UK business says it has gained 300,000 new shoppers and plans 40 branch openings next year
Lidl’s UK business has bounced back into profit after it slowed expansion in favour of improving existing stores, spurring a jump in sales to above £9bn.
The German-owned discounter, which is close to overtaking Morrisons to become the UK’s fifth-largest supermarket, said it had gained more than 300,000 new shoppers and 60% of Britons visited the chain at least once year.
Continue reading...Supermarket fizz bursts the prestigious French label’s bubble in blind tastings by consumer group Which?
Champagne at prosecco prices? Every little helps. Tesco’s Finest champagne has triumphed over the prestigious French label Moët & Chandon in a festive quaff test.
The Tesco Finest premier cru brut champagne received the top score of 82% in a blind taste test conducted by the consumer group Which?. The £25-a-bottle bubbly was hailed by judges for its “nutty aroma and fresh, fruity flavours”. The supermarket fizz beat Moët & Chandon, which scored 77% and at £44 is almost twice as expensive.
Continue reading...Shares in fashion brand jump as ‘urgent’ cost-cutting programme announced following half-year losses
Burberry has unveiled a £40m cost-cutting programme as its new chief executive pledged to “stabilise the business” with a turnaround plan aimed at reviving the fortunes of the ailing British luxury fashion brand.
Joshua Schulman, the former Coach boss who replaced his ousted predecessor, Jonathan Akeroyd, in July, said the company was “acting with urgency” after straying too far from its roots of “timeless core collections” and outerwear, including trench coats and scarves with its distinctive Burberry check.
Continue reading...Report looked into donations to Nottingham universities by Jesse Boot, who expanded pharmacy chain
The high-street pharmacy Boots’s links to the transatlantic slave trade have been revealed in new research that shows how the proceeds of enslavement became entangled with British capitalism.
Jesse Boot, the son of the company’s founder, expanded the chemist with the help of banks and premises linked to slavery. He was not identified as involved in the enslavement of people, the trade of enslaved people or trade in goods made by enslaved people.
Continue reading...Later October half-term break and budget uncertainty also led to lower spending, says industry
Growth in UK retail sales slumped in October, according to industry figures that suggest shoppers have put off spending in anticipation of Black Friday promotions and because of a later school half-term break.
Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show total sales grew by 0.6% year on year in October, significantly weaker than September’s and less than half the three-month average growth rate.
Continue reading...Head of LVMH, an investor in Italy’s Moncler, reportedly keen to get deal done with British luxury brand
Shares in Burberry have risen by more than 7% after reports suggested Italian rival Moncler may be considering a bid for the British luxury fashion brand.
The spike came after the trade journal Miss Tweed reported that Moncler, which also owns Stone Island, was looking at a potential acquisition of Burberry, which has struggled as demand for luxury goods has fallen.
Continue reading...TV chef, who has signed up for bakery chain’s first ever festive advert, says she is a fan of its sausage rolls
Nigella Lawson has issued an impassioned paean to the Greggs sausage roll, amid reports of a banger-based dust-up that threatened to cast a shadow over her appearance in the bakery chain’s first ever Christmas advert.
Greggs confirmed on Sunday that the celebrity chef and cookbook author had agreed to star in its inaugural Christmas promotion, in which Lawson will purr over such delicacies as vegan festive bakes.
Continue reading...Diners hail ‘great price’ of dishes at Swedish furniture chain’s food outlet next door to its Hammersmith store
Its meatballs are as famous as its flatpack furniture, with a meal in one of its restaurants often the highlight of an Ikea trip.
Now shoppers can enjoy an Ikea meal without lugging around their kitchen sink – literally – as the furniture company has opened its first standalone restaurant on the UK high street in King Street in Hammersmith. Located next door to its west London city store, the space seats 75 people and serves a range of Swedish dishes.
Continue reading...Exclusive: about one in five offers involve meat and dairy and one in ten processed meat despite known health risks
Supermarkets are using multibuy promotional deals to encourage shoppers to buy meat and processed meat, despite the products being linked to a heightened risk of cancer, research reveals.
Almost one in five (18%) of multibuy offers in major British supermarkets involve meat and dairy products, and one in ten (11%) processed meat such as ham, bacon and sausages.
Continue reading...Formal investigation opens amid concerns Chinese shopping website is breaching Digital Services Act
The EU has launched formal proceedings against the Chinese shopping website Temu amid concerns it is failing to halt the sale of illegal products online.
A formal investigation was opened on Thursday with the European Commission citing concerns over the platform, which is a cut-price rival to Amazon.
Continue reading...Majority owner, Challice, says it has no interest in selling shares to group that already owns 37% of luxury brand
The owner of the Mulberry fashion brand has rejected an increased £111m bid from Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group to buy the British luxury handbag maker, saying it has “no interest” in selling its shares.
Challice, a group controlled by Singaporean entrepreneur Christina Ong and her husband, Ong Beng Seng, which owns 56% of Mulberry – giving it the power to block any bid – called on Frasers to ditch plans to take over, saying it came at an “inopportune time” for the struggling brand.
Continue reading...Thai conglomerate Central Group to co-own high-profile retailer with Saudi Public Investment Fund
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has bought a stake in the upmarket department store Selfridges in its latest move on a high-profile British asset.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) said it had signed a deal to buy a 40% stake in the loss-making retailer for an undisclosed sum.
Continue reading...Vegemite sells for 30 cents more per 100g in Australia, a salty byproduct of lower supermarket competition sure to leave a bad taste
Shoppers in the UK are paying less for Australian brands including Vegemite and Tim Tams than customers in Australia, despite the classic products being made in Australia.
A comparison of seven Australian products stocked in UK supermarkets shows they are often cheaper to buy in Britain than at Australia’s two major supermarket chains.
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Continue reading...Bill is likely to include measures such as ending ‘exploitative’ zero-hours contracts and changes to sick pay
The boss of Tesco has called on the UK government to work with business to ensure new legislation to improve workers rights also increases productivity and growth as the retailer revealed better-than-expected profits.
Ken Murphy, the chief executive of the UK’s biggest supermarket, said he was keen to use a planned consultation on the wide-ranging employment rights bill, announced by the government in the king’s speech in July, to “make sure that whatever the government decides to put forward has the intended consequence of stimulating productivity and growth and protecting workers at the same time”.
Continue reading...South Korean skincare brands expected to follow country’s music, film and TV exports in becoming blockbusters
We’ve had South Korean pop, film, fashion and food, and now the latest trend is K-beauty, with sales of Korean skincare brands taking off in the UK as consumers are seduced by products that promise to conjure a radiant complexion.
Britons are cutting back in other areas, but they are still chasing what the beauty industry describes as the “glass skin” look, with retailers reporting a rise in spending on high-end skincare.
Continue reading...Transaction will reportedly provide investment firm Song Capital with ground rent on 76 supermarkets for 45 years
Morrisons has raised £331m to cut its debt pile through the sale of ground leases on 76 supermarkets as part of a turnaround plan under the new chief executive, Rami Baitiéh.
If all the proceeds are used to pay down debt, Morrisons would have net debt of £3.6bn, down from as much as £8.6bn at the end of last year.
Continue reading...Mutual reports half-year pre-tax profit of £58m despite soaring wage bill and rising cost of theft at retail stores
The Co-operative Group has laid bare the impact of shoplifting as it said the cost of crime in its stores soared by almost 20% to £40m in the first half of the year.
The member-owned mutual has spent £18m so far this year on measures to protect staff in its food business, including rolling out body-worn cameras and fortified kiosks.
Continue reading...Trading relationships at ‘breaking point’ because of delays and costs, garden centres and nurseries warn
Exporters of plants and flowers from mainland Europe are turning their backs on supplying Britain as “painful” new Brexit border checks are putting some trading relationships at “breaking point”, garden centres and nurseries have warned.
The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), which represents garden retailers and growers, said long-held links between British nurseries and EU suppliers were now being put under strain because of the delays and costs associated with the new border processes.
Continue reading...Competition watchdog alleges supermarkets briefly increased prices on hundreds of products before placing them in discount promotions
The competition regulator is suing Coles and Woolworths over allegations they misled shoppers by engaging in “illusory” discounts on hundreds of common supermarket products.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) claimed on Monday that the major chains derived significant revenue from the sale of tens of millions of products sold through promotions that the regulator says breached consumer law.
Continue reading...Shares in FTSE 100-listed company rise after it reports improved full-year profit forecast
The chief executive of Kingfisher, which owns the B&Q and Screwfix chains, has said demand for kitchens and bathrooms in the UK has plateaued but overall sales are showing signs of recovery, as the retail group reported sliding half-year revenues.
Thierry Garnier said demand for big-ticket categories had remained weak, in line with the wider market, while sales of seasonal products – from garden furniture to barbecues – had improved since early July.
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