German discounter Aldi pledges to pay all UK staff above National Living Wage October 26, 2015 Aldi has set out to trump its supermarket rivals on pay by announcing today that it will pay all UK staff "significantly" above the living wage. The discount food retailer said all UK employees will be paid at least £8.40 an hour, and £9.45 in London from February 2016. This is ahead of the government’s national living wage of £7.20 an [...]
Customer service: How brands like Ryanair have taken it from ugly sister to Cinderella October 23, 2015 During our annual convention on customer service in Glasgow next month, one of the key speakers will be Carol Anne O’Neill of Ryanair. This might strike you as ironic given the budget airline’s historically poor reputation for pared down, no frills customer service. But it’s a clear sign of how the times are a changin’ [...]
The nightmare before Christmas: Aldi and Lidl hammer Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco October 21, 2015 Britain's biggest supermarkets are facing a crunch Christmas as the pressure from German discounters Aldi and Lidl is ramped up, with experts warning of a bloody battle for this year’s festive season. The German duo have both seen growth rates return to over 17 per cent in the past three months, according to data from [...]
The nightmare before Christmas October 20, 2015 Aldi and Lidl hammer British supermarkets BRITAIN’S biggest supermarkets are facing a crunch Christmas as the pressure from German discounters Aldi and Lidl is ramped up, with experts warning of a bloody battle for this year’s festive season. The German duo have both seen growth rates return to over 17 per cent in the past [...]
Trouble for the big four supermarkets as Aldi and Lidl growth speeds up again October 20, 2015 German discounters Aldi and Lidl both saw growth rates return to over 17 per cent over the last three months, dashing hopes for the Big Four that a slowdown earlier in the year may have been part of a longer term trend. The cut-price chains have been the fastest-growing grocers in the sector for some time now. But in [...]
Asda backtracks on London expansion plans as it seeks to revive flagging sales October 19, 2015 Asda has become the latest supermarket to backtrack on store opening plans after scrapping ambitions to expand in London in favour of reviving deteriorating sales at existing stores. US-owned supermarket chain said it is “temporarily” slowing down the planned expansion of smaller format stores in London as well as its programme to develop more stand-alone petrol [...]
UK farmers get a funding boost: £138m given to rural communities to help them grow October 16, 2015 In an attempt to help UK farmers grow and diversify their business, the government is giving them access to £138m of funding. Under a scheme dubbed LEADER, rural communities will be able to use the money to support projects in their local area, such as the creation of farm shops and ice cream parlours, or the [...]
Government to give one-off milk payment for dairy farmers as Morrisons launches premium milk brand October 12, 2015 Struggling dairy farmers across the UK are to receive a one-off payment to help ease their cash-flow problems caused by the volatile price of milk, the government announced today. Farmers in the four nations of the UK will receive a cut of £26.2m between them. The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) plans to ensure the aid reaches [...]
Tesco launches “immediate” price match guarantee against Sainsbury, Asda and Morrisons October 12, 2015 Tesco has launched a new "immediate" price match service, promising to give money back to customers if they could have bought branded goods cheaper elsewhere. Tesco's Brand Guarantee will enable customers to receive money off their bill at the checkout – both in person and online – if the overall cost of their branded grocery shop [...]
Tesco share price rises as bosses dip into their pockets and buy stake in troubled supermarket chain October 8, 2015 Tesco's board have thrown their support behind the embattled supermarket group by buying nearly half a million pounds worth of shares. Chief executive Dave Lewis has spent £200,000 of his own cash to buy his first 99,950 shares in the grocer. Non-executive directors Richard Cousins and Mikael Olsson have also invested in the business for the [...]