Regulators list problems with Poundland’s £55m 99p Stores merger June 25, 2015 Britain’s competition watchdog unveiled a list of issues it is exploring around Poundland’s £55m merger with 99p Stores after the discount chain agreed to push ahead with an in-depth probe last month. Poundland, which floated on the stock market last year, announced in February that it was going to buy 99p Stores. However, the Competition [...]
Asda sales fall for first time since 2010 but market share grows as boss Andy Clarke heralds strong performance in “distressed market” November 13, 2014 Having largely kept its head above water as sales and market share sinked at fellow supermarkets, Asda is finally feeling the pinch. The supermarket published figures today showing sales slipped for the first time since 2010 during its third quarter. The UK’s second largest supermarket said like-for-like sales fell 1.6 per cent in the three [...]
Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda cut petrol prices in latest battle in supermarket price wars September 29, 2014 Supermarkets clearly love the smell of diesel in the morning. Forget Brand Match promotions, in the latest battle between supermarkets in the long-waged war over low prices, the front of the petrol pumps re-opened. From tomorrow, Tesco and Sainsbury’s will slash fuel prices by up to five pence per litre while Asda will cut up [...]
Tesco must find £5bn to rebuild its balance sheet, says Moody’s June 15, 2015 Troubled Tesco will need to find £5bn in order to relieve the pressure on its overstretched balance sheet, according to credit ratings agency Moody's. Read more: Here's what assets has Tesco sold off and what's heading to the checkout "It has a relatively high level of debt – also adjusted debt, such as the pension deficit and [...]
Asda faces mass legal action over pay inequality: Female shopfloor workers say they receive less than males in warehouses October 26, 2014 Thousands of female shop floor workers are taking legal action against Asda over pay inequality. They claim they are paid less than many male employees working in warehouses, despite doing equally valuable work for the supermarket chain. Law firm Leigh Day told the Guardian that 19,000 Asda employees had approached it since April, [...]
Big four supermarkets will keep getting squeezed says Moody’s June 10, 2015 The leading big four supermarkets are expected to lose another four per cent of their market share by 2020 to discounters Aldi and Lidl, as competition in the grocery retail market intensifies. A report published today by credit rating agency Moody’s predicts Aldi and Lidl’s combined market share will reach 12-15 per cent by 2020, [...]
Inflation is zero, but retailers and manufacturers are charging you more for less April 14, 2015 Consumer price inflation may be at zero for the second month in a row, but new research suggests the goods we buy are getting smaller while prices are edging up. Take your Tetley's Blend of Both tea, for example. If you bought that in Sainsbury's a few months back it would have been £2.55 for [...]
Sainsburys, Asda, House of Fraser, Shop Direct and 15 more businesses will let customers pay via mobile with Zapp October 8, 2014 Sainsbury’s, Asda and House of Fraser are just some of the country’s biggest shops that will soon let customers pay for items using just a mobile phone via Zapp. The mobile technology, already supported in the apps of UK banks such as HSBC, Nationwide and Santander, will be supported by more than 15 high street [...]
Tesco tops suppliers’ naughty list over groceries code June 22, 2015 Tesco has been on the receiving end of more than half of issues raised by suppliers with the new Groceries Code adjudicator in the last year. The troubled supermarket was at the centre of 54 per cent of complaints made, with 11 per cent of Tesco's suppliers going to the new government ombudsman, according [...]
Dixons Carphone boss Sebastian James steals Retail Week Power List crown from Next’s Simon Wolfson June 26, 2015 Dixons Carphone chief executive Sebastian James has been crowned the most powerful person in British retailing, knocking Next's Simon Wolfson off the top spot. James has stolen the number one position in Retail Week's annual Power List, published today, for his work successfully merging the two retailers, creating a £10bn business that swooped into [...]