Black Friday 2015 UK: Asda’s move to ditch the bargains bonanza on 27 November means the supermarket stays true to its brand November 10, 2015 Black Friday is now an integral part of our shopping calendar in the UK, with the annual event is expected to break the £1bn barrier this year. However, while it enjoys significant hype, the event isn’t right for every retailer. This year Asda – one of the first big retailers to imitate the American tradition, is [...]
Have Asda execs been stress eating with James Martin ahead of first quarter results? May 15, 2016 Has Asda chief Andy Clarke been eating his feelings? The Big Four retail giant has struck up a delicious partnership with former Saturday Kitchen star James Martin. Last month the Yorkshire foodie figure rustled up a strawberry gateau with Asda boss Andy Clarke at the InterContinental Hotel on Park Lane in London, marking the start of a new marketing partnership [...]
Asda Income Tracker shows average UK household’s discretionary income rose to record level in May 2016 June 21, 2016 UK households had more money at their disposal in May than any other month over the last eight years, according to new data from Asda – but the supermarket warned that uncertainty around this week's EU referendum makes it hard to predict how income will fare in future. Discretionary income was up to £201 per week in [...]
The supermarket squeeze: Big four supermarkets outperformed by discounters and premium competitors June 1, 2016 The big four food retailers – Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons – are suffering in the supermarket squeeze today as both discount and premium challengers boasted the strongest sales growth. Tesco had the smallest drop in sales of the big four, at 0.1 per cent, and Asda the biggest, with a 5.1 per cent decline in sales. Discounters Aldi and [...]
Convenience store openings up by a fifth as the big four try to match our changing shopping habits June 17, 2016 Convenience stores are popping up all over the country as people do fewer weekly shops and opt for fewer, more frequent trips instead. The number of convenience stores has risen by 21 per cent in the past five years. The big four supermarkets – Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons – opened the stop-off shops at the [...]
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 [...]
A supermarket is offering a “quiet hour” to help shoppers with autism April 25, 2016 If you've ever had the joy of going to a supermarket with a child with severe autism, you'll know the drill. From loud noises to people jostling them, anything can turn what could have been a peaceful shop into a potential tantrum situation. But now the manager of an Asda store in Manchester is seeking to make things easier [...]
For Asda boss Andy Clarke, the nadir may be yet to come May 20, 2016 It takes a brave man to call the bottom. It's just so easy to get it wrong. Asda boss Andy Clarke certainly appears to have jumped the gun when he said last August that the Walmart-owned supermarket had reached its “nadir”. At the time, his words were meant to give reassurance that, although the business [...]
Asda and Aldi recall white and dark rums over fears of glass fragments in bottles produced by Glen Turner Co April 14, 2016 Bottles of dark and white rums sold in Aldi and Asda have been recalled by the food and drinks watchdog over concerns the bottles may contain "small fragments of glass". The spirits producer Glen Turner Co, which supplies both supermarket chains, has recalled 70cl bottles of rum on a precautionary basis as they pose "a [...]
Here’s how the supermarkets were doing just before the Brexit vote June 28, 2016 In the immediate run-up to the EU referendum, supermarket sales were strong, according to data released today, but in the three month period before the vote, sales slipped. The figures from Nielsen show that in the four weeks ending 18 June, UK supermarkets had their first increase in year-on-year takings since July 2015. Sales were up 0.4 [...]