Too big to succeed? How Tesco’s new leader can take on the toxic retailer July 21, 2014 The last-minute cancellation of his “40 years at Tesco” party suggests that Philip Clarke’s departure came as a big surprise. But in truth, his future at Tesco had been looking increasingly bleak for months. The man himself conceded as much in March, with his surprise statement at a conference that his days as chief executive [...]
CollectPlus plots growth plans to rival Post Office May 12, 2014 COLLECTPLUS launched a fresh assault on the Post Office today after announcing plans to expand its parcel returns and delivery service to 7,500 stores over the next 12 months. The company was launched in 2009 and has grown rapidly thanks to the boom in online shopping, click and collect, and consumers demanding more convenient ways [...]
Set-top box maker Pace on track April 24, 2014 SET-TOP box maker Pace yesterday announced that it is on target to reach its forecasted $2.7bn (£1.61bn) in revenue and 8.5 per cent operating margin by the end of this year. Chairman Allan Leighton, who is also the former chief executive of Asda, said that first quarter revenues were lower than in 2013 due to [...]
Allan Leighton to join cast of Peppa Pig March 31, 2014 PEPPA Pig owner and television distributor Entertainment One yesterday appointed former Asda chief exec Allan Leighton as chairman, in a move rumoured since September. Leighton also serves as chairman of set-top box maker Pace and was formerly chairman of the Royal Mail. James Corsellis will step down as Entertainment One’s chairman today.
Sainsbury’s to trial selling clothing online June 9, 2014 Sainsbury is to take on its high street and supermarket rivals by selling its clothing brand TU online for the first time. People close to the company previously said that clothing margins were too low justify delivering clothes bought online to customers. However in a statement yesterday Sainsbury’s said it will pilot selling [...]
Cameron open to overhauling the way MPs are held to account April 7, 2014 DAVID Cameron would be “very open” to overhaul the way MPs monitor and police themselves and is happy to take suggestions on other options, he said yesterday. During a visit to an Asda store in Clapham, the Prime Minister once again threw his support behind culture secretary Maria Miller despite mounting calls for her to [...]
Samsung’s #Selfie4England backfires June 19, 2014 There is a long, rich and humorous history of hashtags backfiring on corporates but it doesn’t seem to stop them – step forward Samsung, who has been running the #Selfie4England since England’s first game last week. Let’s just say it’s been going wrong almost as much as right. A quick scan of the [...]
Retailers’ confidence for future sales at highest in three years April 24, 2014 RETAILERS are bullish about the months ahead, according to a survey which shows the strongest expectations for growth in nearly three and a half years. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) shows that 48 per cent of retail firms responding to their poll believe that sales volumes will grow during May, while only five per [...]
Asda launches honours degree scheme for staff August 12, 2013 ASDA employees will this year be able to study for an undergraduate degree under a three-year scheme in partnership with Middlesex University. The supermarket giant said it will offer 30 Asda staff the chance to study for a BA (Hons) degree in either distribution or retail operations while retaining a salaried position in the store, [...]
Big four grocers all lose ground to discounters April 9, 2014 BRITAIN’S four biggest supermarket groups all lost market share over the last three months to German discounters Aldi and Lidl, with Sainsbury’s suffering the biggest drop in market share in ten years. Sainsbury’s has until this month been the only one of the big four to resist the pressure of the discounters and hold onto [...]