Morrisons may not be the most obvious partner for Amazon, but there is method behind the marriage – and it could mean trouble for Asda, Tesco and Ocado March 1, 2016 Only one pound out of every £10 that Britons spend on groceries drops into Morrisons’ tills. Not a bad ratio, you might think, but like its bigger rivals (over £6 in every £10 is spent in Tesco, Sainsbury’s or Asda), Morrisons has been struggling with a declining market share. The Bradford-headquartered supermarket is not the [...]
With Tesco’s profits up but facing an “uncertain market”, has Dave Lewis saved the supermarket? April 14, 2016 John Ibbotson, director of retail consultancy Retail Vision, says Yes. Yesterday’s fall in Tesco’s share price should be taken with a Value sack of salt. Chief executive Dave Lewis is achieving an extraordinary feat, turning around an oil tanker in a very tight spot. With Tesco hemmed in by ruthless competition and food price deflation, it’s [...]
Cost of weekly supermarket shop drops for fourth month in a row to hit lowest level in over a year April 4, 2016 The cost of the average weekly grocery shop has fallen for the fourth month in a row to reach its lowest level in over a year, data released today shows. Research by price comparison site MySupermarket found that a basket of 35 staple products across the major grocers cost £84.36 in March, down 3.8 per [...]
Ad agencies need better advertising: 101’s Laurence Green on why positioning should be more important than pitching June 20, 2016 Our industry conversation has swung too far from long-term to short, from strategy to tactics, and away from the alchemical power of great creative,” says Laurence Green, founder of creative agency 101. He has been critical in the past of the fact that pitching has become the default method for procuring agencies’ services. And he believes [...]
Sainsbury’s bid for Argos parent company Home Retail Group is baffling investors: Mike Coupe must explain the maths behind the deal February 4, 2016 "When my information changes, I change my mind. What do you do?” This old quotation (which may or may not have been uttered by economist John Maynard Keynes) came to mind yesterday when investment giant Old Mutual said it would accept Sainsbury’s 161.3p per share offer for Home Retail Group, despite previously arguing that any [...]
Sainsbury’s should focus on its core offer January 6, 2016 Sainsbury's and Home Retail Group do not at first glance appear obvious bedfellows. If perceptions count for anything, and they do in retail, then Sainsbury’s is very much a supermarket that attempts to cater for the British middle class. Home Retail Group’s Argos doesn’t. But for both the high street and supermarkets, these are desperate [...]
Retail therapy: British supermarket giant Sainsbury’s considers second bid for Argos owner Home Retail Group January 5, 2016 Sainsbury's is mulling over a second bid for Home Retail Group after it came clean yesterday about a £1bn unsolicited offer for the Argos and Homebase owner. The supermarket chain said it is “considering its position” after its initial cash and share bid in November was rejected by Home Retail’s board. Home Retail was also reportedly [...]
Sainsbury’s believes chief exec Mike Coupe’s travel fears are over after Egypt drama April 29, 2015 Sainsbury’s said last night it was confident that chief executive Mike Coupe no longer faced travel restrictions to countries with extradition treaties with Egypt after flying to the country this weekend to appeal against allegations of embezzlement. In a bizarre case dating back to Sainsbury’s disastrous foray into the country 16 years ago, Coupe [...]
Sainsbury’s to shed 800 store jobs in bid to save £500m in supermarket price war April 23, 2015 Sainsbury’s is set to axe 800 jobs in stores as part of a shake-up aimed at saving £500m over the next three years to better position itself in the ongoing supermarket price war. The supermarket chain said yesterday that it plans to remove department and deputy managers from certain stores in order to invest [...]
Sainsbury’s says fightback plan paying off March 17, 2015 SAINSBURY’S chief executive Mike Coupe said the supermarket chain was seeing “some signs of recovery” after launching a £150m fightback plan last year, despite underlying sales falling for the fifth quarter in a row. Like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, fell by 1.9 per cent in the 10 weeks to 14 March, its final quarter, with sales [...]