Ocado to name Tatton-Brown as finance chief June 24, 2012 DUNCAN TATTON-BROWN, the former finance boss of debt-laden gym chain Fitness First, is this week set to be named as the new finance director of online supermarket Ocado. Tatton-Brown was fired along with other top Fitness First executives in February as part of a radical boardroom shake-up by the troubled gym group’s private equity backers, [...]
Jubilee gives grocers £200m turnover boost June 19, 2012 BRITAIN’S grocery market grew 3.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to 10 June, boosted by an 11.3 per cent leap in the run-up to the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee celebrations, industry data revealed yesterday. Market researcher Kantar WorldPanel said supermarkets took an extra £213m in the tills in the week ending 3 June. “The [...]
Waitrose feasts on record sales in Jubilee week June 6, 2012 DEMAND for British favourites such as scotch eggs, sausage rolls and ales to wash down street party festivities helped Waitrose serve up record-breaking sales in the run-up to the Diamond Jubilee. Sales surged 19.8 per cent in the week to Saturday 2 June to a total of £123m, Waitrose’s highest ever trading week with the [...]
John Lewis sales boosted by TVs May 25, 2012 John Lewis, Britain’s biggest department store group, continued its run of double digit weekly sales increases, helped by wet weather, television sales boosted by the digital switchover and demand for Jubilee themed products. The employee-owned retailer has been growing sales even though official data this week said overall UK retail sales fell last month at [...]
Ocado points to fresh growth as revenues surge May 23, 2012 ONLINE supermarket Ocado yesterday announced an acceleration in sales growth for the second quarter, raising hopes that the firm has overcome last year’s distribution problems that damaged consumer confidence. Shares in the company, whose range includes products supplied by upmarket grocer Waitrose, rose 6.8 per cent after it said sales in the quarter to 13 [...]
Ocado sales growth accelerates May 23, 2012 Online British supermarket Ocado posted an acceleration in sales growth in its second quarter, raising hopes it has got to grips with bottlenecks at its distribution centre that led to a string of profit downgrades last year. Shares in Ocado, whose range includes products supplied by upmarket grocer Waitrose jumped 6.8 per cent on Wednesday [...]
Waitrose and budget grocers outpace rivals May 22, 2012 TESCO AND MORRISONS’ market shares are still under pressure from fierce competition, retail data showed yesterday, as upmarket and discount retailers outpaced the middle market. Kantar Worldpanel figures for the 12 weeks to 13 May 2012 revealed that Aldi grew sales by more than 25 per cent compared with the same period last year, achieving [...]
Greencore earnings on the rise May 22, 2012 Anglo-Irish convenience food company Greencore yesterday reported climbing revenue and profits. The company, which is making special Jubilee themed sandwiches to be stocked in Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, said first-half revenue soared 49.9 per cent to £567.7m. Operating profits were up 36.7 per cent to £31.7m for the six months to the end of March. The [...]
Asda market share up as it lures shoppers with price guarantee May 17, 2012 ASDA, the British arm of supermarket giant Walmart, said it continued to gain market share in the first quarter of the year as its focus on low prices and a revamping of own-brand ranges helped drive sales growth. The UK’s second-biggest supermarket chain behind Tesco, said like-for-like sales excluding fuel and VAT accelerated in the [...]
Sainsbury hails coupon success as profits rise May 9, 2012 J SAINSBURY said yesterday that its discount coupons and price matching scheme had helped it outperform the market as the UK’s third largest grocer posted a seven per cent rise in full-year profit. Chief executive Justin King brushed aside concerns over mounting competition from the likes of Waitrose’s new brand match scheme saying its own [...]