Cork blimey! Christmas champagne outsells semi-skimmed milk at Lidl January 4, 2015 Shoppers at budget supermarket chain Lidl bought more champagne than semi-skimmed milk this Christmas, the retailer has revealed. Figures show that savvy customers snapped up so many bottles of Lidl’s £11.99 Comte De Senneval champagne that it knocked the store’s usual bestseller, semi-skimmed milk, off the top spot for the festive season. The champagne has [...]
City Link administration: Most jobs to go on New Year’s Day December 29, 2014 Most workers at City Link are expected to be made redundant on New Year's Day, they have been told. An internal document seen by Sky said it is unlikely to be able to make termination payments – "however, you may be entitled to make claims to the Redundancy Payment Service". The news came on the [...]
Jaeger latest upmarket retailer to stride ahead of high street January 9, 2015 Fashion retailer Jaeger strode ahead of its high street competitors, reporting stellar sales during the Christmas period. The upmarket brand said like-for-like sales jumped eight per cent in the 13 weeks to January. They were lifted by US-style discount days Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Total sales grew 8.3 per cent, with menswear posting impressive [...]
Greggs’ Christmas sales jump, as it anticipates results above previous expectations January 13, 2015 Bakery Greggs has enjoyed strong sales over the Christmas period. Like-for-like own shop sales climbed 8.2 per cent, after it put the "food-on-the-go" customer at the centre of its focus over the holiday season. For the financial year, total sales grew 5.5 per cent, with like-for-like sales up 4.5 per cent. The company's estate improvement [...]
Christmas sales flop for UK’s supermarkets January 5, 2015 SUPERMARKETS’ sales were flat on the year over the Christmas period, as the retail giants received little benefit from the economic recovery, industry data showed yesterday. By contrast, consumers were happy to shop elsewhere over the festive season – Black Friday was the biggest shopping day ever, according to numbers from Barclaycard. Supermarket grocery sales [...]
Three of the best business books to read this Christmas: Nothing says “glad tidings” like a book on nudge theory December 2, 2015 Whether you need help deciding how many mince pies it is optimal to eat this Christmas, or how John Lewis has survived revolutions in the retail sector, City A.M. has been compiling a list of some of the best business books to enjoy over the festive period. Here are three. THINKING IRRATIONALLY Historically, the [...]
Supermarket wars: Big Four in big trouble as Tesco, Asda and Morrisons register more declines August 25, 2015 Tesco is still struggling to shrug off competition from the discount supermarkets, as data released this morning reveals yet more declines. While consumer spend within the grocery sector rose 0.9 per cent for the 12 weeks to 16 August, at Tesco it dropped by the same proportion. The price of a comparable basket of [...]
Mark & Spencer suffers Christmas delivery delays to online shopping orders after Black Friday bonanza December 9, 2014 Mark & Spencer's online customers are set to be disappointed this Christmas shopping season, as they face longer waiting times for online deliveries. Standard deliveries will now take up to two weeks, according to the retailer's website, as opposed to the normal five-day waiting period. The delay follows shopping bonanza Black Friday, on 28 November, [...]
Network Rail chief Mark Carne turns down bonus after “unacceptable” engineering delays caused “misery” for passengers December 30, 2014 Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne has said he will not take his bonus, after the travel chaos that erupted after engineering works overran this Christmas. Carne stood to receive a £34,000 performance-related bonus on top of his £675,000 a year salary. But in light of the huge disruption at King’s Cross and Paddington – [...]
UK grocery sector shows green shoots of recovery as distress levels fall October 19, 2015 Britain’s supermarket sector is showing signs of recovery, according to new research from Begbies Traynor that reveals the number of companies struggling to stay afloat declined for the first time in over two years. The business recovery specialist’s latest Red Flag Alert research, which monitors the health of UK companies, shows levels of “significant” financial [...]