The latest Kantar and Nielsen data got a good showing in this morning’s papers with Tesco the clear winner. Sales at Tesco have grown at the fastest rate in three years over the last few months in a further boost for its chief executive Dave Lewis, The Financial Times writes. The Guardian flags up that Aldi and Lidl have sunk to their slowest growth rate since 2011 as Tesco almost doubled its pace of expansion. The UK’s biggest supermarket is the only one of big four in growth, but the discounters continue to be fastest expanding grocers in market despite the slowdown.
Posh shoppers have returned to Tesco, increasing sales and average spend by over 2% as turnaround continues, The Mail writes. More affluent shoppers return to its stores to snap up its ‘Farm Brands’ and ‘Finest’ ranges. A column in The Telegraph says the Tesco CEO can add another nickname to a list of “Drastic”, “Desperate” and s “Dreary” – “Dependable Dave”. The paper adds that the latest Kantar figures have prompted “further excitable claims” that Tesco’s turnaround is complete.
Premier Foods disappointing first half results are overlooked as the papers concentrate on what the supplier is planning to do on prices. The Financial Times writes that the Mr Kipling and Bisto maker has reassured on post-Brexit prices as its losses widened. The Telegraph reports that CEO Gavin Darby shrugged off the battle between food suppliers and supermarkets as its British manufacturing makes it less vulnerable to post-Brexit price increases. The Guardian says that the cost of cake will soon be on the rise, as the maker of Mr Kipling and Cadbury cakes warned the price of ingredients had shot up dramatically in the past few months.
B&M posted double-digit growth in half-year revenues and profits as it continues to expand, but warned of increasing cost pressures as a result of the fall in the pound following the UK’s Brexit vote (The Financial Times). The discount retail chain stressed it was committed to its expansion plans to add another 50 stores next year despite concerns about consumer confidence following the EU referendum (The Guardian).
British American Tobacco is preparing to sweeten its offer for Reynolds American after the maker of Camel and Newport cigarettes rebuffed its opening $47bn gambit as too low, The Times reports.
Britain’s pubs face an extra bill of £420 million in business rates over the next five years, putting pressure on operators to raise beer prices, according to an analysis of the new rating list by rent and rates specialist CVS (The Times).
No comments yet