Morrisons recovery continues September 13, 2018 Morrisons shares are lower today despite the company reporting a strong set of first-half figures. Same-store-sales for the six-month period jumped by 4.9% and second-quarter sales jumped by 6.3% – a nine year high. Stripping out one-off adjustments, profit increased by 9% to £193 million. When you factor in debt restructuring costs and charges relating [...]
Battle of the sarnies: From Tesco to Benugo, which Christmas sandwich will come top of our list this year, and which one was literally inedible? November 15, 2017 We set off into the City to gather festive sandwiches from supermarkets and fast food chains far and wide to see which of them is worthy of Santa himself, and which were a nightmare before Christmas. Eat Turkey and cranberry sandwich ★★★☆☆ Tastes alright, but nothing to write to Santa about. Solid fillings, pleasantly sweet [...]
Focus On Bow: Young professionals are changing the landscape of Bow, but upsizing proves costly March 22, 2019 Few areas in London have seen demographic change like east London, but even within the East End, Bow has changed a lot in recent years. “There is a definite shift taking place, highlighted by the arrival of a number of independent coffee shops, wine bars and restaurants over the past 18 months or so,” said [...]
China is proving a tough market for western brands – here’s the common mistakes that companies keep making April 12, 2019 Last week, the International Monetary Fund upgraded its 2019 growth forecast for the Chinese economy to 6.3 per cent, up from 6.2 per cent. For comparison, the UK economy is only expected to grow 1.2 per cent this year. It’s worth noting these figures, because they highlight why many brands in the UK and elsewhere [...]
Tech outages at financial firms double as watchdog warns of data breach risk November 27, 2018 IT failures at financial institutions have more than doubled in the last year, the Financial Conduct Authority has revealed, as firms fight to update their legacy technology to keep apace with fintech startups. In the 12 months to October, the UK's financial firms reported a 138 per cent increase in technology outages to the FCA, as [...]
Sainsbury’s sales dip while Ocado and Lidl gain in latest grocer data June 26, 2018 Sainsbury's was the only supermarket to see a decline in sales during the 12 weeks to 17 June, new data shows. Sales slipped by £10m compared to the same period last year, bringing its market share down to 15.6 per cent, according to Kantar Worldpanel. Tesco, Asda and Morrisons also all lost market share despite [...]
Food waste will be next year’s moral crisis, just as single-use plastic was this year December 18, 2018 In these turbulent times, there was one villain who stood out in 2018. Plastered all over our TV screens, phones, and newspapers, this particular offender was everywhere. It is destructive, toxic, and impossible to get rid of. I am of course talking about single-use plastic. That said, the response to this growing threat has been [...]
CMA may block Sainsbury’s-Asda merger, finding deal could push up prices and reduce quality February 20, 2019 Sainsbury's suffered a 15 per cent drop in its share price this morning after the grocer's £12bn proposed merger with Asda was thrown into doubt following a swathe of concerns raised by Britain's competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the tie-up could lead to "a substantial lessening of competition at both a national and local [...]
Sainsbury’s and Asda merger could cut hole in shoppers’ pockets, Waitrose warns November 8, 2018 The proposed merger of Asda and Sainsbury’s will cause substantial harm to customers, rival chain Waitrose warned today. It said the merger could force independent retailers to close in the face of competition from the new giant, leaving shoppers with fewer alternatives, while prices could rise. In comments to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which [...]
Shareholders yearn for retail chiefs like Swann November 22, 2018 It has been an annus horribilis for the high street. Closures, job cuts and profit warnings in the last 12 months have all thrown scrutiny on the industry – and its bosses – like never before. Which is why yesterday’s announced departure of SSP chief executive Kate Swann is all the more significant. Swann is [...]