. The [...]
Analysts to the fore in big sectorial shakeups September 9, 2014 ANALYST of the year The role of the analyst has become increasingly important at such an uncertain time in the economy, when everyone is looking for guidance. With the UK retail sector in turmoil over the decline of Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s, Waitrose and especially Tesco – caused mainly by the rise of the German discounters – their views [...]
Three charts showing the challenges facing new Tesco boss Dave Lewis September 1, 2014 New Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis starts his job today, a month earlier than originally anticipated. The supermarket is clearly desperate: on Friday it issued a profit warning saying it expected full-year profits to hit £2.4bn, rather than the £2.8bn expected. The company has been battling against the increasing might of discounters Aldi and Lidl, [...]
Tesco share price: What the analysts are saying August 29, 2014 Tesco's profit warning – its second in just over a month – came out of the blue this morning, but its sentiment has been known for a while. The supermarket's struggles are well documented, from loss of market share against Lidl and Aldi, and growth at a 10-year low. Here's how analysts have responded to Tesco's [...]
Bill of the Week (It’s Back!): Lidl’s lavish V&A dinner August 28, 2014 Bill of the Week is coming out of retirement for a special appearance today. But contrary to its predecessors, which regularly toted up the price of umpteen bottles of Krug and countless Grey Goose martinis, this bill is all about frugality. One might call it a really Lidl bill. One of our roving reporters [...]
Calling all trendies and urbanites: Lidl’s £20m ads are aimed at YOU August 27, 2014 German discounter Lidl is gambling £20m on a new national TV advertising campaign to grab more middle-class shoppers from Tesco and Sainsbury’s. The ad, unveiled last night at the Victoria & Albert Museum, shows shoppers trying products at an East End market, only to find out that they were from Lidl. Products include Lidl’s £11.99 [...]
Morrisons fights back as Tesco’s sales get worse August 27, 2014 The challenges facing Tesco incoming boss Dave Lewis were further laid bare yesterday after figures out yesterday showed a worsening sales performance at Britain’s largest grocer. According to data from Kantar Worldpanel, Tesco’s sales declined by four per cent year-on-year in the 12 weeks to 17 August. This means its market share fell to 28.8 [...]