Tesco’s marketing strategy needs a new broom in 2012 to sweep away its Clubcard January 12, 2012 THESE were bad figures, Tesco can’t get away from that. Britain’s biggest retailer reported its worst Christmas sales performance for decades on Thursday and warned it would see minimal profit growth next year. Down 1.3 per cent like-for-like (including VAT) in the UK was much worse than any other figures we’ve had from the major [...]
Banks steady FTSE but retailers dive January 12, 2012 The FTSE 100 index saw modest rises this morning as banks performed well in stark contrast to the retail sector which was pulled down by a string of poor results from heavyweights including Tesco. Investors were also digesting the results of a Spanish sovereign debt auction which showed yields going in a positive direction. Spain [...]
The proof is in the pudding at Sainsbury’s January 11, 2012 J SAINSBURY has reported a record Christmas despite the gloomy economic backdrop, as cash-strapped customers treated themselves during the festive season. Britain’s third largest supermarket said like-for-like sales excluding fuel and VAT and rose 1.2 per cent in the third quarter to 7 January, above analysts’ consensus of 0.9 per cent. The grocer reported 26m [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW DID SAINSBURY’S FARE AGAINST RIVALS? January 11, 2012 PHILIP DORGAN | PANMURE GORDON A continued strong performance from Sainsbury… we believe that it continues to be underestimated by the market. True, its reported sales growth period is longer than for Morrison… but we believe that it had a good Christmas. KEITH BOWMAN | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN In all, Sainsbury has again surprised on the [...]
Oil majors lead the FTSE 100 lower as investors avoid risk January 11, 2012 BRITAIN’S blue-chip FTSE 100 closed lower yesterday after bouncing once again off an important technical resistance level, led by heavyweight energy stocks on a fresh bout of Eurozone debt-inspired risk aversion. The index traded in a fairly tight range for the early part of the session, rising to test 5,700 before bearish comments from a [...]
FTSE rally ends as investors eye Eurozone bond auctions January 11, 2012 The rally on the FTSE 100 yesterday stalled in early trading today as concerns over upcoming Eurozone bond auctions and slightly weaker commodity stocks took their toll. Heavyweight miners failed to keep up the gains made yesterday which were fuelled by positive data from China showing the country’s demand for metals had risen. Wall Street [...]
Sainsbury’s sales top forecasts January 11, 2012 Grocer J Sainsbury beat Christmas sales forecasts as store extensions and its expansion into convenience outlets, online shopping and non-food ranges helped it weather a tough market. Britain’s third-biggest supermarket group behind Wal-Mart’s Asda and industry leader Tesco said on Wednesday sales at stores open over a year rose 2.1 per cent excluding fuel in [...]
Tesco loses market share in run-up to Xmas January 10, 2012 Britain’s biggest retailer, lost grocery market share in the run-up to Christmas as rivals fought back against its price-cutting campaign and cash-strapped shoppers flocked to discount stores, according to new data. Market researcher Kantar Worldpanel said grocery sales rose 4.8 per cent in the 12 weeks to 25 December. That lagged a 5.9 per cent [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WERE MORRISONS’ RESULTS IN LINE WITH EXPECTATIONS? January 9, 2012 PHILIP DORGAN | PANMURE GORDON Christmas trading was slightly below best expectations, although in line with the market. Morrison’s shares were fantastic performers in 2011 and, while we see no real downside, we expect others within the sector to pick up the baton in 2012. CLIVE BLACK | SHORE CAPITAL We deem such a performance [...]
Morrisons sales growth slows over Christmas January 9, 2012 Wm Morrison Supermarkets reported a slowdown in sales growth over Christmas and predicted cash-strapped shoppers would remain reluctant to spend this year, despite an easing of inflationary pressures. Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer behind J Sainsbury, Wal-Mart’s Asda and industry leader Tesco) said sales at stores open over a year rose 0.7 per cent, excluding fuel and [...]