Supermarket says it protects personal data ‘incredibly carefully’ and move makes ads ‘more relevant’
The chief executive of Sainsbury’s has defended its decision to sell data on the shopping habits of his customers to TV and consumer goods manufacturers looking to target their advertising.
Simon Roberts has said the supermarket group protects personal data “incredibly carefully” and that its strategy had made adverts more “relevant” for shoppers.
Continue reading...Removing leaves will mean they can be replanted or shredded for animal feed and could reduce emissions
The pineapple has been dethroned: Sainsbury’s has announced it will start selling a crownless version of the tropical fruit from Wednesday.
The spiky, green leaves that grow from the top of the plant are a unique feature of the exotic fruit. But, says the supermarket, they are typically thrown away by customers, contributing to up to 700 tonnes of food waste a year.
Continue reading...The supermarket hopes its new range will see cash-conscious brides stepping from one aisle to another
Milk, bread, eggs … wedding dress? Brides-to-be can usually be found browsing in chic boutiques or stuffy department stores but now Sainsbury’s is hoping it can persuade them to hit the supermarket aisle instead as they go in pursuit of the perfect wedding dress.
This week its mass market fashion brand, Tu clothing, launched its first bridal collection.
Continue reading...Like-for-like sales up 9.8% in quarter and supermarket says it has put more than £60m into cutting prices of basics
Food inflation is starting to fall, according to the boss of Sainsbury’s, who said shoppers were putting more items in their baskets as it began to cut prices on some basics.
Simon Roberts, the chief executive, said the supermarket was “putting all our energy and focus into battling inflation” as household budgets were “under more pressure than ever”.
Continue reading...WH Smith, Marks & Spencer and Argos among more than 200 firms that failed to pay workers legal minimum wage
Some of the UK’s best known retailers including WH Smith, Marks & Spencer, Argos and LloydsPharmacy are at the head of a list of more than 200 companies collectively fined £7m for failing to pay the legal minimum wage.
The businesses were also forced to pay out £4.9m to about 63,000 workers left out of pocket after violations of the rules were uncovered by inspectors at HMRC, varying from breaches related to asking workers to pay for aspects of their uniform to paying the incorrect apprenticeship rate.
Continue reading...Supermarket chain and consumer goods company insist they are protecting shoppers from inflation surge
Sainsbury’s and the Marmite maker Unilever have both insisted they are protecting shoppers from inflation, amid accusations that some companies are profiteering from the cost of living crisis.
“We are not profiteering in any form,” the chief executive of Unilever, Alan Jope, said as the consumer goods company insisted it was only passing on three-quarters of its increased costs to customers.
Continue reading...New pouches for beef are said to be ‘too compressed’ and ‘like I’ve bought someone’s kidney’
Sainsbury’s has said it is determined to make more “bold moves” to cut plastic and defended itself against criticism of new packaging for mince which shoppers have criticised as “very medical”, “too compressed” and “vile”.
The supermarket said last month it was the first UK retailer to vacuum pack all its beef mince, part of the retailer’s efforts to halve its use of plastic packaging on its own-label products by 2025.
Continue reading...Shoppers reported replacement items in 47% of UK deliveries, including 62% from Asda, in Which? survey
Dog chews instead of chicken breasts? Strawberries in place of bin liners? These are just some of the strangest supermarket substitutions, according to a poll.
Almost half of supermarket deliveries (47%) included a substitute item over the past 12 months, the survey for the consumer group Which? found.
Continue reading...Critics say everyday UK consumer spending has funnelled billions to controversial World Cup host since 2010
Some of the UK’s largest listed companies including water and energy giants have handed almost £500m to Qatari state-owned investors this year, raising concerns that blue-chip company profits are supporting the controversial World Cup host.
The dividend payouts are the result of the Gulf nation’s investments in a raft of FTSE 100 firms, including Barclays, Shell and utility firm Severn Trent, which have reported strong profits amid a cost of living crisis and the worst UK drought in centuries.
Continue reading...UK’s second-biggest supermarket says it will invest £500m to keep prices low as Marks & Spencer echoes outlook for coming months
The inflationary pressure on households will “only intensify” through the rest of this year, the boss of Sainsbury’s has warned as he said the supermarket would invest £500m in attempting to keep prices low.
The dour sentiment was echoed by the chair of Marks & Spencer, Archie Norman, who told shareholders at the retailer’s annual general meeting on Tuesday that there was a “coming winter in consumer demand”.
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The global semiconductor shortage and ongoing disruption to supply chains continue to knock carmakers’ profits.
Volkswagen and Stellantis both suffered financial hits in the third quarter the year, as a result of the global shortage of computer chips, which has prevented the firms from producing as many vehicles as they had originally planned.
Continue reading...Exclusive: NatWest, Microsoft and GSK among firms to raise complaint over poor planning and breakdown in relations
Companies that stumped up millions of pounds to sponsor the Cop26 climate summit have condemned it as “mismanaged” and “very last minute” in a volley of complaints as next month’s event in Glasgow draws near.
The sponsors, which include some of Britain’s biggest companies, have raised formal complaints blaming “very inexperienced” civil servants for delayed decisions, poor communication and a breakdown in relations between the organisers and firms in the run-up to the landmark talks.
Continue reading...As cases of blood condition pancytopenia persist, investigators suggest food fungi could be to blame
Cats are still dying in significant numbers from a mystery illness that investigators believe may be linked to widely sold cat food brands, prompting concern that not enough is being done to warn owners about a nationwide product recall.
Vets around the UK are understood to have been swamped by cases of pancytopenia, a condition in which the number of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets decreases rapidly, causing serious illness.
Continue reading...‘Fish aggregating devices’ have been linked to depletion of yellowfin populations and increased bycatch in the Indian Ocean
Global condemnation is growing at the increasingly widespread use of harmful “fish aggregating devices” (FADs) in the fishing industry, as retailers including Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer and the German chain Edeka joined calls for restrictions.
A letter signed by more than 100 NGOs, retailers and artisanal fisheries urges this week’s meeting of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) to consider proposals by Kenya and Sri Lanka to monitor, manage and restrict FADs. The signatories warn of an “urgent need” to improve management of FADs in order to reduce overfishing and rebuild populations of yellowfin tuna.
Continue reading...Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose run ads back-to-back on Channel 4
A group of leading UK supermarkets have joined together to take a stand against a racist online backlash that followed Sainsbury’s Christmas advertisement featuring a black family.
Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose ran their adverts back-to-back during two primetime slots on Channel 4 on Friday evening, with the hashtag #StandAgainstRacism. Normally, competitors actively avoid airing their ads close together.
Continue reading...The woman was robbed and told if she protested she would be ‘killed and put in box’
A Bangladeshi factory that produces clothes for Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Mothercare was forced to compensate an “outspoken” female worker after she was beaten up on the orders of management and threatened with being murdered, the Guardian has learned.
The woman claimed to have been “severely beaten up” by security guards and the HR and compliance management at the factory, which is used by the brand Stanley/Stella. She said she was robbed of her severance pay and told that if she protested she would be “killed and her body put in a cardboard box”, an industry watchdog report that endorses her account states.
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