Amazon Fresh: What does the expansion mean for UK supermarkets? July 28, 2020 Amazon’s announcement that it will offer free grocery deliveries for Prime customers represents a step up in competition between the internet giant and the UK supermarkets. The US company, which bought upmarket grocery chain Whole Foods in 2018, will offer free Amazon Fresh delivery in London and the South East from today. Plans are in [...]
Celebrating a brand’s heritage can improve public perception December 4, 2019 As the year draws to a close, 2019 has seen some well-known British brands celebrate anniversaries and centenaries. Two of Britain’s largest supermarkets, Tesco and Sainsbury’s celebrated their 100th and 150-year anniversaries respectively, while British Airways also celebrated its 100th year of trading. Camelot, which owns the National Lottery and Euromillions, was another to celebrated [...]
Walmart in talks to sell controlling stake in Asda February 26, 2020 Asda’s owner, the US retail titan Walmart, is in early-stage talks about selling a controlling stake in the UK supermarket, the two firms revealed today. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, said the discussions had begun after “inbound interest” from a small number of firms. The announcement came just under a year after Asda’s planned £7.3bn [...]
Markets live: FTSE 100 and US stocks drop sharply as US-China tensions flare July 24, 2020 The FTSE 100 and US stocks fell after US-China relations soured and rising coronavirus cases threatened the global economic recovery. London’s blue-chip index closed 1.4 per cent lower at 6,124 points, despite some better-than-expected economic data. The FTSE 250 closed 1.3 per cent down. Read more: Asian shares retreat as US-China tensions sour Germany’s Dax [...]
Lidl ramps up expansion plan with 230 new stores November 10, 2019 Lidl’s expansion spree is set to accelerate, with the German discounter planning 230 extra store openings. The new store plan, first reported today in the Sunday Times, is the latest in a string of bullish moves from Lidl and Aldi, which have been snapping up an increasing share of the grocery market. In a bid [...]
Lidl to invest £1.3bn in UK store expansion February 20, 2020 Budget supermarket Lidl has announced it will invest £1.3bn in store expansion across the UK in the next two years. The German discounter – which has opened 50 new stores in the last 12 months – said this morning that it has committed to investing in growing its store portfolio in 2021 and 2020. The [...]
Coronavirus: Supermarkets rebound but leisure stocks suffer March 13, 2020 Supermarket stocks made gains this morning after being dragged down by a mass FTSE 100 sell off sparked by mounting coronavirus fears. Sainsbury’s share price jumped 8.02 per cent to 188.97p, Tesco was up 10.46 per cent at 233.3p and Morrisons climbed 7.98 per cent to 178p. Grocers are positioned well to ride out the [...]
Asda sales slump due to ‘cautious’ Christmas shoppers February 18, 2020 Asda sales slumped over the crucial festive trading period due to “cautious” consumer spending, as shoppers reined in their Christmas lists. The supermarket giant said like-for-like sales excluding petrol dropped 1.3 per cent in the three months to the end of December. The sales drop was driven by “challenging market conditions”, particularly in Asda’s clothing [...]
Finablr shares plunge after owner pledges stock as collateral for Travelex debt January 24, 2020 Shares in payments firm Finablr plunged to a record low today after its owner pledged more than half the company’s stock as security for debts incurred buying foreign exchange company Travelex. In an update to the stock exchange this morning, Finablr disclosed that majority owner B. R. Shetty had pledged 392.2 million shares, over 56 [...]
Shopping centre owner New River ‘pleased’ with tenants’ Christmas trading January 22, 2020 Property landlord New River this morning said it was pleased with its tenants’ performance during the Christmas trading period despite a drop in footfall at its shopping centres. The real estate investment trust (REIT) said its top 15 tenants, which include Sainsbury’s, B&M, Primark, Next and Iceland, had reported a “robust” trading performance despite “challenging [...]