Bottom Line: As the going gets tough, Justin King gets going June 11, 2014 There was a lot of back-slapping at Sainsbury’s yesterday, with Justin King talking up his successor, and his successor lavishing praise on the soon-to-depart chief executive. “When Justin started at the business we were serving 14m customers a week, and now we’re serving 24m a week. That’s a great achievement,” enthused Mike Coupe. King insists the [...]
Sainsbury’s wins battle of the big supermarkets with rise in sales… October 2, 2013 SAINSBURY’S chief executive Justin King yesterday conceded that the days of Britons shopping at one supermarket were over as the grocer posted strong second quarter sales yesterday ahead of rivals. King said the growing strength of discounters such as Aldi reflected this change in shopping behaviour. “I should think all of our shoppers are shopping [...]
How Aldi is about to overtake Waitrose and become the sixth largest supermarket in Britain July 29, 2014 Aldi and Lidl continue to win in the battle of the supermarkets as their market share surged and sales were up, leaving the big four- Tesco, Asda, Sinasbury's and Morrisons- trailing behind when it comes to growth. Aldi’s stellar performance places it almost level with Waitrose as the big four continue to feel the pressure [...]
How Aldi is about to overtake Waitrose and become the sixth largest supermarket in Britain July 29, 2014 Aldi and Lidl continue to win in the battle of the supermarkets as their market share surged and sale rise, leaving the big four- Tesco, Asda, Sinasbury's and Morrisons- trailing behind. Aldi’s stellar performance places it almost level with Waitrose as the big four continue to feel the pressure from discounters. The latest figures from [...]
Justin King’s final curtain: Sainsbury’s CEO goes out on sliding sales June 11, 2014 It is chief executive Justin King’s last set of results, and Sainsbury's has reported a 1.1 per cent fall in like-for-like sales – in line with expectations. Including fuel, they dropped 2.4 per cent in the 12 weeks to 7 June. But shares have risen by as much as two per cent this morning. Darren [...]
Lidl goes on claret offensive with wine range to tempt wealthier Londoners July 16, 2014 Lidl is ploughing £12m into a wine range designed to attract wealthier customers away from rival British supermarket chains. The discount retailer which has flourished in recent penny-pinching times is heavily investing in the premium wine range, priced between £4.99 and £25.99, in a bid to attract middle class customers away from suffering supermarkets, the [...]
Ex-Boots boss Richard Baker to take up chair at Whitbread July 16, 2014 Costa Coffee and Premier Inn owner Whitbread has appointed one of its non-executive directors, the former Boots chief executive Richard Baker, to take over as chairman. Baker, who has sat on the board since 2009, will replace Whitbread’s longserving chairman Anthony Habgood in September. Habgood announced in January that he would be retiring after nine [...]
And the nominees are… September 7, 2014 TOMORROW: ACCOUNTANCY FIRM OF THE YEAR ALDI The German discounter has taken the British high street by storm. Aldi now has a 4.6 per cent share of the UK market, up more than one third in a year due to consumers choosing its quality and low prices over the more established retailers. It has even [...]
London Report: Reports of new Pfizer Astra bid pushes up FTSE August 21, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index yesterday rose on gains in healthcare stocks, led by Astrazeneca on speculation that previously rejected US suitor Pfizer might make another bid. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 22.18 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 6,777.66 points. Astrazeneca rose three per cent to 4,411.50p, while domestic rival Glaxosmithkline advanced 1.2 [...]
Tesco’s credit rating downgraded by S&P amid profit fears August 8, 2014 Tesco suffered a fresh blow yesterday after Standard and Poor’s (S&P) downgraded the troubled supermarket’s credit rating over concerns of rising competition in its home market and its recent profit warning. S&P said it had cut its long-term rating on Tesco to “BBB” from “BBB+”, but reiterated its “A-2” short-term corporate credit rating on the [...]