Sainsbury’s was among the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 on Wednesday after strong grocery sales failed to allay concerns over its struggling general merchandise business (Financial Times £).
Sainsbury’s has posted a 7.4% increase in sales during the festive quarter after it claimed to have won over market share from rivals (The Times £).
Sainsbury’s won shoppers from all its major grocery rivals this Christmas but sales at its Argos chain dived, in a worrying sign for high street rivals (The Guardian).
The group said sales were ‘powered’ by Nectar Prices, which it claimed helped shoppers save an average of £16 on an £80 Christmas shop (Mail).
The chief executive of Sainsbury’s has said it is in regular talks with ministers about disruption in the Red Sea amid fears that attacks on ships by Houthi rebels will push up prices (Telegraph £).
Greggs shares jumped 9% on Wednesday after the food-to-go retailer reported strong sales growth and announced plans to open up to 160 additional stores this year (Financial Times £).
Greggs is to open 160 more shops this year after it enjoyed a bumper Christmas (The Times £).
Britain is far from hitting “peak Greggs”, the bakery chain’s boss has said, as it plans to open dozens of new stores across the country (Telegraph £).
Greggs has hailed easing inflationary pressures after the UK’s biggest bakery chain rang up bumper Christmas sales amid less travel disruption and enthusiasm for seasonal specialities such as festive bakes and chocolate orange muffins (The Guardian).
The group, which opened 220 new shops and closed 75 in 2023, saw like-for-like sales jump 9.4% in the final quarter to 30 December, boosted by demand for its seasonal products such as the Festive Bake (Mail).
Marks & Spencer is on course to overtake Waitrose as the middle-class supermarket of choice after a surge in Christmas sales, analysts have predicted (Telegraph £).
BrewDog is facing anger from its employees after dropping out of the accredited real living wage scheme – hiring new staff on the legal minimum instead and freezing pay for bar staff in London as the company tries to reduce costs amid continuing losses (The Guardian).
BrewDog is facing a challenge from its own staff after the brewer and pub chain said that it would be employing new workers on the legal minimum wage instead of the higher voluntary rate (The Times £).
The company said in a letter to staff — published on Wednesday by the trade union Unite — that new staff members would be hired at the statutory minimum wage rate, which stands at £10.42 an hour and is set to rise to £11.44 in April, rather than the higher rates set by the Living Wage Foundation that are paid at present (Financial Times £).
Morrisons is using a “RoboCop” camera system to deter customers from stealing expensive alcohol (The Times £).
A quarter of sales of one of the country’s favourite ales is now for its low-alcohol alternative, as Britons turn to their back on alcohol beyond Dry January (Mail). Adnams’ Ghost Ship 0.5%, which launched in 2018, now accounts for 26% of sales of the ale.
Danone is to cut the price of its Aptamil powdered formula to British retailers by up to 7% after a competition watchdog investigation into rising prices in the baby milk market (The Times £).
The Lex column in Financial Times (£) focuses on the power of big brands over retailers arguing the latter hold most of the cards.
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