All articles by Guy Montague-Jones – Page 40
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NewsInvestment dents Waitrose profits but food sales stay on upward curve
Waitrose has suffered a drop in half-year operating profits of almost 14%, despite food sales growing impressively on a like-for-like basis. Profits for the past six months fell by £17.6m to £110.2m, Waitrose announced today. The performance follows heavy investment on its stores and squeezed margins on some lines as ...
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NewsBolland bids to make M&S more 'special'
Marks & Spencer is bringing back delis and investing in its bakeries in a bid to give it a “specialty” edge over the competition.
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News
Fears over economy prompt a slowdown in UK M&A activity
The weak economy appears to have dulled the appetite for M&A deals in UK food. Although global dealmaking continued apace, the number of deals in the UK dropped from 26 to 22 in the four months to August year-on-year, according to...
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News
Waitrose woos posh house buyers
Waitrose has teamed up with Banner Homes to offer new residents at a new upmarket development in Sunningdale, Berkshire, a free hamper and a £10 grocery voucher.
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Profiles
Farmer joins Boots to take second new senior trading role
The former head of L'Oréal UK and Ireland has moved to Boots to take up the second of two new senior trading posts, The Grocer can reveal. Guy Farmer returned to the UK after moving to the Continent to run L'Oréal's Portugal business,...
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NewsSummer rain boosts UK wheat crops, but prices remain high
Bakers are celebrating a better UK wheat harvest than last year, despite fears that dry weather would decimate the crop. The summer rain that disappointed so many holidaymakers also poured cold water on fears that the UK's springtime dry...
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Analysis & FeaturesThe antisocial network: how Facebook ‘fans’ can turn foe
Big name brands have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. It lets them ‘engage’ consumers – but acts as a hub for criticism. Guy Montague-Jones reports
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News
Analysts downgrade Nestlé shares
Bernstein Research has downgraded Nestlé shares for the first time since it began covering the stock in 2002. Downgrading the stock from ‘outperform’ to ‘market perform’, Bernstein analyst Andrew Wood said Nestlé shares may have been bid too high by investors eager to hold a strong company in Swiss Francs
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NewsOcado and Daylesford build virtual farm shop
Daylesford is launching an online farm shop on the Ocado website next week, using technology that could soon create a “virtual high street”.
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NewsOcado pioneers ‘shopping wall’ technology in London shopping centre
Ocado will this week unveil a ‘shopping wall’ in London that lets passers-by do their grocery shopping by scanning barcodes with their mobile phones.
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Grocer 33Morrisons, Paignton
The Grocer 33 is a weekly mystery shopping survey, tracking price, service and availability at the five leading grocery retailers: Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose. Each week the winning store manager is interviewed by The Grocer.
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NewsCouncils asked to cut red tape on shutters
The government has urged local councils to be lenient on “crazy” planning restrictions on shop security shutters in the wake of last week’s riots. Getting planning permission for shutters has, until now, been difficult because councils…
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NewsWaitrose takes Duchy Originals to Spain
Waitrose has signed a deal to take Duchy Originals to the Continent. It will supply Spanish department store El Corte Inglés with the upmarket range, which Waitrose acquired in 2009.
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NewsNew launches help Nestlé tuck into UK confectionery
Nestlé took an even bigger chunk of the UK confectionery market in the first half of the year, as its global results beat stock market expectations.
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Analysis & FeaturesIs stevia the ‘holy grail’ of sweeteners or a damp squib?
Calorie-free stevia is set for regulatory approval in the UK, but there are warnings that it needs “cajoling to shine”, says Guy Montague-Jones
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Analysis & Features
Asda roars ahead of rivals in driving up promo levels
The distraction is back. After scaling back its activity, Asda has upped the ante again, running 24.1% more deals last month than a year ago.
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NewsOcado adds Oxford base to distribution network
Ocado has revealed plans to open a new regional depot near Oxford to tackle capacity problems at the online grocer.