Tesco to splash £11m on Dave Lewis and Philip Clarke rescue operation July 21, 2014 Tesco will spend more than £1.8m on its new chief executive Dave Lewis but up to £9.6m on departing boss Philip Clarke as the supermarket puts its faith in the industry outsider to turn its sales around. Clarke’s shock departure and his replacement with Unilever’s president of personal care, who will start in October, comes [...]
Too big to succeed? How Tesco’s new leader can take on the toxic retailer July 21, 2014 The last-minute cancellation of his “40 years at Tesco” party suggests that Philip Clarke’s departure came as a big surprise. But in truth, his future at Tesco had been looking increasingly bleak for months. The man himself conceded as much in March, with his surprise statement at a conference that his days as chief executive [...]
Morrisons hands over Kiddicare to private equity group Endless July 14, 2014 Supermarket chain Morrisons confirmed yesterday it has sold its Kiddicare business to private equity group Endless Capital for £2m. The Yorkshire-based grocer bought the online baby products retailer in 2011 for £70m as part of its bid to build its online presence. However, the company announced in March that it had taken a £163m writedown [...]
Morrisons’ sale of floundering Kiddicare could come this week July 9, 2014 Morrisons is said to be on the brink of a deal to sell struggling maternity wear outlet Kiddicare to turnaround investor Endless. The likely sale, which has not yet been formalised, was reported by Sky News yesterday with the suggestion that an announcement could come as soon as the end of this week. Kiddicare was [...]
Sainsbury’s bids adieu to its cherished King July 9, 2014 Hundreds of Sainsbury’s shareholders gathered in Queen Elizabeth Hall yesterday for the Great Justin King Love-in, otherwise billed as the supermarket’s AGM. Van Morrison was blaring, there were “Goodbye Justin” t-shirts and the hall was packed with shareholders eager to bid farewell to their King (as it was actually his last day on the job). [...]
City Moves for 09 July 2014 | Who’s switching jobs July 8, 2014 Universities Superannuation Scheme Jeremy Hill will be returning to the pension scheme trustee company, taking up the role of group general counsel. A qualified solicitor, Hill first worked for the firm between 2009 and 2011. He has previously held leadership roles at Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Merrill Lynch Investment Management, along with positions at [...]
Mothercare share price surges 12pc after Destination Maternity takeover bid rejection July 2, 2014 Shares in baby goods retailer Mothercare have jumped by 11.8 per cent on the news that it rejected two takeover proposals from Destination Maternity. The US firm's latest offer was worth 300p per share, a 29 per cent premium on the company's closing price of 232.5p on 1 July. Destination Maternity first approached Mothercare in [...]
Morrisons and Tesco lose grip on market share and sales July 1, 2014 Morrisons and Tesco have both suffered another heavy fall in sales and market share in the last 12 weeks despite efforts to slash prices and win customers back into their stores. Data released yesterday from Kantar Worldpanel showed that overall grocery market grew by 2.8 per cent year-on-year in the 12 weeks to 22 June, [...]
Ocado delivers a profit but sales growth slowing July 1, 2014 Shares in Ocado slid 4.3 per cent yesterday despite the online grocer moving into the black in the first half, paving the way for its first annual profit in its 13-year history. The company said pre-tax profits totalled £7.5m for the 24 weeks to 18 May, following a £3.8m loss last year, thanks [...]
Bottom Line: Ocado thinks above and beyond Morrisons July 1, 2014 Ocado has understandably been coy over the last year about its plans beyond its tie-up with Morrisons. Running the supermarket’s online groceries business was a leap into the unknown and both companies needed time to bed down. The challenging part was copying the online platform it used to run its own grocery business and creating [...]