Big four supermarkets will keep getting squeezed says Moody’s June 10, 2015 The leading big four supermarkets are expected to lose another four per cent of their market share by 2020 to discounters Aldi and Lidl, as competition in the grocery retail market intensifies. A report published today by credit rating agency Moody’s predicts Aldi and Lidl’s combined market share will reach 12-15 per cent by 2020, [...]
George Osborne’s great government sell-off: Taxpayers risk getting burnt as sun may yet shine on RBS June 10, 2015 So after almost seven years, the moment has arrived. The symbolic importance of George Osborne’s announcement last night that the Treasury is to begin selling Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) shares at a loss is hard to overstate. “I’m not interested in what is easy – I’m interested in what is right,” he told [...]
Malcolm Walker’s many lives: How Iceland hopes to fight off profit slump June 10, 2015 Malcolm Walker has more business lives than a cat. He built his frozen food empire Iceland from a humble shop in Shropshire in 1970 into a £2bn turnover business 30 years later, before hitting a financial iceberg. Walker was forced to step down as chairman in 2001 after the Financial Services Authority launched an [...]
Sainsbury’s shares rise as Coupe insists store strategy is working June 10, 2015 SHARES in Sainsbury’s rallied yesterday as the supermarket chain insisted it was seeing “encouraging signs” of recovery, despite reporting its sixth consecutive quarter of declining underlying sales. Britain’s third-largest grocer said total sales fell 0.6 per cent, while sales at stores open more than a year fell by 2.1 per cent, excluding fuel, in the [...]
Profits at Shoe Zone worn thin by weather June 10, 2015 SHOE Zone suffered a 26 per cent decline in sales in the first half of the year, blaming planned store closures and last Autumn’s warm weather for weaker sales. The family-run discount footwear chain, which floated on Aim last year, revealed yesterday that pre-tax profits decreased to £2m in the six months to 4 April [...]
As Jack Ma goes on a US charm offensive, does Alibaba pose a real threat to Amazon and Ebay? June 10, 2015 Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, says Yes In terms of sheer size, accounting for 80 per cent of all Chinese online shopping, with volume growth easily outstripping rival internet retailers thanks to 1bn items on offer to 350m buyers, and with 30m shipments made per day, fast-growing behemoth Alibaba represents a [...]
Krispy Kreme June 10, 2015 The findings Why it's interesting What Krispy Klreme said In short In September last year – DOUGHNUT retailer Krispy Kreme yesterday reported that its quarterly earnings rose 22 per cent as it posted stronger revenue, driven by sales at locations open more than 18 months. [...]
HSBC lays down the gauntlet to George Osborne on bank levy as it mulls exit from UK June 9, 2015 HSBC moved a step closer to leaving the UK yesterday, piling pressure on chancellor George Osborne to take action to persuade the bank to stay. Chief executive Stuart Gulliver set out details of HSBC’s review of the location of its headquarters, looking at 11 different criteria, including taxes, the government’s attitude to finance, and [...]
KKR halves Pets at Home stake and eyes Tesco June 9, 2015 PRIVATE equity giant KKR has nearly halved its stake in Pets at Home just as it emerged yesterday that the firm has been invited to bid for Tesco’s South Korean business. US-based KKR bought Pets at Home from private equity rival Bridgepoint in 2010 for £995m. The pet care and products retailer floated on the [...]
Total cash spent at UK retailers is on the climb June 8, 2015 UK retail sales are ticking upward with evidence that confidence is rising, as consumers spend more on big-ticket items. Total spending at retailers grew by 1.8 per cent in the three months to May compared with the same period last year, according to figures published today by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and financial services [...]