Kraft may have to sweeten deal September 7, 2009 KRAFT’s £10.2bn approach to Cadbury may have been rejected by Todd Stitzer’s board, but it did not surprise those who have been anticipating more M&A activity since Mars’s high-profile takeover of Wrigley was announced in April last year. The deal – which saw Mars pay $23bn (£14.1bn) in cash for America’s largest chewing-gum maker – [...]
Market to eye consumer purse while MPC mulls rates September 6, 2009 THIS week will be all about consumers’ purse-strings and just how tightly they are pulled. Results from across the retail and leisure sectors will go some way to answering that question, while the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee’s decision on interest rates and quantitative easing will tell us what the experts think about any [...]
Recession boosts McBride September 3, 2009 McBride, Europe’s biggest maker of retailer own-brand household products, posted a 34 per cent rise in annual profit yesterday as cash-strapped consumers downgrade in the downturn. The firm, which supplies supermarkets like Tesco and Carrefour with own-label goods ranging from dishwasher tablets to deodorant, said it made operating profit before one-off items and goodwill of [...]
…as its boss survives a crucial vote on controversial pay plan September 2, 2009 DSG yesterday succeeded in passing a resolution at its annual meeting, asking shareholders to pass a share option that would enable directors to sacrifice up to 25 per cent of their salaries in exchange for options worth £3 for every £1 they contribute. The scheme will allow chief executive John Browett to replace a quarter, [...]
Apple’s store on Regent St bears fruit September 1, 2009 APPLE’S flagship store in London is so successful that it rakes in more than double the amount of cash per square foot than most of its rivals. The Regent Street store took £60m for the year ending September 2008, giving it a sales density of £2,000 per square foot. In comparison, the average Currys store [...]
Private equity eyes up City law firms September 1, 2009 THE BELEAGUERED legal profession, says Jeremy Hand, managing partner of private equity firm Lyceum Capital, is facing “a fire-storm whipped up by the recession, smarter customers, technology, outsourcing and legislation”. If that wasn’t trouble enough, it’s also being forcibly opened up to competition that could arise from the so-called Tesco Law – the shorthand for [...]
Darling issues bonus threat in FSA battle August 20, 2009 CHANCELLOR Alistair Darling yesterday raised the pressure on Financial Services Authority (FSA) boss Hector Sants over bank bonuses, as he pledged to discuss the issue at next month’s G20 meeting in London. Darling said banker pay must be controlled and that the FSA is the obvious body to implement such controls. The remarks bring the [...]
Retail banking is struggling to get off the canvas August 19, 2009 AS Britain’s retail banking sector fractures and polarises, it is beginning to resemble a boxing match: two heavyweight contenders are preparing to slug it out in the main event with the prize nothing less than commercial success. In the red corner are the grizzled veterans – the traditional banking groups HSBC, RBS, Lloyds and Barclays. [...]
Tesco’s rivals eat into its market share August 18, 2009 TESCO, the UK’s biggest retailer, is continuing to lose market share, according to new figures, despite relaunching its Clubcard. The supermarket recently beefed up its loyalty card scheme, offering shoppers two points for every £1 spent, as opposed to just one. It had hoped the tactics would stop customers shopping at rivals like Asda and [...]
WILL TESCO’S CLUBCARD STOP IT FROM LOSING MARKET SHARE? August 18, 2009 KEITH BOWMAN HARGREAVES LANSDOWNI’m sure it’s being done as a way to fight back against the competition. There are groups of shoppers who chase the cheapest deal, so this may encourage more customer loyalty. NICK BUBB PALI INTERNATIONALIt’s Tesco’s trump card. Whether it will attract away from the competition is another matter. WM Morrison doesn’t [...]