‘Waitrose of the north’ posts £2.2m sales loss amid trading pressures October 15, 2018 Booths, the Lancashire-based supermarket chain dubbed “the Waitrose of the north” for its focus on high-quality food, posted a £2.2m loss on sales but cut its overall losses in half, its latest results revealed. The family-owned-and-operated supermarket, which has 28 stores across Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria, Cheshire and Greater Manchester, saw its losses before taxation fall [...]
Waitrose trials ‘in-home’ delivery service while you’re at work October 5, 2018 Waitrose is testing out a new service where it will put away your food shopping for you while you're out, enabling more customers to receive home deliveries during the work week. Using smart lock technology, customers will be able to grant access to Waitorise drivers by setting a temporary passcode which is then deleted once the [...]
John Lewis Partnership taps London startup CupClub for reusable cups trial October 3, 2018 John Lewis Partnership has announced a collaboration with London startup CupClub, which will see the subscription service trialled within the business. CupClub was selected alongside three other startups who were chosen from more than 100 applications to John Lewis Partnership's JLab retail innovation programme, which in this iteration was dedicated to reducing plastic waste. The London startup [...]
John Lewis could face profit hit after heavy discounting September 9, 2018 Retailer the John Lewis Partnership may take a £50m hit to profits after slashing prices this summer in the wake of the collapse of House of Fraser. The Waitrose-owner was forced to cut prices after department chain House of Fraser collapsed into administration leading to mass stock clearance. Read more: Changing tastes shows retail’s centre [...]
Sports Direct named least reputable retailer in annual rankings while Amazon takes top spot August 28, 2018 Sports Direct has been named the least reputable retailer in the UK after a survey of consumer attitudes. The sports gear retailer languished at the bottom of the rankings compiled by the Reputation Institute for its annual UK Retail RepTrack. Sports Direct scored poorly on four measures: workplace, governance, citizenship and leadership. It comes just weeks after [...]
Yo! Sushi eyes opportunities for supermarket growth after acquisitions August 21, 2018 Yo! Sushi increased sales last year ahead of two major acquisitions which could see the company expand into the grocery sector this year. The Japanese restaurant chain reported a 1.7 per cent uptick in total sales to £89.9m for the year to 27 November. This included a four per cent rise on a like-for-like basis, driven by the strength [...]
Amazon eyes Homebase stores marked for closure August 19, 2018 Amazon is set to bid for a selection of Homebase stores in a move to improve its last mile delivery process. The online retailer could turn the stores into delivery warehouses when Homebase closes 42 of its 241 sites through a company voluntary arrangement this year. Amazon could use the sites, which are conveniently located in urban [...]
Supermarket sweep: Which FTSE 100 grocer is the best buy? August 14, 2018 British supermarkets haven’t had an easy ride lately. There’s been plenty for them to worry about – the biggest being the rising cost of imports as sterling has continued to slide (the pound dropped to €1.11 and $1.28 last week). A weak pound has tightened profit margins. And with heavy competition from discount retailers, passing [...]
Pressure grows on Premier Foods boss as activist investor builds stake July 10, 2018 The pressure on under-fire Premier Foods chief executive officer (CEO) Gavin Darby has increased today after activist investor Oasis Investment upped its stake in the company. Hong Hong-based Oasis has been vocal in its opposition to Darby who it accuses of “shareholder value destruction”. Read more: Paulson triples stake in Premier Foods as AGM showdown [...]
Amazon tops UK customer satisfaction rankings as Iceland becomes the UK’s top supermarket for the first time July 5, 2018 Amazon has been named the top company in the UK for customer satisfaction for the sixth consecutive year, while Iceland scored the number one spot in food retail for the first time. Amazon scored 86.7 out of a potential 100 points, followed closely by John Lewis which scored 86.5. Yorkshire Bank took joint third in [...]