Rothschild to advise on Poundland’s flotation November 4, 2013 BUDGET retailer Poundland has lined up Rothschild to advise on its upcoming public offering, which is expected to value the firm at more than £700m. The investment bank, which declined to comment on the issue, is expected to bring in other advisers to work on the flotation in the next few weeks. Poundland – which [...]
Lidl launches first television Christmas ad October 30, 2013 LIDL has launched its very first UK national TV campaign promoting its luxury range as the first-growing discount chain looks to win more middle-class shoppers from its larger rivals in the Christmas rush. The adverts, which go live today, will feature products from Lidl’s deluxe range, including mulled wine, whole cooked lobster and Serrano ham. [...]
The end of the rental shop October 30, 2013 As Blockbuster goes into administration again, Alex Dymoke looks to the future of online TV and film rentals BLINKBOX WHAT IS IT? Founded in 2006, Blinkbox is now owned by Tesco. It allows you to rent or buy films and TV shows online, which expire after 30 days. WHAT’S ON IT? The latest film and [...]
Sainsbury’s to take Tesco ad fight to court October 29, 2013 J SAINSBURY has announced it is to take Tesco to court to seek a judicial review, after the UK’s advertising watchdog twice rejected the retailer’s complaint against Tesco’s price comparison campaign. Tesco’s Price Promise scheme, launched in March, compares the cost of thousands of own-branded products against Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s and offers a money-off [...]
Asda sparks off a supermarket petrol price war October 29, 2013 ASDA fuelled a supermarket price war when it unveiled plans to cut petrol prices yesterday, causing other major British chains to quickly follow suit. The budget chain said that from tomorrow it would cut petrol to its lowest price this year, at 126.7p per litre on unleaded and 133.7p per litre for diesel. Sainsbury’s is [...]
Grand Theft Auto V accelerates games market back into growth October 28, 2013 THE RELEASE of Grand Theft Auto V helped push the video games market back into growth for the first time in five years last month, according to data out today. Kantar Worldpanel figures for the 12 weeks to 29 September show that the games market grew by 29 per cent compared with the same period [...]
Stobart profits get boost from Autologic buy October 24, 2013 BRITISH haulier Stobart Group’s first-half revenue from continuing operations jumped 33 per cent, helped by its acquisition of Autologic Holdings in mid 2012. The company, whose Eddie Stobart trucks deliver goods to retailers like Tesco, reported an underlying pre-tax profit of £13.8m in the six months ended 31 August, up five per cent from a [...]
And a few more things we learned from Apple’s launch October 23, 2013 THE MAC PRO IS A BEAST Mac’s oddly-shaped new desktop computer (pictured right) is a powerhouse. If you’ve got cash to spend (the lowest-priced version will cost £2,499), it will make video editing, heavy Photoshop use or intensive design programs run like a breeze. The cylindrical casing is just an eighth of the volume of [...]
Scottish fairytale not over yet, says Sir David October 23, 2013 SHRUGGING off a nine-division demotion and financial meltdown to return to the pinnacle of English rugby might seem like scaling Everest, unless you have already helped turn Tesco from supermarket into superpower. Sir David Reid saw the retailer become the world’s second largest during his time as chairman and now has designs on domestic, if [...]
Discounters grab market share from UK’s leading supermarkets October 22, 2013 SAINSBURY’S was the only one of the big four supermarkets to gain market share in the 12 weeks to 13 October as discounters continued to put pressure on Britain’s grocers, Data from Kantar Worldpanel out yesterday showed Aldi’s sales leapt by 31.7 per cent year-on-year, gaining record market share of 3.8 per cent against three [...]