Nightmare on high street: How discounters stole Tesco’s market share December 19, 2014 Although at first glance any shift in the share of the grocery market seems slim, the changes that have taken place over the last two years tell an interesting story. It shows the gradual increase of smaller companies such as Aldi, Lidl and Waitrose at the expense of larger chains such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s [...]
Philip Clarke, Euan Sutherland and Dov Charney – the bosses who left us in 2014 December 19, 2014 This year has had its fair share of disasters – from the Co-op’s continued struggles to Tesco’s melting share price. But what of the people behind the stories? We’ve got the best, worst and most surprising people moves of the year. 1. Philip Clarke makes an unceremonious departure from Tesco Clarke stepped down at [...]
Tesco gets ready for busy Christmas period December 18, 2014 ACTIVITY at Tesco’s huge distribution plant in Reading yesterday boosted the retailer’s hopes for a better end to its torrid 2014. In the lead up to Christmas, 13,000 staff are working around the clock at 28 distribution centres across the UK.
Best of the Brokers for 19 December 2014 December 18, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BRIT Numis reiterated its “buy” rating, stating that XL Group’s bid for Catlin has highlighted the potential attraction of the London underwriters. The broker said Brit is “well positioned in the current underwriting environment” and increased the target price by 20p to 310p. [...]
Vince Cable warned not to meddle with Tesco business plan December 17, 2014 Vince Cable has been warned not to meddle with the business plan of struggling company Tesco, after the Liberal Democrat minister called for a meeting with top bosses. The Institute of Directors yesterday warned that MPs should steer clear of meddling in the troubled retailer’s future, but added that there are some legitimate concerns that [...]
Russia, Tesco and Alex Salmond feature in the seven biggest losers of 2014 December 17, 2014 It’s Christmas. The time of year when we’re all supposed to be a little more caring, charitable and considerate of those not feeling so swell. But for every champagne toast to success, there is regret at the bottom of a bottle. So summon some of that Christmas spirit for this sorry lot, the seven [...]
Tesco quarterly sales show sign of turn around following profit warning December 16, 2014 Tesco has enjoyed its best quarterly sales performance since June, according to the latest industry data, giving investors in the troubled supermarket chain some reason to cheer following last week’s profit warning. Sales fell by 2.7 per cent in the 12 weeks to 7 December, a slowdown on the 3.7 per cent decline recorded in [...]
Grocery deflation continues to tumble as Aldi and Lidl ramp up supermarket price war December 16, 2014 The supermarket sector has nudged back into growth after the surprise decline recorded last month. Figures out today from Kantar Worldpanel show that for the 12 weeks to December 7, the grocery market grew 0.1 per cent. The data company said this was down to “shoppers putting slightly more in their baskets compared with [...]
Lidl and Aldi see spending growth soar over 30pc December 14, 2014 Discount supermarkets, such as of Lidl and Aldi, are on track to be the clear winners in the lead up to Christmas with year-to-date spend growth of 31 per cent. Meanwhile, their mainstream rivals, including the big four of Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrison’s, have seen spending fall 4.1 per cent in the same period, [...]
Why smart people make bad decisions December 14, 2014 A company’s corporate culture can sometimes encourage dangerous herd behaviour. When asked recently to deliver a keynote speech at the ACORD Forum in Fort Lauderdale, I instantly knew my topic – it’s something that has been puzzling me for years – “Why do smart people make bad decisions?” I’m not referring to just hiring [...]