Can Just Eat deliver the City what it wants? April 29, 2019 On Wednesday morning most eyes in the City will be on Mike Coupe, the Sainsbury’s chief executive battling to keep his job. In the firm’s Holborn HQ the grocery veteran will set out his Plan B after the UK competition watchdog crushed his dreams of a merger with Asda. Read more: Shortsellers increase bets against [...]
The Xmas endgame: Why retailers are wasting their money on Christmas TV adverts December 2, 2019 An estimated £6.8bn has been spent on creating and buying airtime for this year’s crop of Christmas commercials — up nearly five per cent on last year’s spend. Certainly, the ads boast high production values, but was this money well spent, or would these brands have been better off holding onto the cash and hoping [...]
Lidl unveils £500m London expansion plan for 40 new stores June 12, 2019 Lidl has unveiled a £500m expansion plan to create 40 new stores in the capital, including its first central London store. The German discount supermarket said the openings would create 1,500 new jobs over the next five years. Read more: Big Four supermarkets stall amid fast rise of Lidl and Aldi A proposed Tottenham Court [...]
Sainsbury’s and Asda double down on £1bn price cut pledge to salvage deal March 19, 2019 Sainsbury’s and Asda have outlined their pledge this morning to slash shop prices as a result of a planned merger, doubling down on efforts to push through a major tie-up despite being dealt a recent devastating blow by Britain's competition watchdog. The two grocery giants, who suffered a setback last month when the Competition and Markets [...]
More than 150 MPs set to demand Asda backs down over ‘unscrupulous’ staff pay proposals May 2, 2019 More than 150 MPs have added their name to a campaign calling on Asda to drop controversial new pay proposals for its workers, heaping further pressure on the supermarket chain just a week after its planned merger with Sainsbury’s was blocked. Politicians have signed a letter written by Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh that accuses Asda of leaving thousands of [...]
CMA may block Sainsbury’s-Asda merger, finding deal could push up prices and reduce quality February 20, 2019 Sainsbury's suffered a 15 per cent drop in its share price this morning after the grocer's £12bn proposed merger with Asda was thrown into doubt following a swathe of concerns raised by Britain's competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the tie-up could lead to "a substantial lessening of competition at both a national and local [...]
Iceland mulls bid for potential Sainsbury’s-Asda store sell-offs February 11, 2019 Frozen foods giant Iceland is mulling a move to snap up supermarket stores that Sainsbury’s and Asda could be forced to offload as part of their proposed tie-up. "We are looking at everything for sure," Iceland's managing director Richard Walker told the FT. "Food retail drives footfall and we are the only supermarket that is [...]
Coronavirus: When are supermarket opening times for NHS and pensioners? April 17, 2020 As the UK heads into lockdown because of the coronavirus outbreak, supermarkets have enforced tighter restrictions and changed opening hours. Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday ordered all “non-essential” shops to close, leaving supermarkets one of the few stores to remain open. In recent weeks supermarkets have struggled to keep shelves replenished as consumers embarked on [...]
Supreme Court gives government body chance to appeal cash machine ruling May 29, 2019 The Supreme Court has given the government the right to appeal a £300m court dispute over business rate bills for cash machines outside shops. Late last year the Court of Appeal decided in favour of supermarket giants such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco, overturning a decision that meant retailers were liable to pay business rates on their cash [...]
Watchdog delays final report on Sainsbury’s-Asda supermarket merger February 11, 2019 The UK's competition watchdog today extended its probe into the supermarket tie-up between Sainsbury's and Asda by eight weeks. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had decided to delay the publication of its report to give it enough time to “reach a fully reasoned final decision” on the £12bn merger. An inquiry group [...]