Long reads – Page 328
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Analysis and FeaturesPromos up on 2011 as top 10 gets new year shake-up
A month or so ago, retailers were cramming every part of their stores with deals.
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Analysis and FeaturesHow wholesale is chopping and changing
With fuel costs and and commodity prices still going up, wholesalers are feeling the heat. Can diversification keep heads from the block?
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Analysis and FeaturesFirst milk, now cream: dairy takes another hit
Until recently, dairy processors under pressure from the mults’ milk price war could take solace in the fact that at least cream prices were strong.
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Analysis and FeaturesAsda price advantage eroded, but it's hanging on to shoppers
A year after owners Walmart made aggressive investments in price that helped sow the seeds of the market…
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The Big InterviewGreater Sporting Knowhow
Peter Harding has a secret weapon. The UK boss of GlaxoSmithKline tells us how he’s warming up for a “year of sport”.
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Analysis and FeaturesTen commodities to watch in 2012
Forecasters believe higher production and less speculator interest will lead to lower prices this year. Just don’t mention the weather.
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Analysis and Features
Stock market recovery doesn't stretch to food suppliers
The FTSE-30 Food Producers Index took a hit this week as renewed optimism drove sales of ‘safe’ stock in favour of more cyclical sectors, such as banking.
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Analysis and FeaturesThe Carbon Trust: too slow-footed to save the planet?
Tesco has pulled out of the Trust’s CO2 scheme, but the industry had already been seeking more effective routes to sustainability.
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Analysis and FeaturesSupermarkets pile on promos to win post-Christmas pounds
Remember Philip Clarke’s words after those miserable Tesco Christmas numbers? “We backed off some of our promotional and couponing activity too early.”
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Analysis and FeaturesSovereigns, sport and cigs
The Olympics, Euro 2012, the Jubilee and the supermarket tobacco display ban could lead to a more than £1bn windfall for independents.
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Analysis and FeaturesDoughnuts battered by sugar, oil and dairy hikes
Homer Simpson would not be amused. First, rising prices on malting barley threaten to send the cost of beers soaring. Now raw material hikes spell bad news for his favourite snack.
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Analysis and FeaturesIs it just Tesco slowing the pace in the space race?
Asda has proclaimed no halt to expansion, but Tesco’s rivals are already placing more emphasis on refurbs instead of newbuild.
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Analysis and FeaturesIs a lower abv a small price to pay for Stella Artois?
AB InBev can play the health card by cutting its premium lagers to 4.8% and save £9m a year in duty - but may regret the move.
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Analysis and FeaturesWhat's beneath the lid as Müller corners Wiseman?
Experts are struggling to see how the pairing could be “highly complementary”.
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Analysis and FeaturesBrazil scare could ease EU orange juice prices
Orange juice concentrate has emerged as an early contender for commodities rollercoaster ride of 2012.
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Analysis and FeaturesChained... but for how much longer?
The latest Pursuit NHA Salary Survey shows pay is picking up, but fmcg employees feel safer staying put in their current jobs than moving on.
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Analysis and FeaturesStrikes at Unilever herald a new age of union discontent
Profits and pay at fmcg giants, against a backdrop of coalition austerity cuts, mean workers are in no mood to conciliate.
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Analysis and Features
Christmas deals at an all-time high, but January still a record
January sales? The run-up to Christmas saw the number of promotions offered reach record levels, with more than 10,000 deals in the four weeks to 23 December.
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The Big InterviewA single-minded man
Poundland boss Jim McCarthy is pushing ahead with ambitious European expansion plans - despite the Eurozone crisis - and his aspirations don’t end there.
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Analysis and FeaturesPotato market recovery sees spud prices tumble
Wholesale prices for potatoes have plummeted by 41% since mid-2011 and are now 30% lower than they were this time last year.