All articles by Beth Brooks – Page 87
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News
Premium grocer Waitrose says it’s cheaper than Aldi
It is known as a premium retailer and is always the most expensive supermarket in The Grocer 33 weekly pricing survey. Yet this week, Waitrose claimed it was cheaper than hard discounter Aldi – in six of its 25 categories at least. Unveiling a 2.5%...
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Why Woolies should take a leaf out of Wilko’s book
If Malcolm Walker succeeds in getting his hands on Woolworths, he’ll be well advised to look at why its rival is doing so well.
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Is Bestway looking to purchase rival Makro?
Speculation is rife that Bestway is planning to buy rival cash & carry operator Makro. The two companies are rumoured to be thrashing out a deal that could create a wholesaling giant to rival Palmer & Harvey McLane and Booker, with a turnover of...
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Lothian shares Marks’ UK-wide Co-op vision
Peter Marks’ vision of a single co-operative society moved a step closer to fruition this week after Lothian Borders & Angus Co-operative Society said it was considering merging with The Co-operative Group. The society, which operates 66 food,...
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P&H and Booker rush to snap up Key Lekkerland’s accounts
Palmer & Harvey McLane and Booker have divided the spoils of Key Lekkerland as the buying group prepares to be wound down at the end of the month. The two rival wholesaling giants have each picked up nine of Key Lekkerland’s national accounts,...
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Marks confident about Somerfield integration
Integrating Somerfield into the Co-operative Group will be easier than last year’s merger with United Co-operatives, the Co-op Group’s CEO has predicted. Peter Marks is confident he can pull off a seamless integration following the society’s £1.57bn...
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The man for the merger
The Co-operative Group has persuaded Guy McCracken, its influential CEO of food retail, to delay his retirement to integrate Somerfield into the business. McCracken officially stepped down as head of food on Sunday but will take up the new post,...
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Now Booths leaps into the 50p fresh food fray
It is known as ‘the Harrods of the north’ and has won countless plaudits for its artisan stores and high-quality produce but upmarket independent supermarket Booths has become the latest chain to wade into the supermarkets’ 50p price war. Despite...
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Co-op Group turnover outstrips John Lewis
Co-operatively owned businesses generated £27.4bn for the UK economy last year, helped by the clout of The Co-operative Group. The sector made a combined pre-tax profit of £539m in 2007 and 10.8 million people - about a fifth of the UK...
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Key Lekkerland comes to the end of the road
Buying group Key Lekkerland is to be wound down and its national accounts shared between Booker, Palmer & Harvey McLane and JW Filshill, as predicted by The Grocer in April. Speculation over the future of the group has raged ever since...
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Makro staff back to floor
Makro staff are set don their aprons as part of an initiative to help the wholesaler understand customers better. Under the scheme, called Beyond Back to the Floor, staff will work in restaurants, pubs and caterers to develop closer ties...
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World News - 5th July 2007
Carrefour rebrands Champion chain. LEVALLOIS-PERRET, FRANCE: Carrefour is to rebrand its 1,000-strong Champion supermarket chain as Carrefour Market. Carrefour said a trial of 13 Champion stores had been successful and that the new...
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Store visit Foo.go
Foo.go, the quirky name of the convenience food supplier and retailer, actually means 'good food'. Owner and founder George Robinson, who says he is "massively" dyslexic and couldn't spell his own name until the age of 12, named the company...
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Rain and smoking ban cut Costco profits 24%
Bad weather, the smoking ban and cost pressures led to a 24.2% fall in pre-tax profit at Costco Wholesale UK, according to the latest accounts. Full-year pre-tax profit fell from £22.3m to £16.9m in the year to 2 September, 2007, on...
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Manchester companies blast congestion charge
Plans to introduce a congestion charge in Manchester are "inappropriate", "completely arbitrary" and would hit business, leading food and drink companies have warned. Kellogg's, United Biscuits, Makro, Bestway, Parfetts and Joseph Holt...
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Indies stand defiant
The odds may be stacked against independents at the moment, but sales, profits, store and staff numbers are all up. Beth Phillips looks at the main winners and losers
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Tesco blackmailer jailed for six years
The man behind a plot to blackmail Tesco has been sent to prison for six years. Philip McHugh, a former tax inspector, made a series of bomb threats against Tesco in July last year, forcing it to evacuate 14 stores, costing the chain...
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Home Bargains set for own-label food range
Independent discount retailer TJ Morris plans to launch an own-label food range. The Merseyside-based chain, which currently operates 138 stores across northern England and the Midlands under the Home Bargains fascia, is in the early...
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Tesco unveils RDC colossus
Work has finished on the UK's largest building - Tesco's new eco-friendly RDC in Livingston, Scotland. The 73,000 sq m construction outsizes Heathrow Airport's new Terminal 5, previously the country's biggest free-standing...
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P&H offers cashback to deter shopping around
Retailers who sign up to Palmer & Harvey McLane's new Partnership Plus loyalty scheme will get back up to 2.5% of the amount they spend with the wholesaler. Under the scheme, which does not include tobacco, retailers will be expected to...