Joules defies retail anguish with growth across the board July 23, 2019 Clothes store Joules this morning announced a double-figures spike in profit despite tough high street conditions. The full-year results will be the last for outgoing CEO Colin Porter, who said the firm was “well-positioned for continued success”. Read more: Joules lures in top Asda director as new chief executive The figures Pre-tax profit rose 14.9 [...]
Tesco unveils new Clubcard Plus subscription scheme October 29, 2019 Tesco has announced its new £96 per year subscription loyalty scheme is set to launch next week. The supermarket said Clubcard Plus, which offers customers 10 per cent off two shops worth up to £200 each per month, could save shoppers more than £400 a year. Read more: Analysts react to Tesco chief executive Dave [...]
Best of travel: A food odyssey across the South China Sea January 16, 2021 Throughout January we’re remembering better times and sunnier climes by reposting some of our favourite travel stories from the last decade. In this instalment, our Life&Style editor Steve Dinneen eats a path across the South China Sea. ••• Hong Kong’s most celebrated restaurants are the kind of Michelin-rated palaces to gastronomy that you can find [...]
Silver linings: Positive investment trends for stock market optimists March 24, 2020 Stocks investors are likely to be feeling battered and bruised at the moment. The coronavirus-induced bear market has seen share prices fall sharply — even the UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index is down more than 30 per cent since the start of the year. Many industries are facing hurdles due to the government’s self-isolation guidelines, [...]
DEBATE: Would the Sainsbury’s-Asda merger be good for consumers? May 1, 2018 Would the Sainsbury’s-Asda merger be good for consumers? Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, says YES. Large deals such as these will always result in winners and losers, with suppliers and some of the competition potentially falling into the losers camp. However, it is difficult to see that consumers would be anything other [...]
Sainsbury’s outperforms big four rivals September 17, 2019 Sainsbury’s was the best performing of the big four supermarkets, according to industry data for the latest 12 week period, as the UK grocery market returned to growth. The supermarket saw sales dip 0.1 per cent in the 12 weeks to 8 September. Read more: Aldi targets London expansion as profit falls Rival grocers Tesco. [...]
Sainsbury’s Asda merger facing review by the Competition and Markets Authority April 30, 2018 Sainsbury’s proposed merger with Asda is “likely to be subject to review”, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed this morning. Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe said this morning that the supermarket has asked the CMA to fast-track the deal to a phase two in-depth probe, and expects the watchdog will be minded to keep [...]
Sainsbury’s to announce details of talks for £10bn Asda merger April 30, 2018 Details of a proposed £10bn mega-merger between Sainsbury’s and Asda will be revealed today, after it emerged that the two giants are locked in takeover talks. Sainsbury’s will issue a statement to the market this morning after confirming on Saturday that it was in advanced discussions regarding the tie-up with Wal-Mart owned Asda. City observers [...]
Another Sainsbury’s shareholder says Asda deal “makes a lot of sense” May 3, 2018 Another Sainsbury’s shareholder has said that the proposed merger with Asda “makes a lot of sense”. Jason Doctor at Pzena Investment Management, which owns around three per cent of the supermarket’s issued shares, told City A.M. it could benefit the Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Argos brands. “The deal itself really makes a lot of sense, it’s [...]
Big Four supermarkets stall amid fast rise of Aldi and Lidl May 29, 2019 The UK’s Big Four supermarkets all failed to post a rise in sales during the last quarter as they battled it out with the German discounters to keep their market share in an increasingly competitive landscape. While Tesco’s overall sales were flat in the 12 weeks to 19 May, its performance trumped the likes of [...]