The good, the bad January 10, 2013 THE DIVIDED state of the UK retail sector was brought into sharp focus yesterday as an upbeat Tesco and Shop Direct claimed victory in the Christmas retail wars, while Marks and Spencer suffered the fallout of a worse-than-expected festive period. Following muted performances by rivals Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, a resurgent Tesco revealed its strongest sales [...]
Why Tesco’s cracking results took the Christmas crown January 10, 2013 HOW to find a clear winner in the Christmas battle of the supermarkets? Not from the headline figures, it seems, after straightforward data releases from Sainsbury and Tesco descended into a furore over the small print. Tesco reported like-for-like sales growth of 1.8 per cent over Christmas. Sainsbury reported like-for-like growth of 0.9 per cent. [...]
EAT hires new chief from Costa January 9, 2013 EAT has poached former managing director of Costa Coffee’s retail arm Adrian Johnson to be its new chief executive, the chain said yesterday. It has also bolstered its board by appointing Waitrose veteran Tony Solomons as a senior non-executive.
Sainsbury’s takes the lead at Christmas January 8, 2013 SAINSBURY posted the highest sales growth of the so called big four grocers in the run-up to Christmas and was the only one to grow market share, data revealed yesterday. Figures from Kantar Worldpanel showed Britain’s grocery market grew 3.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to 23 December, with the strongest growth at the [...]
Waitrose smashes Christmas sales records January 3, 2013 WAITROSE yesterday toasted record trading in the run-up to the New Year after the grocer said aggressive promotions on products such as champagne and its Brand Price Match campaign helped to lure customers from rivals. The upmarket supermarket, which is owned by John Lewis, said like-for-like sales rose 5.4 per cent between 18 December New [...]
Never knowingly in line with the rest of the pack January 2, 2013 LAST year we waved goodbye to Comet and JJB Sports as 2012 saw the shutters pulled down on the high-street stalwarts for the last time. Those two – along with Game – didn’t even make it to the crucial Christmas sales period before calling it a day, but as January rolls round again and store managers [...]
Waitrose rise in sales sparks hope for Xmas December 3, 2012 WAITROSE, the upmarket supermarket chain owned by John Lewis, said shoppers stocking up their pantries with Christmas staples helped drive sales up 7.8 per cent in the week to 1 December. Heston Blumenthal-branded Mulled Cider Gammon and Cropwell Bishop Potted Blue Stilton were among the best-sellers, with sales of the latter up 34.5 per cent. [...]
What the other papers say this morning November 25, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Microsoft in talks over Europe stores Microsoft is exploring the possibility of extending its showcase stores strategy to Europe as it bolsters the number of devices and appliances on its software platforms. Jenkins urged to axe Barclays unit Some of Barclays’ biggest investors have urged Antony Jenkins, the bank’s new chief executive, to [...]
Comet’s passing brings a brief celebration for rivals’ shares but the challenges they face haven’t gone away November 1, 2012 COMETS are said to burn across the sky on the death of a prince. The passing of this Comet was marked instead by the rise of its rivals’ share prices, with Dixons Retail Group doing especially well on the assumption that its chains will pick up business. But no one can pretend that kind of [...]
Cheap doesn’t always mean bad but be prepared for a challenge October 29, 2012 bottleopener@cityam.com THE £5 bottle of wine has long been a staple in everyone’s shopping baskets but that’s changing. Today’s 20 per cent VAT and the general impact of inflation is quickly making it nothing more than a distant memory. With that in mind, accompanied by six City A.M. readers, I set on a quest to [...]