Shoppers eye discount brands as increasing costs of essentials bite December 8, 2021 Shoppers are eyeing cheaper prices at discount supermarkets amid increases in the cost of living. Brands to focus on affordable prices have made market share gains over the past 12 weeks, according to fresh data from Kantar. Lidl hit a new record market share of 6.4per cent, while Aldi gained 0.2 percentage points to move [...]
Asda workers join supermarket strike action threats December 7, 2021 Asda workers have joined Tesco staff in threatening staff action over pay, with both supermarkets anxious to mitigate disruption for shoppers ahead of Christmas. Union GMB is balloting Asda workers over a potential strike after it described the supermarket as “not taking workers seriously” over pay despite “rampant” inflation. The ballot closes on 20 December, [...]
Thousands of Tesco distribution workers to strike before Christmas as unions warn of empty shelves December 6, 2021 Thousands of disgruntled Tesco distribution workers across the country are to strike in the run-up to Christmas. Up to 5,000 Tesco workers in the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) could take part in industrial action while some 1,200 workers in union Unite are also preparing to strike. Members of both unions are [...]
The supermarket wars are in full swing and Tesco is beefing up to fight its turf December 1, 2021 I last saw Sir Terry Leahy in 2013, two years after his messy divorce from Tesco. He agreed to a chat about retail on the condition he wouldn’t have to talk about the supermarket juggernaut he helped to create or his successor, Philip Clarke, who’d begun to question the state of the business he’d been [...]
The Coward’s way out: Loungewear to keep it classy November 30, 2021 The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the switch to home working by large swathes of the employed population had a distinct knock-on effect on clothing. Suits and smart jackets were out—some of us are fighting a rearguard action to revive them—and suddenly everyone cast aside any remaining shame and championed their loungewear. The pressure [...]
No 10 salvages PM’s business bosses forum in effort to claw back corporate support November 27, 2021 Downing Street has made a last-ditch attempt to salvage relations between British business and Boris Johnson by ditching plans to wrap up the PM’s council of business leaders, after his humiliating performance last week eroded bosses’ confidence. Last week, No 10 had told some members of the PM’s business discussion forum, the Build Back Better [...]
Who will win the EV charger race? November 26, 2021 Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have been remarkably strong recently. In the 12 months to June 2021, sales of EVs were more than 160% higher than in the same period a year earlier and were up by more than 130% in the comparable period in 2019 (according to BNEF data). So, although the transition to [...]
Antivaxxers targeting Tesco Christmas ad set to complain to advertising watchdog November 17, 2021 The antivaxxers who began the #BoycottTesco trend at the weekend have reportedly arranged a campaign to complain to the Advertising Standards Authority. Tesco became the latest subject to antivax protest after it included a double vaccinated Santa in its Christmas advert. Antivaxxers, those who have been against the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, took to Twitter to [...]
Revealed: Amazon to open 260 supermarkets across UK as it plots to take on Tesco and Sainsbury’s directly November 17, 2021 Amazon has developed detailed plans to storm the UK supermarket sector as the e-commerce is planning to open hundreds of cashierless grocery stores across the country in the next three years. More than 260 Amazon-owned and run supermarkets are to be launched before the end of 2024, namely 60 in 2022, another 100 per year [...]
Mounting Bank of England rate hike speculation weighs on London markets November 16, 2021 Mounting speculation that strong jobs figures will coax the Bank of England into hiking interest rates next month weighed on London markets this morning. The capital’s FTSE 100 index pulled back 0.16 per cent to 7,340.28 points, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 lost 0.10 per cent to dip to 23,598.73 points. Experts are stepping up [...]