ANALYST VIEWS HOW IS SAINSBURY’S FARING IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT? May 9, 2012 JAMES GRZINIC JEFFERIES Sainsbury’s full-year results were nearly two per cent better than expected…Crucially, the group has confirmed that it expects core capex to decline from the 2011-12 peak of £1.24bn to £1bn in 2012-13. We expect yield merits to be better underpinned given better cashflow dynamics, but Morrisons and Tesco are a 20 per [...]
Tesco takes pensions in-house May 9, 2012 Tesco yesterday said it would manage its own pension scheme, one of the largest in the country still offering defined benefits, to maximise returns and cut dependence on consultants. Tesco Pension Investment will be led by Steven Daniels, previously group chief investment officer of LV= Asset Management.
Morrison rules out any further discount plans May 3, 2012 WM MORRISON’S chief executive said yesterday the supermarket would not succumb to offering more vouchers after aggressive discounting by rivals like Tesco hurt its first quarter sales. Dalton Philips warned that, as economic conditions remained uncertain, squeezed consumers would continue to seek out even more promotions. But he brushed off concerns that the grocer was [...]
Morrisons sales dip in tough market May 3, 2012 Morrisons posted a fall in underlying sales in its first quarter, reflecting tough comparatives with a bumper period of trading last year and customers switching to rivals who are promoting more heavily. The supermarket chain, which trails market leader Tesco, Wal-Mart’s Asda and J Sainsbury in UK market share, said on sales at stores open [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 2, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Airline levy could aid UK border Two Democratic senators have turned up the political pressure on News Corp, reviving questions about whether a scandal at Rupert Murdoch’s UK newspapers could jump the Atlantic. Sen Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia has written to Lord Justice Leveson asking for any evidence that “troubling and sometimes [...]
Troubling times for retailers to the squeezed middle April 29, 2012 SPARE a thought for the squeezed middle. No, not the ordinary family as defined by Ed Miliband, but the places they shop and the things they buy. The mid-market consumer firm is finding the going very tough indeed. There has been much written about Tesco’s troubles in recent months, punctuated by a series of ignominious [...]
Recessionary data brushed off as FTSE mirrors gains seen on Wall St April 25, 2012 THE UK’s blue-chip index closed up yesterday, shrugging off weak UK GDP figures showing Britain slipped back into recession and disappointing first-quarter results from drugmaker Glaxosmithkline, as investors awaited results from a key US Federal Reserve meeting. Early gains on the FTSE 100 index were led by a rise on Wall Street, which opened up [...]
FTSE rise aided by banks April 25, 2012 The FTSE 100 opened on the front foot this morning as the tech sector was given a boost by stellar sales from Apple in the US while banks also nudged up. But UK GDP figures showing that the country had plunged back into recession cast a shadow.The UK economy shrank by 0.2 per cent in [...]
Waitrose and budget stores winning sales April 24, 2012 UK CONSUMER habits are becoming increasingly divided, accordingly to new retail data that shows higher-end and budget retailers growing market share while those occupying the middle ground lose out. Kantar Worldpanel figures for the 12 weeks to 15 April 2012 showed upmarket supermarket Waitrose increasing market share from 4.3 per cent to 4.5 per cent [...]
Leahy offers Tesco answers at Hay Festival April 22, 2012 INVESTORS seeking to find out what’s going wrong at supermarket chain Tesco might want to indulge their literary side and buy a ticket to this year’s Hay Festival – as the firm’s former chief executive is set to appear at the event. Terry Leahy, who led the firm for 14 years before quitting last spring, [...]