Media Bites 18 March: Tesco pay rise, supermarket shares, Ikea

Ikea has confirmed when it will finally open its new flagship branch on London’s Oxford Street. Shoppers will be able to get it’s “mix of meatballs, lampshades and kitchen planning,” from 1 May The Guardian reported. The three-storey site includes a 130-seat Swedish deli. Ikea’s parent group first acquired the site, formerly the headquarters of Philip Green’s Arcadia group, in 2022.

Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer all saw a collective £4bn wiped off their share price, over fears a more competitive Asda could steal back their hard-earned market share, reported The Telegraph, which picked up a note from analyst Jeffries. However, there is some scepticism over whether Asda has the “significant war chest” to be able to deliver on Allan Leighton’s promise to cut thousands of prices, The Guardian noted.

Supermarkets are under pressure to cut costs ahead of NI and wage increases in April, The paper notes in the same piece, seguing to the news that Tesco was the latest grocer to announce a bump in its hourly pay, after agreeing a deal with union Usdaw. Hourly pay will rise 43p to £12.45 from 30 March, and a second time to £12.64 at the end of August, the BBC also reported.

See The Grocer’s own coverage for all of the details, including the news that Tesco is scrapping its Sunday premium bonus.

Elsewhere, some 6,000 community pharmacies could limit their opening hours, as a showdown in the long-running crisis of pharmacy funding looms. The National Pharmacy Association has urged its members to begin working to rule, within two weeks. It could see pharmacies limit their weekly opening to 40 hours per week, as well as stop other prevention services like addiction, the BBC reported. The government is yet to confirm funding for the next two years, which is causing pharmacists nervousness, especially in the context of looming increases to NI and national living wage from April.

In The Times, William Kay asks the question on everyone’s lips: is now a good time to buy shares in Greencore? The sandwich giant’s attempted acquisition of rival Bakkavor last week suggests a return to normality for the UK’s high streets as food to go sales grow. However, with many Brits still working from home, how long can momentum last, Kay muses.