First the complimentary coffee threat, and now this. Waitrose angers customers with new free newspaper curbs October 19, 2016 First came the threat to Middle England’s free coffee – and now this. Waitrose has angered customers by announcing plans to increase the amount of money they have to spend before getting a free newspaper. Read more: Brace yourself middle England: Waitrose's free coffee could be under threat That’s right – from 1 November, loyalty [...]
Take that, Aldi: Tesco gains market share for the first time in years but Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Asda decline further October 18, 2016 It looks like Tesco is beginning to win the battle of the supermarkets, after new figures showed it won supermarket share in the last three months – for the first time in five years. Figures by Kantar Worldpanel showed Tesco increased sales by 1.3 per cent in the 12 weeks to 9 October, which pushed its [...]
The UK is facing a “cliff edge” on food prices, according to Nick Clegg October 17, 2016 UK food prices could spike dramatically if the UK quits the Single Market, according to former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg. Clegg, now the EU spokesman for the Lib Dems, says British shoppers will face dramatically increased bills if the UK reverts to World Trade Organization (WTO) rules after Brexit. The UK currently exports £11bn worth of agricultural products to [...]
London Remainers drag down consumer confidence in the capital October 17, 2016 London consumers are feeling less confident than the rest of the UK, data out today shows. Confidence fell in London during the third quarter despite climbing to a five-year high across the rest of the country, according to the latest survey from accountancy giant Deloitte. Consumer sentiment in the capital fell by three percentage points over [...]
Brace yourself middle England: Waitrose’s free coffee could be under threat October 16, 2016 Middle England's favourite supermarket risks causing a rift among its quinoa and kale loving shoppers. Waitrose is no longer serving up a free coffee or classic cuppa tea to customers in some of its stores in the way they've been used to. The roll back on the tempting offer which was first introduced in 2013 – and has [...]
Rowing for gold: Rio glory sees Phelan Hill go from Treasury to national treasure October 13, 2016 Even Olympic gold medallists are brought back down to earth sooner or later. Twenty-four hours after sipping one final Mojito on Ipanema beach, Great Britain’s premier coxswain – and former Treasury high-flyer – Phelan Hill was back in Putney changing his son’s dirty nappy. Most of the time that gold medal, the reward for excruciating [...]
Summer sun and price cuts drive best quarter for food sales since 2013 October 11, 2016 The food sector has had its best quarter of sales in two years, according to new figures. Like-for-like sales across all retail categories increased 0.4 per cent year-on-year in September, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG. Read more: Rosé wine, gin and ice cream sales gave Waitrose a summer boost last [...]
Supermarket sales continue to edge upwards in the months following the Brexit vote September 20, 2016 Supermarket sales continued to edge upwards this month, increasing by 0.3 per cent for the three months ending 11 September. The growth was against a backdrop of price deflation of 1.1 per cent. Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “While overall sales growth has been slow, consumers have been keen [...]
Finsbury Food Group cooks up tasty 40 per cent profit growth with the help of artisan breads and Disney cakes September 19, 2016 Profits were up a tasty 40 per cent last year at cake and bread supplier Finsbury Food Group, as demand for premium breads and Disney celebration cakes pushed up growth. The figures Group revenue rose 25 per cent to £319.7m in the year ended 2 July, while adjusted operating profit grew 38 per cent to £17.1m. Finsbury [...]
Knowingly undersold? John Lewis profits fall 15 per cent – but not because of Brexit September 15, 2016 You know things are bad when the chattering classes stop spending: today John Lewis admitted things had gone downhill in the first half as market conditions worsened. The figures Profit before tax and exceptional items fell 14.7 per cent to £81.9m in the six months to the end of July, despite a 3.1 per cent rise in gross sales, to £5.27bn. Although [...]