Aldi may drop prices to compete with Tesco’s new budget venture Jack’s October 1, 2018 Low-cost supermarket chain Aldi "will never be beaten on price", and could even drop them in response to Tesco's new low-cost venture Jack's, it said today. UK and Ireland chief executive Giles Hurley said Aldi welcomes competition from new players such as Jack's, adding: "If we need to reduce retail prices we will." Read more: Drastic Dave's no-frills move must [...]
The clever science behind consumer promotions at retailers and supermarkets October 1, 2018 You’ve probably never thought twice about consumer promotions – things like Buy One Get One Free (BOGOF), discount coupons, competitions, and prize draws. They’re just another marketing trick to push more products, right? But when you think about it, promotions are kind of odd. Selling two for the price of one means that a company [...]
City Moves for 1 October 2018 – who’s switching jobs at Deloitte, Cambridge Economic Policy Associates and Bailey Montagu Executive Search? October 1, 2018 Today's City Moves cover advisory, consulting and executive search. Take a look at these movers and shakers: Deloitte Deloitte has appointed Chris Graves as a partner in its advisory corporate finance practice. Chris will lead the firm’s technology, media and telecoms (TMT) mergers and acquisitions (M&A) team. Chris joins Deloitte today from GP Bullhound, the [...]
Focus On Harrow: Why this west London suburb is popular with families and first time buyers September 28, 2018 With inner city London gradually dividing itself into a series of ‘villages’, mimicking the community, farmers markets and independent high streets of semi-rural life, what’s the point of suburbs anymore? Places like Harrow have traditionally been quite pedestrian places, attracting families to its healthy stock of semi-detached houses and good quality schools. The ultimate – [...]
GDP: Half-year growth hits slowest rate since 2011 as business investment slides September 28, 2018 The UK economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the second half of this year, marking the weakest six-monthly growth in seven years. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) findings on gross domestic product (GDP) today show that the underlying trend is “still one of slowing real GDP growth”, with the UK economy growing [...]
No-deal Brexit could lead to tariffs of £9.3bn on EU food, report warns September 27, 2018 Food and drink costs could increase by £9.3billion a year if the UK does not slash tariffs in a 'no deal' Brexit, a new report has warned. Research by Barclays claims leaving the EU without a trade agreement would create an average tariff of 27 per cent on food and drinks coming from the [...]
Chained to its rival? Halfords swoops in for embattled bike chain Evans Cycles September 27, 2018 Britain’s largest bike chain Halfords is in talks to rescue its beleaguered rival Evans Cycles, according to Sky News late last night. Halfords is understood to be one of several parties which have shown interest in buying Evans, which has hurried up the bidding process in an effort to avoid collapse. The news comes [...]
Tui avoids market turbulence to fly through summer despite UK heatwave September 27, 2018 Tui has avoided the market turbulence caused by the UK heatwave and flown through the summer with customer volumes up 4 per cent. The travel group said it expected a fourth consecutive year of double digit growth ahead of its full year results in December, re-iterating its 10 per cent growth guidance. Earlier this week [...]
H&M revenues bounce after online focus, but logistics system dampens profits September 27, 2018 Swedish fashion brand H&M posted bumper revenues for the nine months to the end of August this morning, as third-quarter sales climbed amid the retailer’s efforts to ramp up its online shopping operations in the wake of persistent high street troubles. Revenues in the third quarter of 2018 climbed nine per cent to Skr64.8bn [...]
Women’s fashion retailer Bonmarché shares collapse as it warns on profits September 27, 2018 Women's fashion retailer Bonmarché's shares plunged 20 per cent in early morning trading after issuing a profit warning today, blaming weak high street demand and a lack of footfall. The company said its online sales continued to grow strongly but that sales in store have dipped in recent months. Underlying profits for the full [...]