How one buccaneering family dominated the UK scampi market October 20, 2016 "At the tender age of 32, I got involved in buying assets from the receivership of what was the Whitby Shellfish Company”, says Graham Whittle, founder of Whitby Seafoods. From relatively humble beginnings, in just over thirty years, the business has gone from one that was sinking to the biggest producer of scampi in the UK, [...]
HSBC marks out the winners and losers from the national living wage October 19, 2016 HSBC has today outlined how businesses can combat the cost pressures of the national living wage – and the kind of companies that will be the winners and losers from the legislation. The best way to offset the new costs is to find productivity growth, HSBC analysts said in a note, although "this would require a [...]
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 [...]
Marmitegate: A typical story of belligerent boardrooms October 14, 2016 Marmitegate – it divided the nation. You might even say it spread fear. Either way, Tesco revealed last night that it has resolved its feud with Unilever, producer of everything from Marmite to Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, after the consumer goods giant tried to impose a blanket 10 per cent price hike on its products due [...]
As Tesco shares jump after it reported another rise in sales, is the retailer out of the woods? October 5, 2016 Clive Black, head of research at Shore Capital, says Yes. If you go down to the woods today… well, you won’t find Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis. Two years on from a troubled and tortuous analyst meeting, with the business on its knees, the Tesco boss is reporting that the remedial measures introduced to guide the [...]
Tesco’s pension deficit has more than doubled in six months October 5, 2016 The market has responded positively to Tesco's new target for operating margin to move to four per cent by 2020, but Tesco also reported this morning that its pension deficit has more than doubled in six months. The deficit has risen from £2.61bn to £5.85bn due to exceptionally low bond yields, leaving the scheme's trustees in a tight spot. [...]
Analysts applaud Dave Lewis’ efforts to turn around Tesco October 5, 2016 Tesco posted a 0.6 per cent increase in UK like-for-like sales this morning and analysts have been reacting well to chief executive Dave Lewis' efforts to revive the embattled retailer. And the market seems to agree with them, with the retailer's share price jumping nine per cent in early morning trading. Lewis has been managing [...]
Tesco’s Drastic Dave must keep delivering to revive fortunes of the supermarket giant October 5, 2016 Tesco's slogan “every little helps” was aimed at cost-conscious shoppers in the financial crisis, but the same could also be said of the grocer’s gradual recovery under CEO Dave Lewis. Two years into his tenure, the retailer can perhaps add a new catchline to its roster: buy everything here. Lewis is steering the Tesco juggernaut [...]
“Sainsbury’s footfall is falling short” – analysts react to the retailer’s trading update September 28, 2016 Sainsbury's issued a 1.1 per cent fall in like-for-like sales this morning, and analysts' reactions have been pretty scathing. The retailer boosted its volumes, but the supermarket price war has eroded any benefit Sainsbury's might have wanted to see in its like-for-likes as a result. Sainsbury's share price has dropped 3.67 per cent today following [...]
Sales drop at Sainsbury’s in second quarter – but Argos is growing September 28, 2016 Sainsbury's reported at drop in sales during the 16 weeks to 24 September, despite transaction growth and flat fuel sales – but Argos posted a strong performance for its second quarter. The company's share price had fallen by 3.03 per cent in mid-morning trading. The supermarket posted a 1.1 per cent decline in like-for-like sales, [...]