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 [...]
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 [...]
M&S beats forecasts as it says no to discounting November 4, 2009 MARKS & SPENCER (M&S) yesterday said that there would be no blanket promotions that dominated the high street last year in the run up to the Christmas period, after its half year sales beat City forecasts. Executive chairman Sir Stuart Rose yesterday said that this year included very different circumstances. He said: “Last year people [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 3, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES INDIA SOLD ON GOLDGold surged to an all-time high after India bought 200 tonnes of the precious metal, swapping dollars for bullion as the finance minister warned the economies of the US and Europe had ‘collapsed’. India’s decision to exchange $6.7bn for gold equivalent to eight per cent of world annual mine production [...]
Tesco starts to close gap on faster growing rivals October 13, 2009 TESCO, the UK’s largest retailer, is closing the gap on faster-growing competitors, market researcher TNS WorldPanel said yesterday. TNS, which tracks sales growth in the grocery sector, said sales at Tesco, which has been growing less quickly than rivals in recent months, rose 4.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to 4 October. This was [...]
Banks and oil lead the markets lower October 7, 2009 EUROPEAN shares closed lower yesterday with banking and oil stocks leading the fallers, as investors booked profits ahead of the US third-quarter corporate results season. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 0.4 per cent at 988.76 points. The benchmark index is up 19 per cent this year and has surged 53 [...]
J Sainsbury sales growth slows down October 7, 2009 J SAINSBURY, hot on the heels of supermarket archrival Tesco, yesterday revealed that its second quarter sales growth had slowed as food inflation eased in the autumn. Sainsbury’s said like-for-like sales growth, excluding fuel, slowed to 4.6 per cent rise for the 16 weeks to 3 October down from seven per cent in the previous [...]
Waitrose draws up plans to open 300 small stores September 24, 2009 UPMARKET grocer Waitrose yesterday unveiled plans to take a bigger share of the convenience store market, saying it could open up to 300 smaller format stores, stepping up its challenge to top end rival Marks & Spencer . Waitrose, part of the employee-owned John Lewis Partnership, also said it would open more stores in motorway [...]
Profits slide at John Lewis as crunch hits September 17, 2009 THE John Lewis Partnership, seen as a bellwether for middle-class consumer confidence, yesterday reported a 20 per cent dive in first-half profits. Despite a strong performance from its grocery chain Waitrose, the group said pre-tax profits were down by £21m to £86.3m in the six months to 1 August. The group’s department store, famed for [...]
Waitrose benefits as shoppers return to high-end supermarkets September 15, 2009 UK FOOD shoppers are regaining confidence and returning to upmarket grocery chain Waitrose, according to the latest figures. TNS Worldpanel said yesterday that sales at Waitrose were up 11.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to 6 September, outperforming the supermarket sector, which grew by 5.5 per cent. Waitrose also grew its market share to [...]