Sainsbury hails coupon success as profits rise May 9, 2012 J SAINSBURY said yesterday that its discount coupons and price matching scheme had helped it outperform the market as the UK’s third largest grocer posted a seven per cent rise in full-year profit. Chief executive Justin King brushed aside concerns over mounting competition from the likes of Waitrose’s new brand match scheme saying its own [...]
Asda market share up as it lures shoppers with price guarantee May 17, 2012 ASDA, the British arm of supermarket giant Walmart, said it continued to gain market share in the first quarter of the year as its focus on low prices and a revamping of own-brand ranges helped drive sales growth. The UK’s second-biggest supermarket chain behind Tesco, said like-for-like sales excluding fuel and VAT accelerated in the [...]
Here’s the real Plan B for Britain: We need a competition revolution May 14, 2012 NO ONE can dispute that the UK economy needs more growth. It seems that the coalition’s essential austerity measures are not enough. But despite its cheerleaders, the usual Plan B, based on debt-financed infrastructure spending, won’t make any difference to growth – while denting confidence. One such plan suggested £30bn in spending. Over three years, [...]
JUSTIN KING GOES THE EXTRA MILE FOR SPORT RELIEF March 19, 2012 SAINSBURY’S chief Justin King has been busy pounding the pavement in order to raise money for Sport Relief ahead of the Sport Relief Mile this Sunday. King, whose stores stock much of the Sport Relief charity merchandise, has run 32 miles across the UK in March in the hope of beating last year’s efforts for [...]
Sainsbury’s new marketing man August 10, 2011 Sainsbury’s has appointed Mark Horgan, currently the managing director of MasterCard’s Access Pre-paid Worldwide subsidiary, as its new marketing director. In his role at Sainsbury’s, Horgan will lead customer insights and loyalty, brand communications and non-food marketing. It is expected that Horgan will start in his new position within the next six months. Marketing strategy [...]
Waitrose and budget stores winning sales April 24, 2012 UK CONSUMER habits are becoming increasingly divided, accordingly to new retail data that shows higher-end and budget retailers growing market share while those occupying the middle ground lose out. Kantar Worldpanel figures for the 12 weeks to 15 April 2012 showed upmarket supermarket Waitrose increasing market share from 4.3 per cent to 4.5 per cent [...]
St Modwen buoyed by £2bn Nine Elms win April 4, 2012 ST MODWEN said in a trading update yesterday that profits remained in line with expectations, as it flagged its appointment to redevelop New Covent Garden Market in Nine Elms as “a significant contract win” for the firm. The government revealed last week that the developer and French group Vinci had been picked as the preferred [...]
FTSE SUFFERS BIGGEST FALL IN TWO WEEKS March 20, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index suffered its sharpest fall in two weeks yesterday, as concerns over materials demand in top consumer China hit commodities-linked sectors, marring a rally that had been part-driven by hopes for improving global growth. The benchmark FTSE 100 index closed down 69.7 points, or 1.2 per cent, at 5,891.41, having rallied more [...]
Tesco keeps on losing share to cut price rivals February 29, 2012 LEADING supermarket Tesco failed to increase sales as quickly as its rivals in the last 12 weeks, data out yesterday showed, while leaked documents showed the Co-op is well behind its sales targets already this year. Tesco’s sales rose 2.5 per cent in the 12-week period ending 19 February, compared with the same period last [...]
Debt consolidation hits £1.5bn February 13, 2012 Consumers are set to borrow £1.5bn for debt consolidation in the thirst three months of 2012, according to data out yesterday from Sainsbury’s Finance. The 157,000 loans account for almost one in three of all unsecured loans taken out in the period, and average £9,800 each. “For those who perhaps have balances on credit cards [...]