The nightmare before Christmas: Aldi and Lidl hammer Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco October 21, 2015 Britain's biggest supermarkets are facing a crunch Christmas as the pressure from German discounters Aldi and Lidl is ramped up, with experts warning of a bloody battle for this year’s festive season. The German duo have both seen growth rates return to over 17 per cent in the past three months, according to data from [...]
The nightmare before Christmas October 20, 2015 Aldi and Lidl hammer British supermarkets BRITAIN’S biggest supermarkets are facing a crunch Christmas as the pressure from German discounters Aldi and Lidl is ramped up, with experts warning of a bloody battle for this year’s festive season. The German duo have both seen growth rates return to over 17 per cent in the past [...]
Trouble for the big four supermarkets as Aldi and Lidl growth speeds up again October 20, 2015 German discounters Aldi and Lidl both saw growth rates return to over 17 per cent over the last three months, dashing hopes for the Big Four that a slowdown earlier in the year may have been part of a longer term trend. The cut-price chains have been the fastest-growing grocers in the sector for some time now. But in [...]
Asda backtracks on London expansion plans as it seeks to revive flagging sales October 19, 2015 Asda has become the latest supermarket to backtrack on store opening plans after scrapping ambitions to expand in London in favour of reviving deteriorating sales at existing stores. US-owned supermarket chain said it is “temporarily” slowing down the planned expansion of smaller format stores in London as well as its programme to develop more stand-alone petrol [...]
Tesco Now trademarked: Is one-hour delivery on its way? October 19, 2015 Tesco has filed a trade mark for the name Tesco Now, fuelling speculation that it's considering offering customers deliveries within the hour. Filed on 29 September and spotted by the Grocer, the trade mark covers five different food areas and the delivery of goods. The move follows the introduction of Amazon's Prime Now service, which can [...]
Commodity crunch to hit UK dividend growth next year October 19, 2015 The commodity crunch is set to stifle dividend-growth in London-listed companies next year. Total dividend growth is expected to slow three per cent to £89.8bn in 2016, way below a 6.8 per cent projected increase to £87.2bn this year, according to a report by Capita Asset Services. "The concentration of global mining firms listed on the UK stock exchange [...]
UK grocery sector shows green shoots of recovery as distress levels fall October 19, 2015 Britain’s supermarket sector is showing signs of recovery, according to new research from Begbies Traynor that reveals the number of companies struggling to stay afloat declined for the first time in over two years. The business recovery specialist’s latest Red Flag Alert research, which monitors the health of UK companies, shows levels of “significant” financial [...]
Forget sex: Nostalgia gives you return on investment October 18, 2015 Arresting though they may be, sex and violence do not sell products. When confronted with graphic material, participants in a study by Ohio State University were likely to become so distracted that it impaired their “memory, attitudes and buying intentions for advertised products,” according to professor Brad Bushman. Nostalgia, on the other hand, fares more [...]
Nectar profits collapse as supermarket price war takes its toll on loyalty cards October 18, 2015 Profits have tumbled at Britain’s biggest loyalty card provider, Nectar. Aimia Coalition Loyalty UK, Nectar’s parent company, said that pre-tax profits fell to £14.1m for 2014, from £74.4m the year before, due to a rise in people cashing in their points, while collecting fewer. The company warned that if people continued to redeem points then [...]
When it comes to fair practices for small business the government is tinkering at the edges: The UK must outlaw late payments completely October 15, 2015 The time has come to ban payment of invoices after 90 days to signal the end of Britain’s late payment culture and deliver a much-needed boost to small and medium-sized businesses. SMEs are being stifled by a lack of funding from traditional banks, which has cost the UK economy an estimated £2.9bn in lost turnover [...]