Last Week in the City: Trade wars begin July 6, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (2 to 6 July 2018). The World Cup is “distracting” for participants in global markets, according to Citigroup. "We find that football is indeed distracting, subtly impacting market depth, traded volumes and execution cost,” the US [...]
MPs concerned by business rates as worst year for high street looms July 6, 2018 The influential chair of the treasury select committee has expressed concern for the effect business rates have on retailers, as new figures show this year could be the worst for the high street on record. MP Nicky Morgan said today that it was clear bricks and mortar stores are “struggling to remain competittive against online [...]
Tesco has formed a strategic alliance with French supermarket chain Carrefour to enhance competition July 2, 2018 Tesco and Carrefour are teaming up to beat the competition, in a strategic alliance announced this morning. A joint statement issued by the companies say the alliance will cover their relationships with global suppliers, its joint purchasing of all own-brand products, and any goods not for resale. The deal should force prices for own-brand products [...]
Take Pride in your work: representation in advertising isn’t just about ‘pinkwashing’ July 2, 2018 REPRESENTATION matters. Advertising is a constant presence in our everyday lives, but for people in minority groups, it’s not a given that they will see themselves depicted in the media. Take the LGBTQ community. Seven per cent of the UK population identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or otherwise queer, according to the Stonewall charity. [...]
Pride and the LGBTQ: Why representation in advertising isn’t just about “pinkwashing” July 2, 2018 Representation matters. Advertising is a constant presence in our everyday lives, but for people in minority groups, it’s not a given that they will see themselves depicted in the media. Take the LGBTQ community. Seven per cent of the UK population identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or otherwise queer, according to the Stonewall charity. [...]
Asda has been forced to ration its fizzy drinks amid an ongoing UK-wide carbon dioxide shortage June 30, 2018 Supermarket chain Asda is limiting the amount of fizzy drinks its customers can buy, as the UK's carbon dioxide shortage worsens to near-crisis levels. The retailer has put a six-drink cap on shoppers buying bottles, cans or multipacks of fizzy drinks online, although the limit does not apply in-store. This includes all own-brand drinks, as [...]
Last Week in the City: Amazon buys a pharmacy June 29, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (25 to 29 June 2018). The FTSE 100 traded little over the week, despite a rally in oil prices. There was more bad news from the retail sector after The John Lewis Partnership warned on profits [...]
Tesco Go: The UK supermarket chain is trialling an Amazon-style version of checkout-free shopping June 29, 2018 Tesco has said it is testing a way of paying for your shopping in-store without going through a checkout, using a smartphone app to scan items and pay online. The app is being tested in a Tesco Express near its headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, which is also one of the retail chain's cashless stores. [...]
Sainsbury’s sales dip while Ocado and Lidl gain in latest grocer data June 26, 2018 Sainsbury's was the only supermarket to see a decline in sales during the 12 weeks to 17 June, new data shows. Sales slipped by £10m compared to the same period last year, bringing its market share down to 15.6 per cent, according to Kantar Worldpanel. Tesco, Asda and Morrisons also all lost market share despite [...]
Asda ranked worst big supermarket for treatment of suppliers while Iceland comes last overall June 25, 2018 Asda ranks lowest among the big four supermarkets for treatment of suppliers, according to the regulator's annual report released today. Out of all 10 grocers assessed by the Groceries Code Adjudicator survey, Iceland ranked last and the Co-op was second from the bottom. Some eight per cent of Asda suppliers reported that the supermarket "rarely" [...]