Lebanese PM lifts stake in Sainsbury’s March 7, 2012 AN INVESTMENT fund founded by the Lebanese Prime Minister yesterday upped its stake in Sainsbury’s to more than three per cent, lifting the supermarket’s share during afternoon trading. Founded more than 40 years ago by brothers Taha and Najib Mikati – who has twice served as Lebanese PM since 2005 – the M1 Group today [...]
M&S’s board still backs Marc Bolland but its patience will not last forever January 9, 2013 THIS was no ordinary trading statement. If Marc Bolland, the Marks & Spencer chief executive, had sold an item from his womenswear ranges last autumn every time the retailer’s advertising slogan had been parroted back at him, he’d have wiped the floor with the rest of the high street. Last night’s hastily-released quarterly trading update [...]
It is never easy to attempt something this fresh December 5, 2012 AS TIM Mason departs and Tesco announces a strategic review of its US venture Fresh and Easy, it is Sir Terry Leahy’s judgement that is under scrutiny. But despite the failure of his American dream, critics should not use hindsight to throw too many brickbats Leahy’s way. It is important to remember both how bold [...]
A welcome return to City inboxes as Louise Cooper goes it alone December 4, 2012 WELL-KNOWN City commentator Louise Cooper has left BGC Partners and gone solo by starting her own financial consultancy business CooperCity. Cooper tells The Capitalist that despite “being insane given the current environment” she is looking forward to the flexibility of being her own boss and will still be aiming to inject a little humour into [...]
Spurs close on stadium with Sainsbury’s deal February 29, 2012 TOTTENHAM’S plans to relocate to a new 56,000-seater stadium have moved a step closer after the club announced a tie-up with supermarket giant Sainsbury’s. The deal will see Sainsbury’s become the operator of a 72,000 sq ft store – the main retail presence in the Northumberland Development Project. Spurs have already received planning consent from [...]
Supermarkets to sell Skype credit November 4, 2012 While retailers are rushing to expand their online presence, Skype, the internet phone service, announced today it is making a move onto the UK high street in a tie-up with five supermarkets to sell credit in stores. The US firm, which has 254m connected users per month, said it is to sell £10 or £20 [...]
Sainsbury’s boosted by online and convenience sales October 3, 2012 Sainsbury’s beat expectations to post a 4.3 per cent increase in total sales over the quarter this morning, thanks to strong growth in convenience stores and online. The food retailer opened 49 new convenience stores over the first half of the year, while the online business posted growth of over 20 per cent year on [...]
The good, the bad January 10, 2013 THE DIVIDED state of the UK retail sector was brought into sharp focus yesterday as an upbeat Tesco and Shop Direct claimed victory in the Christmas retail wars, while Marks and Spencer suffered the fallout of a worse-than-expected festive period. Following muted performances by rivals Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, a resurgent Tesco revealed its strongest sales [...]
Sainsbury wins shoppers over with coupons November 14, 2012 J SAINSBURY boss Justin King said the supermarket’s Nectar data and coupon-at-till scheme would give it the edge over rivals ahead of another competitive christmas, as it reported a rise in half-year profit. Britain’s third largest supermarket beat forecasts with a five per cent rise in first-half profit to £373m, driven by convenience store growth [...]
CBRE GI’s supermarket sweep October 15, 2012 CBRE Global Investors yesterday said it has bought five supermarkets across the UK for around £62m. The acquisitions include two Waitrose stores in Frimley and East Grinstead, two Sainsbury’s stores in Chadwell Heath and West Wickham and a Co-op in Leeds. “These five acquisitions offer secure income streams of more than 15 years and with [...]