Lindt benefits from UK taste for posh choc January 14, 2014 SWISS luxury chocolate maker Lindt & Sprungli enjoyed sales growth of more than eight per cent last year. The bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturer, famous for its Lindt bunnies and Lindor truffles, said increased production and its new Hello brand had boosted annual turnover to SFr2.88bn (£1.9bn). Lindt’s UK and North America businesses both grew sales in [...]
5 things you didn’t know about new Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe January 29, 2014 Sainsbury’s CEO Justin King is leaving the supermarket in July – but what do we know about his replacement and current commercial director, Mike Coupe?1. A country boy at heart, Coupe was born in Watford in 1960 but was brought up in West Sussex. His mum was a housewife and his dad was an inventor [...]
5 things you didn’t know about new Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe January 29, 2014 Sainsbury's CEO Justin King is leaving the supermarket in July – but what do we know about his replacement and current commercial director, Mike Coupe? 1. A country boy at heart, Coupe was born in Watford in 1960 but was brought up in West Sussex. His mum was a housewife and his dad was an [...]
London Report: Unemployment near threshold for UK rate hike January 19, 2014 UNEMPLOYMENT figures due out this week look set to show further signs of the UK’s recovery, with November’s rate expected to have fallen. Alan Clarke, of ScotiaBank said: “The highlight of the UK economic calendar is going to be the labour report, where we see a very good chance that the unemployment rate falls by [...]
How open innovation will transform the humble quid March 20, 2014 FAREWELL to the pound coin’s familiar golden nugget design. Here comes the dough-decagon in its stead. The new 12-sided quid, modelled after the old threepenny bit, got plenty of attention this week. But the most interesting part of the design is what was left out. The flipside of the coin will be opened to a [...]
Former banking star Cruz signs for Old Mutual January 6, 2014 ONE OF Wall Street’s most powerful businesswomen Zoe Cruz was yesterday appointed to a £77,000 a year boardroom role at FTSE 100 fund manager Old Mutual. Cruz, who was co-president of Morgan Stanley until 2007 and was once tipped as the future boss of the bank, will join as non-executive director and sit on its [...]
Blurred lines: What the rise of branded content means for marketers March 2, 2014 @LiamWardProud WHEN is an ad not an ad? Last year, Channel 4 aired a daytime cookery show called What’s Cooking? It featured celebrity chefs including Jean-Christophe Novelli, and often drew an audience in excess of 200,000 according to Kantar Media. But there was something different about this programme: the food featured was mostly Sainsbury’s own-label [...]
Bottom Line: An orderly handover but uneasy lies any head wearing this crown January 29, 2014 LONG live the new king. Sainsbury’s emphasis is firmly on continuity as it announces its new boss. The choice of commercial director Mike Coupe is the antithesis of a palace coup – every inch a loyal insider, Coupe is closely tied to King’s strategic vision, as demonstrated by his involvement in recent successes like Brand [...]
Marks & Spencer chooses a new auditor after 87 years with PwC December 5, 2013 MARKS & Spencer has parted ways with PwC, picking a new auditor for the first time since the FTSE 100 retailer became a public company in 1926. M&S said yesterday it has appointed Deloitte as its new auditor following a competitive tender. The switch comes at a time when the close and often decades-long relationship [...]
The Digital Effect February 16, 2014 Annabel Palmer discusses trends with Gwyn Jones, BBH’s group chief executive BRITISH advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) has been Agency of the Year twice at the Cannes Lions Festival, and has created notable campaigns including “Vorsprung durch Technik” for Audi and “The Lynx Effect” for Unilever. Group chief executive Gwyn Jones tells City A.M. [...]