Store wars: Aldi is in no mood to be Jack’s of all trades October 2, 2018 Aldi vowed to make Tesco discounter brand Jack’s a dull boy yesterday, saying it will remain the UK’s cheapest grocer. “It will be a real struggle for any more complex supermarket to successfully imitate our model let alone replicate it,” Giles Hurley, chief exec of Aldi UK and Ireland, said as he threw down the [...]
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 [...]
Tesco Bank hit with £16.4m fine for ‘largely avoidable’ cyber attack October 1, 2018 The financial watchdog has slapped a hefty £16.4m fine on Tesco Bank for a "largely avoidable" cyber attack that hit customers in 2016. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the bank had failed to exercise "due skill, care and diligence in protecting its personal current account holders" in the breach, in which attackers gained £2.26m. The FCA's executive [...]
Aldi to expand into 130 new stores as sales rocket to £10.2bn October 1, 2018 German supermarket giant Aldi today announced major plans to open 130 new stores in the UK on the back of impressive sales growth last year. The expansion will create 5,000 new jobs in the UK, Aldi says, and is a big step on the way to the firm reaching its target of setting up 1,000 stores [...]
Bumper summer and Booker buyout set to boost Tesco profits September 30, 2018 Tesco will be hoping to post strong first-half profits on Wednesday, as a blistering summer heatwave, successful World Cup run and a royal wedding are all likely to have boosted the firm’s performance. Consensus estimates compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence show that earnings before tax (excluding exceptions) could hit £795m in the first six [...]
IoT security: Your smart home device is a cyber security risk waiting to happen September 28, 2018 In the age of Google Home and Amazon Alexa, many modern households are home to one or more smart devices. While these gadgets can help with day-to-day tasks and generally make life easier – it's also opened up the possibilities of cyber attackers breaching vulnerable devices in the home. A new survey from Open-Xchange found that [...]
We are veering towards a Brexit brain drain – it’s time for brands to shake things up September 26, 2018 There is a lack of innovation among British businesses; this was a problem highlighted in our latest research. It’s also a problem which threatens the future of UK businesses outside of the EU bloc, potentially hindering our ability to attract and retain talent. Fast-growing economies such as China, Indonesia, India, the US, and Germany [...]
Aldi and Lidl continue to attract customers – so what impact will Tesco’s budget chain Jack’s have? September 26, 2018 Recently Tesco unveiled its first Jack’s discount store. With a strong emphasis on Britishness and home-grown products, the brand is seen as a challenger to the German supermarkets, Aldi and Lidl. I have often talked in this column about the growth of both Aldi and Lidl, and YouGov BrandIndex data points to the continued improvements [...]
London coding security startup Snyk lands $22m series B from Accel September 25, 2018 Open source security startup Snyk today closed a $22m (£16.7m) series B funding round, led by Accel with participation from GV. Existing investors such as Boldstart Ventures and Heavybit also joined the round. With big names such as ASOS, Skyscanner and Auth0 among its clients, enterprise developers use Snyk to vet the security of [...]
Tesco Bank to face City watchdog’s largest ever cyber security fine September 24, 2018 The banking arm of supermarket chain Tesco could be facing a fine of more than £30m from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), over its role in a cyber hack on its systems in which numerous customer accounts were compromised. Tesco Bank is thought to be contesting the fine in active negotiations with the regulator, which could be reduced [...]