Iceland’s banned palm oil advert could win over middle class shoppers as supermarkets prepare for Christmas November 13, 2018 Iceland could get a shot in the arm from its banned Christmas advert by appealing to middle class shoppers, according to consumer research firm Kantar Worldpanel. The supermarket's advert, which caused a storm on social media when it was deemed “too political” to be aired by Clearcast, could be exactly what the store needs to reach out to [...]
Law firm lodges equal pay claims against supermarket giant Morrisons November 13, 2018 The law firm that is taking on the big four supermarket giants over allegations of unequal pay has today lodged its first batch of claims against Morrisons in the Employment Tribunal. As well as Morrisons, Leigh Day is also taking on Asda, Sainsbury's and Tesco on behalf of female members of staff who believe they [...]
Trust me, we’ve been thinking about market power and competition all wrong November 13, 2018 Economists, politicians, and commentators on both sides of the Atlantic are growing more concerned with the supposed “monopolisation” of the economy. In a 2017 report, the Social Market Foundation found that eight of 10 key British markets, including in phones, gas and groceries, were highly dominated by small numbers of companies. Its director, James Kirkup, [...]
Fishing Republic on the hook as it tries to land extra finance November 12, 2018 Angling retailer Fishing Republic warned today its future is uncertain as it works to raise extra finance. The Aim-listed business said there was “material uncertainty regarding the group’s financial position” and said “the group continues to trade only with the short-term support of key creditors”. Shares in the group were suspended on 16 October after [...]
Kerching: Supermarkets win court ruling over £300m cash machine case November 9, 2018 Supermarket giants including Sainsbury’s and Tesco have won a £300m court dispute over business rates for cash machines outside shops. Today’s ruling from The Court of Appeal decided in favour of the retail giants, who are set to be refunded hundreds of millions of pounds from the government and local authorities. For eight years retailers [...]
Sainsbury’s and Asda merger could cut hole in shoppers’ pockets, Waitrose warns November 8, 2018 The proposed merger of Asda and Sainsbury’s will cause substantial harm to customers, rival chain Waitrose warned today. It said the merger could force independent retailers to close in the face of competition from the new giant, leaving shoppers with fewer alternatives, while prices could rise. In comments to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which [...]
Sainsbury’s sees rising sales despite ‘uncertain’ outlook November 8, 2018 Sainsbury’s posted growth in underlying profit for its half-year results today, despite highlighting an 'uncertain' outlook ahead of the Christmas spending period. The figures Like-for-like sales climbed 0.6 per cent year on year during the six months, rising from the 0.2 per cent growth it reported for the first quarter of the year. That helped revenue hit £16.8bn, up [...]
Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s to cut price of unleaded petrol by 2p November 6, 2018 Supermarket giants Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury's are locked in a pricing war after all three pledged to cut the price of fuel by 2p. The war was triggered by Asda's decision to cut the price of its unleaded fuel by 2p to 122.7p per litre. Rivals Morrisons and Sainsbury's announced soon after that they too would shave [...]
Ranked: Sports Direct tops poll of UK’s most loathed brands October 23, 2018 House of Fraser owner Sports Direct is the UK’s most loathed brand, according to consumer finance website Money Saving Expert. However, billionaire Mike Ashley's bottom-placed retail giant may have been hurt by a social media campaign against the company, admitted the website, which asked 7,600 readers to rank 52 household name brands. Read more: Mike [...]
From cricket paté to worm salad, insects are the planet-saving diet of the future October 23, 2018 The health trend is a peculiar thing. Societies have long been captivated by the latest in-vogue recipe or ingredient, often for calorie-reducing and appearance reasons. From the Victorian fad of adding arsenic to diet regimes, to 1920s tobacco companies promoting cigarettes as appetite-suppressants, trends designed to help the public lose weight have long been popular – [...]