Kantar figures show Aldi and Lidl combined now account for 10 per cent of UK grocery market November 17, 2015 Budget supermarkets Aldi and Lidl now account for 10 per cent of all spend on the British grocery market for the first time since they launched in the country, new figures reveal. The two grocers have stolen market share from the more established supermarkets in a short period of time. Just three years ago, their [...]
Discounters Aldi and Lidl pick up the space race left by Big Four supermarkets November 15, 2015 The big four supermarkets may have called an end to the space race. But for Aldi and Lidl the race has just begun, after new figures show the discounters have submitted plans for nearly five times as many stores. The latest data from construction data firm ABI Barbour shows that Aldi has submitted 93 planning [...]
Morrisons hires Post Office boss Paula Vennells as “restructuring” board strategist November 12, 2015 Could there be more changes in store for Morrisons? The struggling supermarket has hired Paula Vennells, the boss of the Post Office, citing her "restructuring" experience as being "invaluable". Vennells will join the board as non-executive director from 1 January. She is taking over from Johanna Waterous, who is leaving after six years. Vennells has been chief executive of [...]
Fast food chains Domino’s and McDonald’s could have lessons for other retailers November 11, 2015 How do you get stuff to people? This seemingly straightforward question poses a dilemma that continues to bamboozle retail executives throughout the world. While many of us are fascinated by products of the future – driverless cars, 3D printers, the internet of things – an equally significant challenge lies in how to bring today’s goods [...]
Christmas 2015: Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda predicted to clean up this festive season – but Aldi, M&S and Lidl will beat Morrisons November 10, 2015 Black Friday might be set to be less of a big deal this year but Christmas is going nowhere. In fact, the UK is expected to spend £16.5bn on food, drink and presents during the festive season – up 2.5 per cent from last year. That's an average of £442 per person, according to data from [...]
Dollar rises to seven-month high as non-farm payroll smashes expectations November 6, 2015 The US dollar rose to its highest in seven months as US non-farm payroll smashed expectations in October. The US economy added 271,000 jobs, against the 180,000 expected, pushing the .DXY US dollar index up 1.2 per cent to 99.15, its highest since April. Meanwhile, the dollar jumped 1.16 per cent against the pound, to 66.51p. The jobless [...]
FTSE 100 falls after interest rates are left on hold – London Report November 6, 2015 The Bank of England’s (BoE) decision to keep interest rates at record lows for the 80th month wasn’t able to prevent the FTSE closing down last night, finishing with a loss of 0.8 per cent at 6,364.9 points. The FTSE had been trading in negative territory throughout the morning ahead the BoE’s announcement but rallied [...]
FTSE 100 index opens marginally down despite gains from RSA, AstraZeneca and Glencore November 5, 2015 The FTSE 100 opened marginally lower this morning, despite a positive outlook from AstraZeneca and RSA, and continued support for Glencore following on from yesterday. The UK's top bluechip index was down 0.25 per cent at 6,395 points, led lower by supermarket Morrisons, which reported sales continued to tumble this morning. Total sales excluding fuel were down two per cent, while [...]
Morrisons share price falls as interims show profits plummet 35 per cent; chief executive David Potts admits turnaround will be “a long journey” November 5, 2015 Morrisons' share price fell this morning after the supermarket revealed yet another set of bad results, with underlying profits down more than a third. The figures The troubled supermarket, which yesterday sold off its convenience stores arm, said underlying pre-tax profits had tumbled 35 per cent to £117m, while turnover had dropped 5.1 per cent [...]
Morrisons third quarter results: Sales fall again but chief executive David Potts remains upbeat November 5, 2015 Sales continue to fall at troubled supermarket Morrisons – but the new team headed by David Potts are putting a brave face on the turnaround process. The figures In the 13 weeks to 1 November, total sales excluding fuel were down two per cent, while like-for-like sales dropped 2.6 per cent. The supermarket, which is at the beginning of [...]