A survey of British suppliers has shown that 94% believe that a merger between J Sainsbury and Asda will hurt their business (The Times £). The findings of the survey have formed part of the FDF’s submission to the Competition and Markets Authority, which is investigating whether the merger should go ahead.
The much-maligned business rates system will face fresh scrutiny in a new inquiry by the Treasury select committee in the new year (The Telegraph £). Nicky Morgan MP, chair of the committee, will hold a joint evidence session with the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee on Wednesday to agree the terms of reference ahead of its inquiry, a spokesman confirmed. It is understood that a particular focus of the inquiry will be on how to tax the booming digital economy to benefit the UK’s struggling high streets and how the Budget’s measures fail to support larger retailers.
In June, I was asked by Jake Berry MP to chair an expert panel that would advise the Government on the future of Britain’s high streets, writes Sir John Timpson in The Telegraph (£). Our findings are published today, but I was initially inclined to say no. Like most shopkeepers, I want a business rates change to provide a level playing field between physical stores and internet retailers, but tax is a Treasury matter, so rates weren’t part of the brief.
Christmas day spending will exceed £1bn for the first time this year amid an online shopping boom, as Trading Standards warns shoppers desperate for bargains are leaving themselves open to fraud (The Telegraph). One in four adults will shop on websites on the 25th of December, research shows, with 70p in every pound spent on mobile phones as consumers shun family activities in favour of bargain hunting.
Britain’s biggest drugs company struck a landmark deal yesterday with a leading American rival that prepares the way for the break-up of Glaxosmithkline (The Times £). In a surprise move, Glaxo agreed to merge its consumer healthcare division with Pfizer’s through a joint venture which will be the world’s biggest over-the-counter medicines business.
Glaxosmithkline and US rival Pfizer are bringing some of the world’s best-known healthcare brands under one roof – creating a powerhouse worth up to £50billion (The Daily Mail). The new company will be based in the UK and specialise in over-the-counter products such as painkillers, vitamins and toothpastes.
When Emma Walmsley addressed the City for the first time in April last year, the chief executive of Glaxo-smithkline was quick to address the “perennial question” that had long hung over its future, writes Alex Ralp in The Times (£). “We do believe there is both logic and benefit to having a three-business-unit company in pharma, vaccines and consumer products, not least because of some of the uncertainty and volatility that comes with a pharma business,” she said.
Break-ups are notoriously hard to take, writes Alistair Osborne in The Times (£). So, what sort of Christmas gift is this? Glaxosmithkline is splitting up. And after years, to boot, of batting away the talk that everyone would be far happier if only the consumer healthcare wing debunked from the harder drugs and vaccines.
Glaxosmithkline (GSK) is to merge its consumer healthcare unit with that of rival Pfizer, to create a new market leader with almost £10bn in annual sales (Sky). Pfizer - best known for Viagra and Anadin painkillers - would own the rest, though GSK added that the all-equity deal “lays the foundation” for it to spin off the healthcare arm - as shareholders had demanded of the company.
Pharmaceuticals giants Glaxosmithkline and Pfizer will merge their healthcare businesses to create the world’s biggest supplier of over-the-counter medicines, including brands such as Panadol, Anadin and Voltarol (The Independent). The new joint venture will have revenues of around £9.8bn.
Glaxosmithkline’s love of big deals looks to be in its DNA, writes Alex Brummer in The Daily Mail. Chief executive Emma Walmsley is in overdrive. This is a vote of confidence in the UK irrespective of the mess in the Commons.
Unilever has snapped up a vegetarian brand set up by a meat farmer in an attempt to cater for growing numbers of vegetarians and vegans (The Times £). The Anglo-Dutch company, which makes Dove soap, Knorr stock cubes and Marmite, said that the purchase of the Dutch brand “fits with Unilever’s strategy to expand its portfolio into plant-based foods that are healthier and have a lower environmental impact”.
Unilever is buying the meat-substitute company The Vegetarian Butcher as it looks to cash in on the growing number of consumers turning their backs on meat (The Guardian). Unilever’s Nitin Paranjpe said it had been attracted to the brand’s “clear mission” and strong position in a booming market for meat alternatives.
A post-Brexit free trade agreement with the United States faces staunch opposition in Congress as Democrats threaten to reject it unless Britain lifts a ban on chlorinated chicken (The Times £). Linda Sánchez, vice-chairwoman of the party’s caucus in the House of Representatives, said that she “would not hesitate to vote against” any deal which fails to address such concerns.
Amazon is heading for a showdown with Parliament over how much tax it pays (The Daily Mail). The internet shopping giant has been told by MPs to reveal its business rates bill and what it pays in national insurance and corporation tax.
Marlboro cigarette maker Altria is set to take a 35% stake in Juul Labs in a deal that would value the ecigarette group at about $38bn and catapult it into the ranks of the world’s most valuable private companies, four people briefed on the terms said (Financial Times £). Altria’s investment of about $13bn, which could be announced as early as Thursday morning, will more than double the $16bn valuation put on Juul in a fundraising this summer, a sign of how much big tobacco covets the fast-growing San Francisco company at a time when cigarette consumption is falling in developed markets.
Shoppers at supermarkets which removed sweets and crisps from checkouts purchased almost a fifth less of the unhealthy products, a study has found (The Independent). Researchers at British universities found that 17% fewer small packages of sugary confectionery, chocolate and crisps were bought and taken home from supermarkets after they introduced policies to limit unhealthy foods at the tills.
Followers of the retail sector will be all too familiar with the British high street’s tale of woe, writes the Financial Times (£) Lex columnist. A new version has emerged from Germany with a grim twist. On Wednesday, Ceconomy, Europe’s largest purveyor of everything from TVs to toasters announced worse than expected results. The destruction of value offers a warning to retailers everywhere: financial wizardry is no replacement for solid operational management.
The future of Spain’s troubled Dia Group supermarket chain grew more uncertain this week after criticism of the company’s strategy from its biggest shareholder and the resignation of two board directors (Financial Times £). A letter, dated on Monday, from the holding company said the company’s strategy “does not adequately reflect the scale of transformation required and the execution risks associated with it”.
The miserable performance of Blue Apron shares suggests investors who applied a $2bn private valuation are not the ones who cook the family dinner, writes the Financial Times Lex columnist. The business plan depends on a fallacy: people too busy to shop for dinner are happy to spend up to an hour cooking it. Blue Apron delivers boxes of fresh ingredients for $9.99 per person. For the same money, a service such as Uber Eats will turn up with a fully prepared meal.
Tim Martin, the chairman of pub group JD Wetherspoon, has written a letter to every single MP in the country explaining his dismay that many politicians do not seem to know how the customs union works. (The Daily Mail) Mr Martin said: ’The customs union is an undisguised protectionist system that imposes import taxes on 12,651 non-EU imports, including oranges, rice, bananas and children’s clothes and shoes.
Unwanted presents, non recyclable wrapping paper, and a mountain of plastic - more Britons than ever are trying to avoid the unethical elements of Christmas this year, writes Rebecca Taylor on Sky. The ethical market in Britain is now worth £83bn a year, and people are keen to have a more sustainable Christmas.
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