Trolley wars: Drastic Dave’s no-frills move must hit the Jackpot for shareholders September 20, 2018 Tesco took a cheap shot at budget retailers Aldi and Lidl yesterday, launching its own discounter chain, Jack’s. Chief executive Dave Lewis opened the first store in a mothballed former Tesco outlet in the small Cambridgeshire town of Chatteris yesterday, with another 10 to 15 launches in the pipeline. The chain is named after Tesco founder [...]
Asda and Sainsbury’s bosses Roger Burnley and Mike Coupe grilled by MPs over merger June 20, 2018 The chair of a select committee has told Asda's boss to "get real" and stop talking "baloney" in a grilling over the supermarket's merger between Asda and Sainsbury's this morning. Asda's Roger Burnley and Sainsbury's boss Mike Coupe appeared in front of the the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) committee, which has launched an [...]
Sainsbury’s bats away criticism of new chairman Martin Scicluna July 11, 2018 Sainsbury’s yesterday defended its new chairman after he received criticsm from an investor concerned with his involvement in a botched merger when he worked for Lloyds bank. The supermarket yesterday said insurer RSA’s chairman Martin Scicluna would become non-executive chair in March 2019. Scicluna worked for Lloyds Banking Group when it bought struggling HBOS in [...]
Supermarket sweep: Which FTSE 100 grocer is the best buy? August 14, 2018 British supermarkets haven’t had an easy ride lately. There’s been plenty for them to worry about – the biggest being the rising cost of imports as sterling has continued to slide (the pound dropped to €1.11 and $1.28 last week). A weak pound has tightened profit margins. And with heavy competition from discount retailers, passing [...]
Co-op profits soar after supermarket sells 180 pizzas for every minute of football during the World Cup September 14, 2018 Co-op's profits soared in the first half of the year after the supermarket sold more than 180 pizzas for every minute of football played during the World Cup. Sales increased to £5bn, up 10 per cent on the first half of 2017, also driven by its £143m acquisition of Nisa in May. Pre-tax profits almost [...]
Co-op profits soar after supermarket sells 180 pizzas for every minute of football during the World Cup September 14, 2018 Co-op's profits soared in the first half of the year after the supermarket sold more than 180 pizzas for every minute of football played during the World Cup. Sales increased to £5bn, up 10 per cent on the first half of 2017, also driven by its £143m acquisition of Nisa in May. Pre-tax profits almost [...]
Brockmans Gin doubles UK sales as supermarket expansion pays off September 24, 2018 High-end spirit producer Brockmans Gin nearly doubled UK revenues in the first six months of the year, and grew by a third globally. First-half revenue increased 35 per cent to £4.73m from £3.5m in the same period of 2017, while the company’s UK sales climbed 90 per cent, outstripping market growth of 38 per cent. The Surrey-based [...]
Sainsbury’s sales dip while Ocado and Lidl gain in latest grocer data June 26, 2018 Sainsbury's was the only supermarket to see a decline in sales during the 12 weeks to 17 June, new data shows. Sales slipped by £10m compared to the same period last year, bringing its market share down to 15.6 per cent, according to Kantar Worldpanel. Tesco, Asda and Morrisons also all lost market share despite [...]
City banker nabbed for M&A role at $320bn Qatari state fund October 2, 2018 Qatar’s largest sovereign wealth fund has grabbed a top City of London banker to run its deal-related activities worldwide, as it moves to expand a $320bn (£246.6bn) portfolio that includes the single-largest stake in supermarket Sainsbury’s, Sky News reported. Sky said Ken McLaren, currently a managing director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), will [...]
Ocado claims the FTSE 350 crown while Indivior takes a kicking October 2, 2018 Online supermarket Ocado has claimed the top spot in the FTSE 350’s best performers so far this year just months after sealing its place as a FTSE 100 player, with shares soaring after a swathe of new licensing deals. Shares in Ocado have rocketed 126 per cent since the start of 2018, as the firm [...]