Thatchers: Historic cider maker cheers record sales after Aldi legal battle win February 25, 2025 Sales at family-owned cider maker Thatchers have surged to a new record as they passed the £200m mark for the first time in its 120-year history. The Somerset-headquartered business, which was established in 1904, has reported sales of £203.9m for the 12 months to 31 August, 2024. The new figure comes after the firm’s turnover [...]
Aldi to create 1,600 new jobs and expand as supermarket rivals cut February 4, 2025 Discount grocer Aldi is set to create 1,600 new roles this year as it expands its store presence in the UK, while its rivals slash jobs. The announcement stands in marked contrast to news of 3,000 jobs cuts at Sainsbury’s, and small reductions in staff numbers at Tesco’s and Morrisons. All three supermarkets have attributed [...]
Grocery inflation slowed as supermarket discounts deepened February 4, 2025 Grocery inflation in January slowed for the first time in six months after supermarkets lowered prices in response to stretched household budgets. Inflation was 3.3 per cent in January, easing from 3.7 per cent in December, according to the latest figures from Kantar. Prices rose for chocolate, juices and butters, but fell for cooking sauces, [...]
Asda ditches Aldi and Lidl price match promise just a year after launch January 29, 2025 Asda has axed its price-matching scheme with Aldi and Lidl in a bid to stop “dancing to the tune of the discounters”, according to reports. The Leeds-based firm, which in January 2024 became the first of the UK’s ‘big four’ to offer the scheme, said it wanted to focus on “its own great Asda prices, [...]
The Week in Business: Reeves tries to rescue the non-doms January 24, 2025 It’s a funny old world when the pleas of pensioners, farmers and shopkeepers fall on deaf ears but a Labour chancellor flies to Davos to break the news that she’s “listened to the concerns of the non-dom community” – and will be watering down her assault on their tax arrangements. Let’s take a look at [...]
Inheritance tax on farms: Lidl, Tesco and Aldi join demands for consultation January 22, 2025 Supermarkets Lidl, Tesco and Aldi have added their names to calls for a consultation over the government’s reforms to inheritance tax, citing concerns the changes would dent farmer confidence and choke off investment. In an unusual string of interventions, the retailers rode to the defence of farmers’ calls to pause the changes to Agricultural Property [...]
Judge rules Aldi infringed on Thatchers’ cloudy lemon cider trademark January 20, 2025 In a landmark ruling on look-alikes, the Court of Appeal ruled that Aldi infringed on the British cider brand Thatchers' trademark with its cloudy lemon cides
Ocado shares surge after online grocer reports record-breaking year January 14, 2025 Ocado Retail’s sales boomed in the weeks leading up to Christmas, vastly outperforming the broader market with double-digit revenue and customer growth. In a trading update issued today, the company, a 50:50 joint venture between Ocado and Marks and Spencer, reported revenue growth of 17.5 per cent in the 13 weeks to 1 December. Ocado [...]
Tesco shares drop despite bumper Christmas trading January 9, 2025 Tesco shares dropped two per cent in early deals this morning despite the retailer reporting abumper festive trading period. Food sales rose by 4.7 per cent in the six weeks to January 4, with a “particularly strong contribution” from fresh food, the grocer said. That’s more than double the market average of 2.1 per cent. [...]
Grocery spending hit record high at Christmas as Brits favour food over gifts January 7, 2025 Grocery spending hit a record high this Christmas as Brits dined out on premium goods and fizz, in a marked contrast to the anaemic growth in retail spending. Overall take-home sales at the grocers rose by 2.1 per cent over the four weeks to 29 December compared with last year. Brits splashed out on premium [...]