Store wars: Lidl attacks Morrisons with combative ad campaign October 4, 2014 Lidl have launched a new ad campaign, ridiculing Morrisons's attempts to match their prices. This may sound like dry advertising rivalry, but the gauntlet has been well and truly thrown down. Great advertisement from @LidlUK – very clever response to @Morrisons price pledge. pic.twitter.com/zUwrEKms6c — Steve Myall (@stevemyalleats) October 4, 2014 The advert lists the steps [...]
UK supermarkets vs German discounters: Morrisons gets tough as Buffett attacks Tesco October 2, 2014 Britain’s embattled supermarkets have finally begun their fight back against German discounters Aldi and Lidl who have been eating their lunch in recent months with double-digit growth in the sector. Morrison, the UK’s fourth biggest supermarket, will launch its first customer loyalty card today, along with a price-matching scheme that its chief executive has labelled [...]
Best of the Brokers for 03 October 2014 October 2, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com SAINSBURY Nomura has maintained its “neutral” rating, but cut the target price to 270p from 305p. Nomura remains of the theory that Sainsbury is seeing some relative slowdown, and may now be an underperformer compared to sector rivals, as Asda strengthens and Morrison [...]
Sainsbury’s new boss Mike Coupe blames “perfect storm” for sales drop October 1, 2014 Sainsbury's new chief executive said that a “perfect storm” of effects had plunged sales further into the red in the second quarter as the supermarket retailer cut its full-year sales forecast and warned that it might review its dividend. In his first official trading update since taking over from Justin King in July, Mike [...]
Supermarkets sweep to the bottom of FTSE – London Report October 1, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index fell yesterday to its lowest closing level in nearly six months, as a new slump in the shares of supermarket retailers hit the market. The sentiment was also hit by news that Britain’s manufacturing grew at the slowest rate in 17 months in September as demand weakened at home and in [...]
Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons: Have investors given up on supermarkets? October 1, 2014 Tesco's share price has fallen 3.4 per cent today. Wm Morrison's has declined by 5 per cent. Sainsbury's share price tumbled 6.6 per cent. Although they operate in the same sector, each of these three supermarkets is suffering its own problem. So what is happening? Tesco's well documented £250m black hole in its [...]
Endless Capital sells Kiddicare two months after £2m takeover September 30, 2014 ENDLESS Capital has sold Kiddicare to online retailer Worldstores just two months after buying the mother and baby products site for £2m from Morrisons. The turnaround specialist bought Kiddicare in July after Morrisons’ disastrous ownership of the site. The Yorkshire-based grocer bought Kiddicare in 2011 for £70m as part of its bid to build its [...]
Morrisons exec is charged with insider dealing September 29, 2014 MORRISONS’ former treasurer and head of tax has been charged with insider dealing ahead of the retailer’s £216m tie-up with Ocado last year. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said yesterday it had charged Paul Coyle with two offences of insider dealing. He will now face criminal proceeding and is set to appear before Harrogate Magistrates’ [...]
Morrisons ex-treasuer and head of tax Paul Gerard Coyle charged with insider trading over Ocado shares September 29, 2014 A former treasurer and head of tax for Morrisons has been charged with insider dealing in relation to Ocado share trading. Paul Gerard Coyle has been charged by the Financial Conduct Authority with two counts of insider dealing related to trading shares in the online grocery delivery service between February and May 2013. A £200m partnership between [...]
City Moves for 29 September 2014 | Who’s switching jobs September 28, 2014 Deloitte The business advisory firm has announced two appointments to its hedge fund practice. Chris Farkas (pictured) joins as UK hedge fund leader. He was European head of hedge fund consulting in Deutsche Bank’s prime brokerage group, and has also held senior roles at GlobeOp and Goldman Sachs. Brian Forrester, a partner with Deloitte in [...]