Tesco finance unit shuns Lloyds and RBS assets November 17, 2009 Tesco is not interested in any assets bailed-out banks Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland will be forced to sell to satisfy EU antitrust worries, the head of Tesco Personal Finance said. Benny Higgins also said on the sidelines of the Euro Finance Week conference yesterday that Tesco might not launch a current account until [...]
Wiseman sees profits leap November 16, 2009 Scottish dairy group Robert Wiseman Dairies has milked the most out of the collapse of Dairy Farmers Group, posting an 81.5 per cent rise in first half profit. A confident Robert Wiseman said 150m litres of milk supply had moved across to it as a direct result of dairy farmers leaving the market. That more [...]
Get your hands dirty in Sardinia November 15, 2009 THESE days, you can hardly turn on a television without seeing somebody rummaging around in hedgerows, or cooking a meal with something they have just picked or plucked from a tree. Foraging is in. The idea of wandering around the British countryside in November looking for my dinner doesn’t exactly appeal – but doing so [...]
THE TIPSTER RETAILERS TRY TO BEAT THE RECESSION November 15, 2009 SO FAR, so good for the British retailers, it would seem. The likes of Marks&Spencer, Next and J Sainsbury have all released better-than-expected third quarter figures, and the latter is once again looking like an attractive proposition. Although lower food inflation might be expected to hit bumper sale figures, both the supermarket and its rival [...]
Asda launches price cuts as discount war hots up November 12, 2009 ASDA has raised the stakes in the Christmas price war by slashing £150m from the price of products in a discount drive designed to put pressure on its rivals. Asda, which has based its marketing on being the cheapest of the big four supermarkets, said consumers were still unwilling to part with cash. A day [...]
Tesco looks East for growth and plans new Chinese stores November 12, 2009 TESCO yesterday announced a £100m tie-up with Asian investors to build three shopping centres in China as the first stage of a larger building programme. Britain’s biggest supermarket has signed an agreement for a 50-50 venture with investors including HSBC Nan Fung China Real Estate Fund, Singapore’s Metro Holdings and Hong Kong’s Nan Fung Group. [...]
Japanese whisky, the spirit of Christmas November 11, 2009 IF JAPANESE whisky sounds like a joke – something akin to the Jamaican bobsleigh team, or Indian wine – then you clearly don’t know very much about spirits. At last year’s World Whisky Awards, Yoichi 20-year-old was voted the best whisky in the world, while Suntory’s Hibiki was voted the best blended whisky. If you [...]
Non-food to drive growth at Sainsbury’s November 11, 2009 J SAINSBURY has pinned its growth hopes on a bold expansion of its non-food offering, with plans to take on market leaders Tesco and Asda in larger-format stores. Unveiling a robust 18 per cent rise in first half profits to £307m yesterday, chief executive Justin King outlined a £2bn expansion programme for the next two [...]
Clubcard lifts Tesco’s share of customers November 10, 2009 SUPERMARKET giant Tesco is growing market share for the first time in two years as it fights back at its rivals, industry figures show. Tesco’s double Clubcard points promotion – which cost the group around £5m a week – helped its share of the grocery market climb to 30.7 per cent in the 12 weeks [...]
Asda and J Sainsbury to battle it out in crunch time for grocers November 8, 2009 J Sainsbury and Asda will go head -to-head this week to show the City how they have been faring in the consumer downturn. Sainsbury’s, Britain’s third-biggest grocer, is expected to post a 16 per cent rise in first-half profits on Wednesday and warn of a tougher second half amid stiff competition. And Asda, owned by [...]