Which supermarket wine wins top of the shops? Corks pop as M&S nets 73 medals December 2, 2014 Here's one thing the discounters aren't winning at. Aldi may just have launched its own range of fine wines, but this Christmas we'll be raising a toast to Marks & Spencer, which has just netted 73 medals at the International Wine Challenge (IWC). The supermarket won five gold medals, 21 silvers and 47 bronzes for [...]
Don’t worry about zero UK inflation: The outcome of the election will be far more significant for markets April 14, 2015 Britain narrowly avoided heading into deflation last month, with prices unchanged compared to a year ago. But over the past six months, prices have fallen by 1 per cent annualised after adjusting for seasonal trends. Should we worry about deflation and the prospect of falling prices? Well, after stripping out some of the more volatiles [...]
Market lifted by upbeat view of Christmas retail – London Report January 19, 2015 BRITAIN’S main share index rose yesterday, extending a strong run, with retailers such as Tesco among the biggest gainers from a more upbeat view of the sector after a better-than-expected Christmas period. Electronics retailer Dixons Carphone rose 4.4 per cent, the top riser on the FTSE 100 index, with traders citing optimism ahead of the [...]
Tesco to launch premium Hudl phone by Xmas May 6, 2014 TESCO yesterday announced that it would sell its own smartphone this year, following in the footsteps of its Hudl tablet last year. Tesco’s chief executive Philip Clarke, speaking on BBC Radio 5 yesterday morning, revealed the grocer’s plan to release a premium Hudl smartphone by Christmas. Clarke said the Hudl smartphone would be a high-end [...]
Amazon steals entertainment spend from UK supermarkets January 26, 2015 ONLINE retail giant Amazon took a larger slice of the UK entertainment market over the Christmas period, largely at the expense of the major supermarkets, according to research published today. Kantar Worldpanel figures show that Amazon took one in every four pounds (25.6 per cent) spent on physical music, games and video in the 12 [...]
Tesco creates China’s largest food retailer with CRE venture May 29, 2014 TESCO has finalised a joint venture with the state-run China Resources Enterprise (CRE) to create China’s largest food retailer. The deal combines Tesco’s 134 Chinese outlets with CRE’s 2,986 stores, called Vanguard. CRE will own 80 per cent of the new chain and Tesco will have a 20 per cent stake. Tesco chief executive Philip [...]
Tesco chief Philip Clarke says he has no plans to step down June 4, 2014 TESCO boss Philip Clarke yesterday reiterated that he had no plans to step down despite admitting that the supermarket chain had suffered its worst quarterly sales performance in his forty years at the company. Clarke said a dramatic slowdown in the grocery market and deliberate efforts to win back shoppers by slashing prices were partly [...]
Inside Track: Tesco’s boss is out on a limb with a limp recovery plan June 4, 2014 PHILIP Clarke is beginning to sound like the corporate equivalent of Alastair Cook at the end of England’s disastrous Ashes defence. On yesterday’s conference call to discuss Tesco’s worst like-for-like sales performance in roughly 20 years, his insistence that his strategy is working sounded faintly ridiculous. “We are more competitive now than we have been [...]
FTSE rises ahead of Osborne’s pre-poll Budget – London Report March 17, 2015 BRITAIN’S top share index edged higher yesterday to extend a recent rebound from last week’s lows, with gains coming in ahead of key policy announcements from the UK and the US. The FTSE 100 rose 0.5 per cent to 6,837.61 points, as shares of natural-resources producers ticked up and utilities pushed higher, led by a [...]
Sony’s PlayStation 4 20th anniversary special edition sells for £85,000 at auction January 26, 2015 A PlayStation 4 console costs £329 from Tesco, yet a punter in Japan was prepared to pay a whopping £85,000 for a special edition version at auction. Sony held an auction for a 20th anniversary edition of the PlayStation 4 with the serial number 00001. The winning offer of 15,135 yen beat 1,585 bids [...]