Waitrose to build on export success with premium brands June 18, 2014 WAITROSE yesterday announced plans to expand its own-label export business by selling products from brands including Cornish Sea Salt, Windsor and Eton Brewery and Pooch and Mutt pet food. In the last financial year, Waitrose saw a 30 per cent uplift in its export business, which provides its own brand label products to markets ranging [...]
Grocery price war continues: Tesco’s rebound hurts Asda as Aldi reaches record market share March 10, 2015 Tesco's return to growth is stealing market share from Asda, according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel. The sector as a whole is still hugely competitive: the grocery price war has driven supermarket deflation to a record level of 1.6 per cent for the 12 weeks to March 1. Kantar estimated that this had [...]
From anti-austerity protests to remote-controlled cars: Here’s what got us talking this week June 19, 2015 There was plenty of Greek drama. RBS had to call in the boys from the IT Crowd. And some guy got a new job talking about cars. Here's what got us talking this week 1) There's going to be a huge protest in London today There will be tens of thousands of [...]
L&G buys Waitrose warehouse May 27, 2014 The property arm of insurance firm Legal & General has agreed to forward fund a new distribution warehouse for Waitrose in Milton Keynes, in a deal worth £114m. The 100,000 square feet warehouse in Milton Keynes’ Magna Park is being built by logistics developer Gazeley and has been pre-let to Waitrose on a 30-year term. [...]
How businesses are using crowdfunding in their CSR strategy: The evolving relationship between platforms and corporates August 13, 2015 Crowdfunding has democratised investing and made it more efficient. But the landscape has evolved significantly. Once dominated by platforms simply enabling people to make donations to causes, debt-based crowdfunding is now by far the largest subsector, and fashionable equity gets a lot of airtime. But despite less exposure these days, the original donation-based crowdfunding is [...]
Easter “masks” wider problems in supermarket sector as price war continues to take toll on Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and Morrisons April 10, 2015 Supermarkets experienced their first growth in spend during March – but the early Easter is “masking” the sector's problems, Nielsen claims. Sales rose 0.7 per cent for the four weeks to March 28 against the same period last year. The last time grocers saw an increase in spend was April last year, when Easter distorted [...]
AG Barr is Funkin it after buying cocktail firm February 2, 2015 IRN-BRU maker AG Barr has snapped up cocktail mixer and syrups business Funkin in a deal worth up to £21m. The Camden-based business, which sells its products to bars, restaurants and retailers including Waitrose, will give AG Barr exposure to the lucrative cocktail market.
Flower power hit by supermarket price wars in UK March 26, 2015 POTATO supplier Producer Investments has found itself in hot water after profits more than halved in the first half, hurt by the supermarket price wars and a bigger-than-expected crop last summer. The Scottish company, which produces and supplies retailers, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, with spuds as well as daffodils, said operating profits fell to [...]
John Lewis Partnership hit by multi-million pound burden of new holiday pay ruling January 16, 2015 Lawyers warned us that changes to holiday pay would be an expensive ruling, and lo, it came to pass. The John Lewis Partnership, which includes the eponymous department store and Waitrose, will have to stump up an additional £12m each year to cover costs relating to pension, bonuses and National Insurance. “The majority [...]
Spring a bottle: The perfect wines to crack open over Easter weekend, from Riesling to Sauternes April 2, 2015 Easter is almost upon us, which means it’s time to put away those hearty reds that have kept us warm through the long winter months and drink something altogether lighter and more refreshing. So what to choose? For a start, I would continue to steer clear of Sauvignon Blanc. It’s too early in the year [...]