Mutuals will stay high street bit players for many Christmases yet December 17, 2013 MUTUALS and co-operatives have been promoted as the acceptable side of business by both arms of the coalition. Nick Clegg has lauded the Waitrose and John Lewis model. Advisers to David Cameron, as well as Vince Cable, have argued that the banking sector would be more stable if more companies followed the mutual model. But [...]
Tesco hit by broker claims that prices rising faster than rivals December 10, 2013 TESCO’S share price faltered yesterday after the group suffered another downgrade from a major broker amid concerns that it has lost its differentiation with its rivals. In a damning note published yesterday, Bernstein analysts said that Tesco has raised prices faster than any of its supermarket competitors since 2010, losing its value credentials along the [...]
Waitrose fails to beat prices December 9, 2013 DISCOUNTED products made up an increasing proportion of Waitrose’s sales, the retailer said yesterday, as it reported sales increasing by less than inflation. Sales rose by 0.8 per cent last week compared to the same week of 2012. However, over the same period prices increased by 2.2 per cent, outstripping sales. The proportion made up [...]
Supermarkets grow ahead of shopping malls December 8, 2013 THE AMOUNT of space being added by UK supermarkets has overtaken that being added by shopping centres for the first time, despite some retailers calling an end to the space race as consumers shift to shopping online. The pipeline of grocery developments has grown by 67 per cent, or 19.24m square feet (sq ft) since [...]
Bottom Line: Despite the convenience boom, UK grocers are still thinking big December 8, 2013 IF YOU need reminding of the grocery sector’s continuing ambition, all you have to do is step outside your office to the nearest supermarket convenience store. These compact ventures have sprung up across city centres, going from 2,000 branches in 1998 to 14,000 and climbing today, a rate of increase that may seem to put [...]
Tesco says £1bn plan on track as troubles mount December 4, 2013 TESCO boss Philip Clarke insisted yesterday that his £1bn investment plan to turn the retailer around was “firmly on track” despite posting a slump in trading across all of its markets. UK like-for-like sales fell 1.5 per cent in the third quarter to 23 November compared with flat sales in the second quarter and in [...]
Maidstone Mums: The new Holy Grail December 1, 2013 RONNY Gottschlich, managing director of Lidl UK, described the discount retailer’s growing number of core shoppers as Maidstone Mums. “The Maidstone Mum is someone who probably previously would have thought, I can’t be seen in a Lidl store. Those Maidstone Mums are no longer afraid of being seen in a Lidl store,” he said. But [...]
Analysts spread gloom ahead of Tesco numbers November 26, 2013 TESCO received an unwelcome early Christmas message from City analysts yesterday, as predictions of a further decline in third quarter like-for-like sales sent its shares down 2.5 per cent. Barclays predicted yesterday that the UK’s largest supermarket will report a 1.8 per cent fall in UK like-for-like sales next week compared with flat sales in [...]
Foreign buyers hungry for UK food takeovers November 24, 2013 THE WIDENING gap between discounters and upmarket retailers and a heightened focus on provenance following the horsemeat scandal is driving takeovers of British food brands, new research shows. The number of British heritage and independent brands being snapped up by domestic and overseas buyers is now at the highest level since 2006, according to a [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 22 November 2013 November 21, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Independence could lose sterling Scotland will be forced to quit the sterling currency union if it votes for independence next year, a cabinet minister has said, in the starkest warning yet for Scottish voters to remain in the UK. Speaking to the Financial Times days before the Scottish government releases its vision for [...]