ii view: Sales retreat at Sainsbury’s July 8, 2019 By Keith Bowman from interactive investor. Tough comparatives have impacted results for this supermarket, but that is no surprise. First quarter trading for 16 weeks to 29 June 2019 Total sales down 1.2 per cent (excluding fuel) Like-for-like sales declined 1.6 per cent (excluding fuel) Grocery sales fell 0.5 per cent General merchandise sales down 3.1 per cent [...]
Ocado to create 260 new jobs in Old Street tech hub July 5, 2019 Online supermarket Ocado will bring 300 jobs to London as it bolsters the digital talent behind its technology platform for supermarkets. The Ocado smart platform will be sold to companies across the world to help them move online, the firm said. Read more: Ocado pumps £17m into vertical farming joint venture The London office, in [...]
Sainsbury’s cuts market share decline as Aldi and Lidl soar June 25, 2019 Sainsbury’s has cut short the decline in its market share as discount rivals Aldi and Lidl continue to boost sales. Customer spend at Sainsbury’s dipped 0.6 per cent in the three months to 16 June, an improvement on the 1.2 per cent decline in the previous period following its failed merger with Asda. Read more: [...]
‘Ideological war’ over future of AI as businesses warn against robot tax June 15, 2019 Businesses and trade bodies have urged the government and industry to embrace the rise of robots and better prepare workers and future generations. The business, energy, and industrial strategy (Beis) committee is in the midst of an inquiry into the automation and the future of work in the UK. Read more: The robots are coming [...]
Morrisons and Amazon: Retail’s newest BFFs June 14, 2019 By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. Extending its relationship with the world’s biggest retailer is shrewd business by Morrisons’ CEO. The quiet revolution at Morrisons (LSE:MRW) under chief executive David Potts continues to impress after the supermarket chain extended its partnership with online giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). Whereas its rivals have looked to grow through consolidation – with Tesco (LSE:TSCO) buying Booker and Sainsbury’s (LSE:SBRY) trying to [...]
Ocado pumps £17m into vertical farming joint venture June 10, 2019 Online grocer Ocado has invested £17m in the emerging vertical farming industry as it looks to bolster its technology offering. Vertical farming involves the production of food in indoor facilities, where crops are grown on a series of levels in a controlled environment. Read more: Ocado set to cut 400 jobs as it looks to [...]
M&S looks set to survive FTSE 100 drop amid £600m rights issue May 29, 2019 Marks & Spencer looks set to remain in the FTSE 100 through the skin of its teeth in next week’s reshuffle after launching a £600m rights issue to fund its joint venture with Ocado. City speculation that the department store chain could drop out of the blue-chip index has mounted after it reported a 10 [...]
Four key things we learned from Marks & Spencer’s results May 22, 2019 There were not expectations of a strong set of results from Marks & Spencer today. The profit drop was expected and profit before tax of £532m was actually in the higher end of the forecast range. However, a share price decline of four per cent shows that these were still a disappointing set of results for investors. [...]
Marks & Spencer shares fall as profits decimated amid restructuring efforts May 22, 2019 Profit before tax at retailer Marks & Spencer fell nearly ten per cent in the last financial year, it said today as it announced plans to close 85 stores. The figures M&S said profit before tax for the year to 31 March was £532.2m, down 9.9 per cent from £580.9m the previous year. Revenue fell [...]
M&S braced for fresh decline in profits as store closures continue May 19, 2019 Marks & Spencer is set to report a sharp decline in profits for the full year as it looks to beef up its online offering amid a raft of store closures. The high street stalwart is expected to post pre-tax profits of roughly £520m in its full-year results of Wednesday, a fall of 10 per cent on [...]