The encouraging results for Waitrose and its parent the John Lewis Partnership dominated the business press this morning. In his Telegraph column, associate editor Ben Marlow hails the half-year results that saw JLP reduce pre-tax losses before exceptional items by 91% to £5m and increase sales by 2% to over £5.9bn in the first half of the year.
However, he warns that the group is not out of the woods yet and that it still has a long way to go if it is the replicate the stellar recent turnaround at rival M&S.
A similar sentiment was expressed by The Guardian’s Nils Pratley, who picked up on JLP CEO Nish Kankiwala’s assertion that the business “had got its buzz back”. Pratley suggests JLP is still not as “buzzy as M&S” and also speculates that grocery stalwart Jason Tarry who is replacing Sharon White as executive chairman on Monday may not wish to stick entirely to the current JLP strategy.
The other main grocery news receiving widespread attention was the Supreme Court defeat for Tesco in a case brought by shopworkers’ union Usdaw over claims the retailer used controversial ’fire and rehire’ tactics in dealings with warehouse operators. The Mail story highlights how the new Labour government is planning to ban such polices amid its wider worker reform ambitions. The story warns that new rules facing companies could dissuade them from taking on staff.
Another interesting story from the Mail this morning centres on the eye-watering sums city firms are set to rake in from the proposed £28bn sale of Kellanova to Mars. Under the deal agreed last month, Mars is set to pay £64.96 a share for the Kellogg’s and Pringles owner. However, the story reveals that Goldman Sachs is set for “a £70m fees bonanza” should the deal be completed. It also claims that Lazard, which is working on behalf of Kellanova, will make £7.7m.
The Mail enjoyed reporting on the promotion of Anthony Hemmerdinger as UK & Ireland MD. He will replace outgoing boss Seb James. The story not only explained Hemmerdinger’s roots as a ’Saturday boy’ when he worked for Boots as a teenager in Manchester, it also highlighted his associations with former PMs David Cameron and Boris Johnson as a member of Oxford University’s Bullingdon Club
Finally, The Guardian has jumped all over news that the government intends to bring in a ban on junk food advertisements being aired before the 9pm watershed and an outright ban of online ads for products high in fat, salt and sugar. The move was announced in parliament yesterday by public health minister Andrew Gwynne, with the bans set to come into effect from 1 October 2025. The plan was hailed as “fantastic news” by Bite Back chief executive James Toop.
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