Lidl promises to pay above the National Living Wage to all its UK staff September 18, 2015 Lidl has already beaten the big four supermarkets on price. Now, the German discounter also plans to trump them on employee benefits, after revealing that it will pay its staff above the living wage from October. The fast-growing chain announced yesterday that it will adopt the new higher rate it expects the Living Wage [...]
Putting the super back into the supermarkets: What the Co-op rebrand tells us about the current state of the sector June 1, 2016 The unveiling of the Co-op rebrand last week was the latest sign of a major shift in the supermarket arena. The brand’s decision to revert back to its origins, resurrecting – albeit also modernising – its 1968 logo, was a clear attempt to spark an emotional connection with an audience for whom loyalty is meaning [...]
Brexit vote? What Brexit vote? The rise of the discounters is still hitting supermarkets’ market shares July 26, 2016 The results of last month's EU referendum may have sent markets reeling, but it seems the supermarket sector has continued as it was before – namely, with market shares sinking for all of the big four. Figures by Kantar Worldpanel showed the Brexit vote had "no immediate impact" on the prices retailers were charging or [...]
Sales at Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury’s all drop for the first time in a year May 4, 2016 The supermarket sector has suffered yet another setback, with sales at all of the Big Four declining in the last quarter, while – you guessed it – Aldi and Lidl posted double-digit growth. Asda was the poorest performer of the biggest supermarkets, with sales dropping 5.1 per cent according to Kantar Worldpanel, followed by Morrisons, which dropped 2.6 per cent. Sales at Tesco [...]
Sainsbury’s gives up its discount dreams as it ditches Netto UK stores July 4, 2016 Sainsbury's is ditching its partnership with European discounter Netto and plans to close 16 Netto UK stores in August. The joint venture between Dansk Supermarked Group's (DSG) Netto and Sainsbury's began in June 2014; around 400 jobs in the stores are now at risk as Sainsbury's focuses instead on its acquisition of Argos owner Home Retail Group. Read more: Sainsbury's has named new chief executive [...]
How one buccaneering family dominated the UK scampi market October 20, 2016 "At the tender age of 32, I got involved in buying assets from the receivership of what was the Whitby Shellfish Company”, says Graham Whittle, founder of Whitby Seafoods. From relatively humble beginnings, in just over thirty years, the business has gone from one that was sinking to the biggest producer of scampi in the UK, [...]
Asda swaps Clarke for Clarke as chief exec says he’ll step down next month June 13, 2016 Well, that was sudden: we knew Asda chief executive Andy Clarke was planning on going – but now the supermarket's owner has said Clarke will step down next month. In a statement this morning Asda confirmed reports Clarke, who has been at the company for more than 20 years – six of which have been [...]
Valentine’s Day 2016: Morrisons is selling oysters for 25p each ahead of Valentine’s Day – the same price as a Cadbury Freddo February 8, 2016 Lidl may be famous for its champagne, but one of the big four supermarkets appears to be fighting the competition by slashing the price of oysters ahead of Valentine's Day this year. Morrisons is to sell fresh British oysters for just 25p each – the price of an average Cadbury Freddo in a move to try to outshine its [...]
As Amazon Fresh launches in London, does it pose a real threat to UK supermarkets? June 10, 2016 Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, says Yes. The last thing that the traditional British supermarkets want is another challenge to their model – they’re still busy fending off the shock of Aldi and Lidl’s sharp pricing model. Online grocery sales are growing well ahead of the overall market, so it’s [...]
Melons and pineapples? Who cares? It will take more than that for supermarkets to fight off AmazonFresh June 10, 2016 Tesco’s current ad features a couple debating whether or not to drive to their local branch to exchange a melon for a pineapple. “We need an excuse,” says the husband. “What? Like I’m long-sighted and I mistook it for a large grape?” replies the straight-thinking wife. The commercial highlights the supermarket’s “No Quibbles” policy. Bought [...]