The Aldi fightback is on: Morrisons records fourth consecutive quarter of growth November 3, 2016 After the devastating news that Morrisons was hiking the price of Marmite, it needed a good third quarter. And it has delivered the fourth consecutive quarter of growth, with sales up 1.6 per cent. Potentially a sign of, whisper it quietly, momentum building? The figures The 13 weeks to 30 October, like-for-like sales were up [...]
Asda vows to clean up its act after probe finds poor home delivery hygiene standards November 2, 2016 Supermarket Asda has taken “immediate action” to improve the standards of its home delivery service after an investigation exposed unhygienic conditions. Six in 10 deliveries were found to be “dirty or worse” by an undercover BBC Watchdog team, which launched the probe after a whistleblower raised concerns. Read more: Take that, Aldi: Tesco just gained [...]
Wetherspoon’s Tim Martin thinks that the falling pound will impact Eurozone businesses more than British companies November 2, 2016 Many of Britain's businesses may be feeling the pinch from sterling's recent malaise but the boss of one of Britain's largest pub chains doesn't think it will cause him too much pain. "The pound has gone up and down over the years and I haven’t noticed over the years a big effect on bar sales [...]
Everything you need to know about Black Friday 2016 November 1, 2016 Black Friday 2016 is almost upon us. Falling on 25 November, this year's mega-deals day is already expected to exceed last year's sales bonanza. Already the rumour mill has started up, with deal tip sites suggesting plenty of bargains will be on offer from electricals specialists from Currys to Carphone Warehouse, while the big players Amazon, John Lewis [...]
Tesco faces £100m damages claim from investors over the overstating of its profits October 31, 2016 Supermarket chain Tesco is facing a £100m damages claim from investors after the firm overstated its earnings in 2014. Bentham Group, which is providing the financial backing for the group's claim, said today that 125 shareholders are involved in taking action against the supermarket when it overstated its profits by £263m. The legal action will seek to [...]
Marmitegate is back: Now Morrisons is increasing the price of Marmite October 28, 2016 Remember when Marmite broke the internet a couple of weeks ago when Tesco and Unilever locked horns over pricing and Tesco threatened to stop selling the yeasty spread? Well, it now looks like Marmite really is in trouble, after Morrisons admitted it needs to hike its price by a whopping 12.5 per cent, according to retail [...]
Get your dollars for next summer now: Sterling could fall further if hard Brexit continues October 26, 2016 The pound may have already fallen to a 31-year low against the dollar but there is a risk it could continue to drop if concerns over the government's plans for Brexit carry on. New analysis from UBS suggested that if the economy begins to recover from the shock of Brexit, sterling could improve against the [...]
Bottoms up: Net profit down but beer sales up for Heineken October 26, 2016 Dutch brewer Heineken's net profit is down on last year's figures but higher beer sales contributed to a better than expected performance, its latest results have shown. The world's second largest beer maker, which includes Tiger and Sol, sold more than expected in its third quarter, but saw its net profits plummet. The figures Net profit for [...]
Tesco chairman John Allan admits prices WILL go up due to weak sterling and higher inflation October 25, 2016 John Allan, the chairman of Tesco, has admitted that prices will increase at supermarkets if the pound stays at its current level. The chain temporarily pulled some of its products, including Marmite and PG Tips, from its online stores earlier this month after its supplier, Unilever, demanded a 10 per cent increase in prices due to [...]
Sterling malaise leads to Microsoft increasing enterprise prices October 24, 2016 The pound’s plunge means that software giant Microsoft will increase prices of enterprise software and cloud services from next year. Although consumers pricing will not be adjusted by Microsoft, the company revealed on one its own blog posts that from 1 January it will raise prices by 13 per cent to enterprises. Read more: Microsoft [...]