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.
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Racism, colonialism ‘driving Indigenous self-harm’
Australia’s dark colonial past and ongoing racism are driving self-harm in Indigenous communities, according to a respected Aboriginal psychologist.
That whole process has left communities suffering from intergenerational trauma, disadvantage and ongoing racism, as well as the exclusion from the benefits of society and a lack of acknowledgment and respect for their different cultural values.
We still want clinical approaches but we want to see culture at the centre of that.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
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...Choice finds basket of nine items cost $99.38 on average at four remote community stores in Western Australia and the Northern Territory
People living in remote Indigenous communities are paying more than double the capital city prices for everyday groceries including flour, tasty cheese, apples and milk, new research has found.
A basket of nine items, which also included penne pasta, beef mince, teabags, carrots and Weet-Bix cost $99.38 on average at four remote community stores in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, the research by Choice found.
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Continue reading...NSW environment minister hopes ‘Mickey will be flying free by tomorrow’ after successful capture by wildlife services
A sulphur-crested cockatoo called Mickey that had been “living on brioche” inside a Sydney supermarket for four weeks has been captured by wildlife services and is expected to be set free soon.
The New South Wales environment minister, Penny Sharpe, announced on Tuesday evening that the bird had “been safely captured by wildlife rescuers after spending way too long in Macarthur Square”.
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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...Australian Competition and Consumer Commission uses special information gathering powers to examine ‘concerning’ reports from grocery suppliers
Australia’s major supermarkets provide broadly similar products, prices and loyalty programs in an oligopolistic market that may limit incentives to compete vigorously, the competition regulator has found in its interim report on the sector.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission also said grocery suppliers had raised “concerning” issues – such as being required to pay rebates for promotions to supermarkets – prompting the regulator to use its compulsory information gathering powers to examine the reported behaviour.
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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...ACCC has accused supermarket giants of breaching consumer laws with alleged ‘price spike’ practices
The competition regulator has taken Coles and Woolworths to court over what is commonly known as “was/is” comparative pricing.
The allegations, which Coles said it would defend and Woolworths said it would review, could result in large fines and unravel the supermarkets’ well-known “Down Down” and “Prices Dropped” promotions, which are at the heart of their marketing campaigns.
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...Policy devised under Conservatives will be reviewed after warnings of chaos for producers and suppliers
Government plans to force food manufacturers to put “not for EU” labels on all meat and dairy products sold across Britain next month have been indefinitely postponed after warnings that the scheme could cause “chaos” for producers and suppliers.
The government will instead review the policy, which was devised under the Conservative administration. Legislation to implement the changes has yet to be brought in.
Continue reading...Supermarket has come under pressure as rivals such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s have promised to match its prices
Aldi has said the price of a basket of its goods is lower than a year ago despite ongoing grocery inflation, as the discount chain tries to fight back against increasing pressure from rivals’ price-matching schemes.
The German-owned budget retailer said a slowdown in growth this year – sales are rising by just 0.5% compared with 16% last year – was partly caused by a decision to cut prices as big chains including Tesco and Sainsbury’s have won back customers by promising to match Aldi on key items.
Continue reading...Country music star’s ‘down to earth’ range at Asda goes head to head with Kylie for the ‘easy drinking’ top spot
Whether it’s 9 to 5, Jolene or Islands in the Stream, Dolly Parton fans are no stranger to belting out her hits with a glass of wine in hand, but now they can sip her vino, too, as the singer’s “down to earth” wine range goes on sale in the UK.
The brains behind Dolly Wines say they have bottled Parton’s “vivacious spirit and love for life” with the decision to branch out from selling albums to alcohol pitting the US country music star against the pop princess Kylie in the battle for the “easy drinking” top spot.
Continue reading...Greens accuse company of price-gouging, as supermarket attributes sales boost to seasonal campaigns and rising digital revenue
Coles has posted a surge in revenue from its groceries business and expanded supermarket profit margins to the highest level recorded in the pandemic era, even as shoppers grapple with fast-rising household costs.
The revenue bump underpinned a robust rise in annual profit to $1.1bn. It threatens to draw Australia’s second largest chain back into the public limelight as cost-of-living pressures become a central political issue for the next federal election.
Continue reading...Prices down 0.3% in first week of August as food inflation eases and retailers attempt to shift unsold summer stock
UK shop prices have dropped for the first time since the cost of living crisis began nearly three years ago, as food inflation eased and retailers offered discounts on clothes and household goods to shift unsold summer stock.
New data showed prices were down 0.3% in the first week of August, compared with the same period last year. That compares to a 0.2% rise in July, and the three-month average of 0%.
Continue reading...James Bailey is confident the market has swung in its favour, with more customers and plans to open new stores
Waitrose is getting its mojo back, according to the boss of the upmarket supermarket chain, with shoppers treating themselves more often to pricier items such as green harissa paste and organic beef fillet steak as the cost of living crisis subsides for them.
James Bailey says Waitrose is selling nearly double the amount expected of its range of branded ingredients for recipes by the celebrity chef Yotam Ottolenghi, which launched in April, while sales of its Duchy Organic range are up more than 10%, as are those for its premium No 1 own label range, while sales of its budget Essentials range are falling back.
Continue reading...GMB accuses owner TDR Capital of mismanagement as sales at supermarket fall 6%
The GMB union has called on the owner of Asda to take “urgent action” to protect jobs amid signs the supermarket is “in a fight for survival”.
On Tuesday data revealed sales at Asda fell 6% in the three months to 4 August, despite continuing grocery price inflation, taking the retailer’s share of the UK take-home grocery market to 12.6% – the lowest level in at least 13 years.
Continue reading...After a difficult period on the high street, base rates are falling, temperatures are rising and things are looking up
It’s been a second cruel summer in a row for retailers and the hospitality business, but a more prolonged spell of warmth – and the first cut in interest rates in more than four years – may finally heat up the market, if it’s not too late.
From Argos paddling pools and outdoor furniture at garden centres to Heineken beer and Unilever’s ice-cream brands, sales have been dampened by poor weather, which has added to the pressure from high interest rates and energy bills. Sales volumes were down in June and July in the UK, according to the latest CBI distributive trades survey, with retailers expecting more falls in August.
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