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...French supermarket chain labels products that have shrunk in size but cost more before contract talks with suppliers
The French supermarket chain Carrefour has put labels on its shelves this week warning shoppers of “shrinkflation”, the phenomenon where manufacturers reduce pack sizes rather than increase prices.
It has slapped price warnings on products from Lindt chocolates to Lipton iced tea to pressure top consumer goods suppliers Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever to tackle the issue in advance of much-anticipated contract talks.
Continue reading...Dairy farmers warn the deal could reduce competition and lead to lower prices for producers
The Australian consumer watchdog has delayed its decision on the acquisition by supermarket giant Coles of two major milk processing facilities, which dairy farmers warn would further reduce competition and lower milk prices.
In April, Coles announced it had purchased two fresh milk processing plants from dairy processor Saputo for $105m, subject to regulatory approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
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Continue reading...Supermarkets, pubs and advertisers the winners as supporters prepare for match against Spain
Supermarkets, pubs and TV advertisers are preparing to enjoy a bumper weekend as football fans rush to celebrate the Women’s World Cup final on Sunday morning.
As many as 13.7 million people are expected to tune in when the Lionesses take on Spain in the highly anticipated fixture in Australia – the first time a senior England football team has appeared in a World Cup final since 1966.
Continue reading...Which? research finds cheese, butter and bread are up by more than 30% in the past two years, hitting the poor hardest
The cost of some basic food items such as cheese, butter and bread has soared by more than 30% in the last two years, forcing poorer households to “make desperate choices between keeping up with their bill payments or putting food on the table,” campaigners have said.
Food price inflation has slowed in recent months, but costs remain much higher than they were two years ago, disproportionally affecting low-income households, according to research by consumer body Which? shared exclusively with the Guardian.
Continue reading...The two big Australian supermarkets under scrutiny at a federal parliamentary inquiry into economic dynamism
When a representative of Australia’s biggest supermarket chain answered questions at a parliamentary committee about profits, the response created an impression that margins were modest and, if anything, falling.
The assertion appears to rub against data that shows Woolworths and Coles have greatly increased profits derived from grocery items during the inflationary period and related cost-of-living crisis.
Continue reading...Other retailers say they are working with government on implementing industry-wide comparison service
Asda has begun publishing local fuel prices at its forecourts online, becoming the first retailer to launch the service following pressure from the competition watchdog and MPs over widened profit margins at the pump.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has called on the government to introduce legislation to ensure fuel retailers provide up-to-date pricing for a new industry-wide comparison service.
Continue reading...Clothing and footwear among items reduced most in July as retailers try to counter bad weather
The UK’s biggest retailers have reported the first monthly fall in shop prices for two years, as stores tried to tempt in customers with big discounts during July’s unseasonably wet weather.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said its annual shop price inflation rate, compiled with the help of NielsenIQ, had declined to its lowest level of the year, sliding to 7.6% last month from 8.4% in June.
Continue reading...Competition regulator tells business committee of ‘significant change’ in retailer’s fuel pricing
Asda’s profit margins on fuel have tripled since before the pandemic, according to the competition regulator at a bad-tempered parliamentary hearing where the supermarket chain’s co-owner repeatedly refused to explain its pricing strategy.
Mohsin Issa declined to answer multiple questions on whether Asda had increased its profit margins on fuel since its takeover in 2021, prompting MPs on the business select committee to become increasingly furious as the retailer insisted it had not changed its strategy.
Continue reading...Energy secretary backs voluntary price comparison scheme in meeting with supermarket bosses rather than new law
The energy secretary, Grant Shapps, appears to have rowed back on plans for a law to force supermarkets to make fuel prices more transparent, instead backing a voluntary price comparison scheme in a meeting with supermarket bosses.
Shapps on Monday endorsed the non-mandatory scheme, which had been suggested by the competition regulator, after a summit with retailers that he had promised would involve him holding “rip-off retailers” to account.
Continue reading...Retailers should be forced to display detailed price information on loyalty card deals, says consumer group
Supermarket food prices have increased by more than 25% over the past two years according to the consumer group Which?, with the size of the rise reinforcing the case for retailers to be forced to display detailed price information on loyalty card offers and promotions so shoppers can find the best deal.
Which? said the government needed to close loopholes that result in “confusing and inconsistent” pricing practices of some supermarkets. Last month it reported Tesco to the UK’s competition watchdog because it does not provide unit prices – such as the price for each 100g or 100ml – for the loyalty card offers it uses as a sales tactic to pull in shoppers.
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...An investigation by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative journalism has uncovered claims from villagers in Kenya of violence and even killings linked to guards on a Del Monte pineapple farm. Emily Dugan reports
Emily Dugan, a senior reporter with the Guardian who has been working on a story with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism for the past few months, tells Michael Safi how they uncovered claims from villagers living near Thika, in Kenya, of guards assaulting and killing people suspected of trespassing on one of the country’s biggest pineapple farms, owned by Del Monte.
The guards are typically armed with wooden clubs called rungus. Their use in security is legal and common in Kenya because of the risk of violent theft, including from young men who regularly go in organised groups to steal pineapples, but the claims suggest the guards’ use of violence has been excessive.
Continue reading...British Retail Consortium says figure eased to 8.4% in June from 9% in May
Britain’s biggest retailers have said shop price inflation is easing ahead of a crunch meeting with MPs on Tuesday over the soaring cost of groceries, but warned food prices were continuing to rise at near record rates.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said annual inflation in overall shop prices eased to 8.4% in June, down from 9% in May, as retailers cut the price of many staples including milk, cheese and eggs. Clothing and electrical goods prices also fell ahead of the summer holidays.
Continue reading...Shoppers for consumer group Which? ordered 1,800 items to test the average shelf life at six retailers
From out-of-date frankfurters to bashed brie, online food shopping can be a lottery, especially when it comes to the groceries’ shelf life, according to an investigation by the consumer group Which?.
Groceries delivered by Sainsbury’s were found to have the shortest average time left before their use-by dates, according to the items received by a team of 12 mystery shoppers located around the UK.
Continue reading...Commission ‘concerned and disturbed’ by claims of lethal violence by security guards on Del Monte farm
Kenya’s national human rights body has launched an investigation into allegations of killings and assaults by security guards at a Del Monte pineapple farm in Thika that supplies most British supermarkets.
A joint investigation by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) published earlier this week uncovered claims from villagers of violence by guards at the plantation, including three alleged killings in the last four years.
Continue reading...While the rate has fallen from its October peak of 11.1%, the figure for May is expected to stay stubbornly high
UK inflation is expected to have remained stubbornly high in May despite a string of forecasts earlier this year predicting a sharp fall in response to tumbling energy prices.
Official figures are expected to show on Wednesday that the UK’s consumer prices index (CPI) eased slightly last month, to 8.4%, from 8.7% in April.
Continue reading...Supermarket inflation slows to lowest rate this year, although households still under pressure
Supermarket inflation in Great Britain has eased to its lowest level this year but remains high, forcing people to change how they eat and cook as household budgets are strained, according to the data firm Kantar.
Grocery inflation declined to 16.5% in the four weeks to 11 June, down from 17.2% last month and a record 17.5% in March. It remains at its sixth-highest level since the financial crisis in 2008, Kantar said.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak says he is suspending anti-obesity measure to avoid restricting consumer options during cost of living crisis
The government is to delay its planned ban on two-for-one junk food deals – a key anti-obesity measure – for another two years amid the cost of living crisis.
Rishi Sunak will shelve the expected measure targeting multi-buy promotions on products high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) to avoid restricting consumer options while prices remain high.
Continue reading...Ken Murphy says higher costs of grocery imports because of Brexit are partly to blame for rising prices
The chief executive of Tesco has said food inflation has probably peaked but warns that prices are likely to stay high.
Ken Murphy, the head of the UK’s biggest supermarket chain, said the price of milk, bread, cooking oil and some vegetables such as broccoli had come down this month but inflation continued in other essentials, including rice and potatoes, as aweather issues and locked-in increases in the price of labour and energy continued to bite.
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