Five numbers that explain the merger between Tesco and Londis owner Booker January 27, 2017 This morning, Tesco announced it would be making the biggest supermarket merger in UK history and would be gobbling up wholesaler Booker Group. Here are five key numbers that explain the landmark deal. £3.7bn The deal has valued Booker at £3.7bn; each Booker shareholder will get 0.861 shares and 42.6p in cash for every Booker share. [...]
Turnaround plan looks set to pay off for Morrisons March 5, 2017 The turnaround at Morrisons supermarkets headed by CEO David Potts looks set to gather speed this week as the company reports its best annual results in six years. The chain is likely to report a 54 per cent rise in pre-tax earnings to £335m on Thursday, according to predictions by banking firm Jefferies. The firm [...]
Sales at Tesco are growing at their fastest rate in three years – but Morrisons and Asda are still suffering November 15, 2016 The supertanker that is Tesco continues to change its course, after new figures suggested its sales rose to their highest in three years in the last quarter. Data by Kantar Worldpanel showed Tesco sales rose 2.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to 6 November, putting its market share at 28.2 per cent – up from [...]
Sainsbury’s Mike Coupe: Aldi and Lidl are starting to look like “conventional” supermarkets March 16, 2016 Mike Coupe must be feeling confident about Sainsbury's progress in the grocery price wars. The supermarket boss, who yesterday revealed strong results, appears to be trolling Aldi and Lidl, telling Mumsnetters yesterday that the German discounters were "increasingly looking like conventional supermarkets". Speaking at Mumstock, a conference about marketing to mums, he told the audience [...]
Mark Hix on why ‘knob celery’ is the most underrated root in the supermarket February 14, 2017 When I first moved to London, certain unusual fruits and vegetables were referred to as “queer gear”. I suppose celeriac – or celery root, as it’s sometimes referred to by those who can’t pronounce it – falls into this category. (It also goes by the name “knob celery”, although this isn’t widely used for obvious [...]
The cost of Christmas dinner has dropped 10 per cent since 2009 November 30, 2016 Inflation may be creeping up, but the price of your Christmas dinner isn't – in fact, this year's festive feast may be cheaper than ever before, after a new study suggested its price has fallen 10 per cent since 2009. Good Housekeeping's Christmas index found the cheapest place to buy turkey and all the trimmings [...]
High street stalwart Debenhams shakes off payment scandal February 22, 2017 Last week, Debenhams was named by the government as one of the worst companies for underpaying staff. YouGov Brand Index data shows how the news has altered perception of the brand. Over the last year, I have discussed how adverse stories about pay have damaged companies including Sports Direct and Harrods, but also how positive [...]
Ultimate Products’ London IPO has been priced at £105m ahead of it joining the main market next week March 1, 2017 Ultimate Products' offer price has been set at 128p, which will equate to a market capitalisation of approximately £105.2m. The offer comprises 41,084,800 shares, representing 50 per cent of the company’s issued share capital on admission. Shore Capital is acting as sponsor, global co-ordinator and bookrunner to the Company, and Cenkos is acting as joint bookrunner. [...]
Supermarkets had a record Christmas – but prices are rising January 10, 2017 Supermarkets had a record Christmas period in 2016, with sales growing at their fastest rate since June 2014, but prices are finally starting to rise following the Brexit vote. The latest figures from Kantar Woldpanel show that sales were up 1.8 per cent for the 12 weeks ending 1 January. Consumers spent nearly half a billion pounds [...]
Christmas spending splurge fails to push high street sales into positive territory January 6, 2017 High street shops ended a disappointing year with a dismal performance during the festive season, failing to land positive sales despite bumper spending in the week before Christmas. Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, meaning shoppers had an extra day to spend, but like-for-like sales growth on the high street still came in at [...]