Carrot or stick? For Aldi and Lidl, equal pay goes hand in hand with commercial success December 13, 2018 Kevin the Carrot, who once again features in Aldi’s Christmas advert, is proving a bigger hit with shoppers than even Elton John, star of the John Lewis ad. Soft-toy versions of the animated vegetable sold out at 4am on the day of release in some areas and have reportedly provoked fights among customers desperate to [...]
Sainsbury’s and Asda merger could cut hole in shoppers’ pockets, Waitrose warns November 8, 2018 The proposed merger of Asda and Sainsbury’s will cause substantial harm to customers, rival chain Waitrose warned today. It said the merger could force independent retailers to close in the face of competition from the new giant, leaving shoppers with fewer alternatives, while prices could rise. In comments to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which [...]
What goes with Christmas? Your festive dinner wine woes solved December 19, 2018 To paraphrase the famous French proverb, a Christmas dinner without wine is like a day without sunshine. A recent survey showed our average spend on a bottle for Christmas dinner increases by 45 per cent, and you can double that if it’s a gift. So it’s clear that we like to put a bit of [...]
The UK’s best and worst supermarkets: How did Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi and Lidl do? February 22, 2019 The big four supermarket chains have lost ground to budget rivals in a survey of shopper satisfaction, as customers grow increasingly dissatisfied with the the quality of in-house labels. Read more: Watchdog may block Sainsbury's-Asda merger Aldi and Lidl outperformed the big four with customer satisfaction scores of 68 and 66 per cent respectively, according to [...]
Court rules in favour of Asda workers in equal pay claim against supermarket giant January 31, 2019 Asda workers have been handed a victory in their equal pay claim against the supermarket giant after the Court of Appeal ruled that store workers' roles are comparable to jobs in its warehouses. Tens of thousands of store workers claimed they had been discriminated against in being paid less than their male counterparts who predominantly [...]
Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s to cut price of unleaded petrol by 2p November 6, 2018 Supermarket giants Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury's are locked in a pricing war after all three pledged to cut the price of fuel by 2p. The war was triggered by Asda's decision to cut the price of its unleaded fuel by 2p to 122.7p per litre. Rivals Morrisons and Sainsbury's announced soon after that they too would shave [...]
Mixed bag for Britain’s grocers as market cools despite record Christmas spending forecasts December 11, 2018 Shoppers have been taking fewer trips to the supermarket in recent weeks after a bumper summer of demand, according to new data that suggests Britain's grocery sector has slowed to its lowest rate of growth in more than a year. Despite projections that spending this Christmas will break UK records, the supermarket sector grew at two [...]
Walmart lowers earnings projections after online push hits profits October 16, 2018 Asda-ower Walmart lowered its earnings forecast for the financial year, after it warned online retail acquisitions would hit profits. The supermarket said its takeover of Indian e-commerce company Flipkart, the largest in the company’s history, would reduce earnings per share by 60 cents in the next financial year, and between 25 and 30 cents this [...]
Asda considers up to 2,500 job cuts as CMA probes Sainsbury’s merger October 26, 2018 Asda has said that it will begin consultations with staff over changes that could lead to a reported loss of up to 2,500 jobs next year. The news, first reported by the Press Association, comes as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) conducts a second stage investigation into the proposed takeover of the supermarket by [...]
Discounters win war of the supermarkets amid sluggish Christmas growth January 8, 2019 Aldi led the way during a record-breaking Christmas for groceries, even as sales growth slowed across the sector. The supermarket increased sales by 10.4 per cent, narrowly beating fellow discounter Lidl to the top spot, figures from Kantar Worldpanel show. “The discounters have continued to make their mark over Christmas: two-thirds of all households shopped [...]