January

A year after the scandal erupted and it seemed Horsegate was history in the first weeks of 2014, with 69% of consumers telling us they hadn’t been bothered by it happening in the first place. Christmas trading figures revealed it was a dismal festive season for Morrisons with a 5.6% fall in sales, while baby and toddler range Ella’s Kitchen cut out the middle man with its launch into e-commerce.

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  • Who needs supermarkets?
  • John Lewis attacks pension deficit
  • Video games boost supermarkets’ share of entertainment market



February

Suppliers welcomed the appointment of Mike Coupe as Justin King’s replacement at Sainsbury’s in what would later prove a timely departure by the CEO. And in another astute move Jason Gissing walked away from his role with Ocado, making a tidy profit in the process. With a less healthy bank balance were food waste campaigners Wrap, who bid for charity status in a move framed in irony considering the ‘greenest-ever government’ in power and a heightened awareness of waste by the public.

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  • Piri Piri Pigeon among Walkers’ Do Us A Flavour suggestions
  • British halal dishes roll into Sainsbury’s
  • George Dymond takes role at Tesco


March

It appeared the supermarkets were beginning to take the threat of the discounters seriously, with Tesco admitting it would take years to catch up on prices, and Morrisons’ £1bn investment in a price war triggering a drop in confidence across the market. But all talk turned to The Co-operative Group later in the month as Euan Sutherland quit in a haze of leaked pay packages and Facebook rants.

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  • Fury at Tesco plans to axe team leaders
  • Andy Clarke’s memo to Asda staff
  • Asda restructure results in 200 job losses