FTSE rally eludes UK grocery giants January 2, 2013 SUPERMARKET chains Morrisons and Sainsbury’s failed to make the most of UK investors’ New Year optimism yesterday after analysts raised fears that their performance had been less than stellar over the crucial Christmas trading period. Morrisons was one of just three fallers in the FTSE – closing down two per cent – after house broker [...]
The Hut Group takes hold of cycling gear site Probikekit January 29, 2013 THE HUT Group yesterday announced it had bought Probikekit, the latest in a string of acquisitions from the internet retailer. By snapping up the firm, which counts retail veterans Sir Stuart Rose and Sir Terry Leahy among its backers, the outfit has jumped on the bandwagon of the recent cycling craze, driven by Olympic stars [...]
Sainsbury’s takes the lead at Christmas January 8, 2013 SAINSBURY posted the highest sales growth of the so called big four grocers in the run-up to Christmas and was the only one to grow market share, data revealed yesterday. Figures from Kantar Worldpanel showed Britain’s grocery market grew 3.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to 23 December, with the strongest growth at the [...]
Top spin doctors’ PR firm hit by defections over owner strategy February 25, 2013 SIGNS of exodus yesterday at M Communications, the top flight financial public relations agency founded by City veterans Nick Miles and Hugh Morrison. According to insiders, five senior people handed in their resignations, unhappy about the way the agency’s profits are being distributed. Insiders told The Capitalist last night that M, with annual revenues of [...]
Best of the Brokers December 16, 2012 ANGLO AMERICAN UBS has cut the miner from “buy” to “neutral”, and reduced its target price from 2150p to 1860p, with “heightened South Africa risk” one of the causes for a downgrade. WM MORRISON Supermarket Morrisons was downgraded by Deutsche Bank to “hold”, with a target price cut to 258p from 320p, causing the firm [...]
Suppliers back quarterly tests for horsemeat February 18, 2013 ENVIRONMENT minister Owen Paterson last night said food retailers will conduct tests for horse- meat in processed beef products every three months, in an attempt to restore consumer confidence in the industry. “There was absolute determination in the industry to restore confidence in their products, and I’m pleased to say we look forward to meeting [...]
Aldi hitting the mainstream as customers seek value January 8, 2013 THIS time last year poor results at Tesco shocked investors and the grocery sector, although followers of YouGov’s BrandIndex and this column would have been aware of their problems a month earlier. With the all-important Christmas season now behind us I’ve taken a look back at 2012 to see what the big customer perception stories [...]
Tesco and Sainsbury’s maintain share after a festive dead-heat January 15, 2013 BRITAIN’S biggest retailer Tesco and third-place grocer Sainsbury’s tied in the battle for sales growth in the key Christmas period, according to data published yesterday. Market researcher Kantar Worldpanel said Tesco and Sainsbury’s both posted identical gross sales growth rates of 3.9 per cent in the six weeks ending 6 January, with market shares unchanged [...]
Morrisons’ finance chief checks out in surprise supermarket exit June 25, 2012 BRITAIN’S fourth biggest grocer Wm Morrison Supermarkets said group finance director Richard Pennycook will leave the business next June after eight years at the firm. The grocer said yesterday that Pennycook had informed the board he would concentrate on building “a portfolio career”. “I feel that it’s the right time to seek new challenges,” he [...]
Infrastructure firms snap up £2.8bn of National Grid deals December 19, 2012 INFRASTRUCTURE and construction groups Balfour Beatty, Morrison Utility Services and Skanska yesterday netted themselves a £2.8bn payout from National Grid, after winning eight-year contracts with the gas and electricity firm. Balfour Beatty has won two contracts worth £1.2bn, for eight years each, to upgrade the gas distribution network in the North West and the West [...]