Deliveroo co-founder Will Shu talks buffalo wings, concerned ex-colleagues and hedging bankers February 22, 2016 By the time Will Shu, co-founder of Deliveroo, launched his company, he knew acutely what problem he was trying to solve. The former investment banker grew up in Connecticut, went to college in Chicago and then went straight to work for Morgan Stanley in New York. “This was 2001, and things were very different then. The [...]
Here’s why mums go to Iceland: Supermarket beats Tesco, Asda and Morrisons to be named the best online retailer in consumer survey, and boss Malcolm Walker is clearly pleased February 15, 2016 Iceland, favourite of mothers across the nation and anybody else looking for decently priced party snacks they can stock in their freezer, has been voted the UK's best online supermarket. The league table released today by Which? gives Iceland an impressive overall customer satisfaction score of 77 per cent, ranking it above Waitrose, Ocado and [...]
Outgoing Waitrose boss Mark Price appointed trade minister for foreign office and BIS February 10, 2016 Waitrose' outgoing chief executive Mark Price has been appointed trade minister at the foreign office and the department for business, innovation and skills (BIS), the government has announced. Price will take up the role in April after the appointment was approved by the Queen today. He will replace Lord Maude who has announced plans to step down next month after [...]
UK quinoa imports surge in 2015 as Waitrose reports sales jump February 9, 2016 Britain’s appetite for novelty lunchtime salads knows no bounds. Imports of quinoa boomed again last year, as the Latin American grain went from a health-conscious fad to a mainstream staple. Shipments to the UK from Peru, the world’s biggest exporter, jumped 47 per cent in 2015 to just under 3,000 tonnes, according to customs data released this week. [...]
Ocado share price jumps as it makes its second-ever profit – and says it is “confident” of signing a big deal February 2, 2016 Ocado has reported its second-ever pre-tax profit, which jumped 65 per cent in the year to the end of November. And the company was dropped a couple of hints which could relate to those rumours of a tie-up with a certain giant ecommerce site… The figures In a statement today, Ocado said gross retail sales rose to £1.1bn in 2015, up 14.7 per [...]
How Tyrrells aims to be the big cheese (and onion) of the crisp world January 28, 2016 Six years ago, David Milner received a phone call from private equity firm Langholm Partners, the former owners of Tyrrells Crisps. They needed help. After an eight-year growth spurt, sales at the posh crisp brand had turned rather stale and Langholm wanted the former Mars and Campbell’s Soup executive on board. “The first thing I [...]
Channel 4’s new chairman named as Charles Gurassa by Ofcom to replace Lord Burns as privatisation question mark hangs January 26, 2016 Charles Gurassa, the deputy chairman of EasyJet has been named the new chairman of Channel 4, succeeding Lord Burns. “I am delighted that we have appointed a chairman of Charles’ calibre to Channel 4. He brings with him a wealth of experience built up across a broad range of sectors," said Ofcom chairman Dame Patricia Hodge. The [...]
UK house prices: Though it’s currently the economic golden child, Milton Keynes needs to shake off its brand image to become hot property January 19, 2016 Despite being one of the most confusing and maligned cities in the UK, Milton Keynes is managing to outpace London in terms of economic growth, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). With good transport links, a booming property market, and massive employers like Argos and Red Bull based there, on paper this makes sense. But, let’s [...]
Tesco, Asda and Morrisons named Christmas losers by Kantar as Waitrose, the Co operative, Aldi and Lidl crowned the winners January 12, 2016 There was little Christmas cheer for the supermarket sector – but some individual grocers outperformed the wider market, Kantar Worldpanel said this morning. The sector as a whole fell 0.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to 3 January, with Asda dropping the furthest – consumer spend at the Walmart-owned retailer was down 3.5 per cent. Tesco [...]
With Marc Bolland stepping down, can anyone turn around M&S’s faltering clothing business? January 8, 2016 Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, says Yes. The M&S clothing business can be fixed, starting with these three moves. First, stock availability has to be improved as this has been an issue since 2012. The firm needs to do more dual-sourcing for quick, repeat sales on strong lines. This would maximise full-price sales, help [...]