The Co-operative steals supermarket crown as strongest non-discounter, according to Kantar figures – as grocery sector boosted by New Year healthkicks February 9, 2016 The UK's struggling grocery sector has been given a shot in the arm from shoppers on a health kick, with sales up 0.2 per cent as consumers seek out fresh foods. The Co-operative was the fastest growing supermarket, outside of the discounters, in the 12 weeks to 31 January – the first time it can claim [...]
Lidl “ale assault” will rival supermarket beer offers in latest price war after “claret offensive” success June 21, 2015 Lidl's is embarking on an "ale assault" with a new beer range to rival the big four supermarkets after the success of last year's "claret offensive". The discounter has now switched its attention from wine to beer, and will launch more than 60 new brews onto its shelves from Monday, many priced more cheaply than [...]
Yorkshire Tea makes for a Brand new firm on list January 13, 2016 It’s that time of the year again. YouGov has published its BrandIndex Buzz score rankings for 2015, and for the second year in succession Aldi and Lidl are the brands with the greatest score. This is whether a respondent has heard something positive or negative about a brand in the last two weeks. The German [...]
Ad agencies need better advertising: 101’s Laurence Green on why positioning should be more important than pitching June 20, 2016 Our industry conversation has swung too far from long-term to short, from strategy to tactics, and away from the alchemical power of great creative,” says Laurence Green, founder of creative agency 101. He has been critical in the past of the fact that pitching has become the default method for procuring agencies’ services. And he believes [...]
Morrisons sales nudge up again as management “simplifies and speeds up” business May 5, 2016 Morrisons' like-for-likes have risen again, continuing the signs of green shoots emerging from the troubled supermarket. The figures Like-for-likes excluding fuel rose 0.7 per cent in the 13 weeks to 1 May. That follows on from growth registered in its Christmas trading update in January, which was the first time the supermarket had been in [...]
Supermarket sales rise over Easter – but prove egg-sasperating for Tesco, Morrisons and Asda April 5, 2016 It could have been so easy for supermarkets. Not only are prices at an all-time low, but an early Easter pushed sales up compared with last year, new figures have shown. But while the Easter bunny hopped along to most of the nation's retailers, the big four continued to struggle. The figures, by Kantar Worldpanel, showed sales [...]
Forget World Cup in 2022, England can win the European Championships in four years, insists Trevor Brooking March 22, 2016 Scepticism abounded when Greg Dyke began his chairmanship of the Football Association by claiming England could win the 2022 World Cup, but Sir Trevor Brooking insists the Three Lions are on course to lift silverware two years earlier. England have only fleetingly threatened to end a seemingly interminable wait for success, last tasted at the 1966 World [...]
Waitrose PYOO (“pick your own offers”) ups game in supermarket price wars with Aldi, Lidl and big four June 17, 2015 Middle England favourite Waitrose has upped the stakes in the supermarket price wars with what it's calling "game-changing" discounts. The latest salvo in the battle with Aldi, Lidl and the big four – and adding a new acronym to our lingo almost as good as BOGOF – is "Pick Your Own Offers", or PYOO, which is [...]
From the Budget 2016 and Brexit to Cheltenham and the world’s first pizza robot: Here’s what got us talking this week March 18, 2016 Humanities students were given a fright in this week's Budget. Getting pizza suddenly got a lot easier. And we learned that when it comes to houses, Britons don't dream big. Bookies have had to pay out £50m already at Cheltenham according to William Hill (Source: Getty) 1) Budget blues Whether you were a sugar lover or a second [...]
EasyFood store re-opens in London after crowds of shoppers forced its closure two days after launch – but this time with bouncers February 8, 2016 The first EasyFood store has re-opened in north west London after being swamped by customers – but this time there’s security. The low-cost supermarket, which is selling every product for 25p throughout February, was forced to shut just two days after opening in Park Royal last week. Eager bargain hunters had cleared the shelves of [...]