John Lewis Christmas advert 2014: Monty the Penguin is likely to sell out and Tom Odell’s cover of John Lennon’s Real Love is a contender to top the festive charts November 6, 2014 Monty the penguin has been released into the wild… but it looks like he won’t be there for long. The cute character and star of John Lewis’ highly anticipated Christmas ad, which will either bring a tear to your eye or make you feel nauseous depending on your disposition, is proving popular already. Merchandise featuring [...]
Pumpkin shortage threatens to ruin Halloween October 30, 2014 If you've left it until today to pick up a pumpkin to carve for Halloween, you might be out of luck. Owing to what farmers have described as the worst harvest in years, some shops have started reporting that they have sold out of the seasonal squash. Apparently it is this year's wet [...]
Waitrose fails to beat prices December 9, 2013 DISCOUNTED products made up an increasing proportion of Waitrose’s sales, the retailer said yesterday, as it reported sales increasing by less than inflation. Sales rose by 0.8 per cent last week compared to the same week of 2012. However, over the same period prices increased by 2.2 per cent, outstripping sales. The proportion made up [...]
Carve Tesco into three, says former director August 26, 2014 A former Tesco executive has called for the business to be radically restructured by its incoming boss, creating three separate entities. Bruno Monteyne, an analyst at Bernstein Research and previously Tesco.com's development director, has argued that carving the supermarket up could be the only way to halt its decline. He suggests dividing it [...]
Supermarket retailers Waitrose and Co-op see mixed fortunes January 8, 2014 THE FESTIVE trading period produced mixed fortunes for supermarket retailers Waitrose and the Co-operative, which is fighting to turn itself around after a dire year for its banking arm. The Co-op’s food arm, which has been steadily losing market share, gained some respite after posting a one per cent rise in like-for-like sales in 13 [...]
Apps to improve your work-life balance in 2015 December 31, 2014 A 24/7 business cycle coupled with the smartphone invasion can create a seemingly insurmountable workload making it increasingly impossible to achieve the ideal work-life balance. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and for the tech-savvy there's a myriad of apps to help fight back against the increasingly blurred lines between work and play. Rescue [...]
Gimme 5: Startups crowdfunding this month September 22, 2014 Rollasole Target: £150,000 for 7.5 per cent equity If you’ve seen a pair of bendy pumps someone’s shoved in their handbag, you’ll know how useful Rollasole shoes are. Raised: £130,210 via Crowdcube 42 days left Line-Up Target: £200,000 for 9.09 per cent equity Line-Up’s technology collects and collates “what’s on” information from newspapers, radio [...]
Could independent Scots be charged more in shops? John Lewis’ boss thinks so September 11, 2014 Could an independent Scotland pay more than the rest of the UK for its groceries, clothing and white goods? John Lewis Partnership chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield certainly seems to think so. The retail boss, who this morning revealed half year gross sales had risen a steady six per cent to £5.01bn, told the BBC's [...]
Waitrose checks out 22,000 items a minute on busiest day ever January 8, 2014 Waitrose saw its most successful Christmas on record, with sales for the twelve trading days up to 31 December up 6.5 per cent on the same period of 2012. In the five weeks to Christmas Eve, total sales (excluding fuel) rose 5.4 per cent from a year earlier. The store added that on the 23 [...]
Lidl by Lidl, the discounters are still on the rise – Bottom Line August 27, 2014 Fresh data, but no fresh hope for the mid-market grocers. Tesco dropped its market share to 28.8 per cent in the 12 weeks to 17 August, down from 30.2 per cent last year. Sainsbury’s also edged down. By contrast, premium player Waitrose grew its market share to 4.9 per cent – and its take at [...]