It’s a quiet morning for retail in the papers with little in the way of big stories.
A few of the papers pick up on fizzing earnings at Coca-Cola in the face of an intensifying war on sugar. The soft drink giant reported better-than-expected profits in its fourth quarter, despite currency headwinds hitting revenues (The Telegraph). Net profits rose to $1.24bn (£860m) in the last three months of 2015 but operating revenue fell 8% to $10bn as a result of the strong dollar. The company said its core brands remained stable, with Coke Zero rising 7%, but appetite for Diet Coke slumped.
The Financial Times writes that Coke beat market expectations as it cut costs, increased volumes and raised prices to counter the effects of a strong dollar. The Times noted the Coca-Cola Company reported a 6% increase in worldwide sales of non-carbonated drinks such as tea, bottled water and ready-to-drink coffee in the fourth quarter. And it also made progress in its fizzy drinks, despite shoppers turning their backs on sugar, with quarterly volume growth of 2% worldwide
Elsewhere, the only other story of note this morning is from the latest Kantar Worldpanel and Nielsen market share data. The main angle taken by The Times is news that the fad for healthy eating has given supermarkets a new year boost. Grocery sales increased by 0.2% in the 12 weeks to 31 January with fresh foods performing particularly well. The Guardian followed the same lead reporting that “detox January” helped the grocers, with strong sales of fruit and veg helping the beleaguered sector return to growth after a difficult Christmas.
No comments yet