British shoppers are getting less for their money when they buy bread, cereals or washing up liquid, according to an analysis published on Monday by the UK statistical agency (The Financial Times £). Hundreds of products on supermarket shelves are getting smaller but their prices are not falling, leaving shoppers with less for their money (The Telegraph). Loaves of bread, cereal boxes, meat and chocolate bars are among the items getting smaller because of “shrinkflation”, government data suggests (Sky News). Bread and breakfast cereals are the most likely to be affected by shrinkflation, whereby a product shrinks in size but its price doesn’t (The BBC).
The future of Patisserie Valerie remained unresolved last night, three days after a deadline with its banks came and went (The Times £). Lenders to Patisserie Valerie fear multimillion-pound loans will be almost completely wiped out by the potential collapse of Luke Johnson’s troubled bakery chain (The Telegraph). Shareholders in Patisserie Valerie have expressed frustration at a lack of information from the cake and cafe business, which is struggling for survival as it tries to secure support from its banks (The Guardian).
The chief executive of Just Eat has left the takeaway delivery company abruptly after only 16 months following criticism from an American activist investor and a slump in the group’s shares (The Times £). US activist investor has hailed the shock exit of Just Eat chief executive Peter Plumb, who will pocket a £750,000 golden goodbye after just 16 months at the helm (The Telegraph). The Just Eat chief executive, Peter Plumb, is stepping down with immediate effect, only 16 months after he joined the British takeaway ordering website and launched an investment drive that slowed earnings growth (The Guardian). The announcement comes as Just Eat was recently described by a US hedge fund as the ‘the worst-performing public equity in online food delivery globally’ (The Daily Mail).
The FT’s Lombard column says shareholders grew impatient over returns on investment. “One in particular — the US hedge fund Cat Rock Capital — had started grumbling over stomach rumblings some months ago. And analysts reckoned they knew why: they thought they could see Just Eat’s offering being overtaken by the faster moving Uber and Deliveroo.” (The Financial Times £)
Just Eat doesn’t want you to think Cat Rock’s arrival and Plumb’s departure are connected. Nor, it insists, has there been a boardroom bust up. The message to investors is simply “right strategy, wrong person”. (The Telegraph)
Henkel, the German glue and detergent maker, has warned profitability will suffer in 2019 as it ramps up investment to spur growth in “a challenging market” and after a lacklustre performance last year. (The Financial Times £)
The FT writes that focusing on brand revitalisation “makes sense”. Cost-slashing strategies such as pursued by 3G Capital, the group behind Kraft Heinz, risk hitting sales. Smarter products are better longer-term bets. (The Financial Times £)
The head of Philip Morris International has said the cannabis market remains too risky for it to follow rival cigarette maker Altria by making a significant investment in the nascent sector. (The Financial Times £)
A further 175,000 jobs will be shed from struggling UK high streets this year and the value of retail property will slump as the boom in online shopping and rise of giants such as Amazon continue to take their toll, research warns. (The Guardian)
France’s Casino has struck a deal to sell a portfolio of hypermarkets and supermarkets to Fortress Investment Group, completing a €1.5bn disposal programme announced last year as the retailer came under pressure to reduce its debt pile. (The Financial Times £)
The FT’s Lex column writes: “Sale-and-leaseback deals are no panacea. They do not genuinely reduce leverage, while increasing complexity. Some retailers are moving the other way. Tesco, for example, has bought back stores, in an attempt to protect its business from rising rental costs.” (The Financial Times £)
Can tech save bricks and mortar retail, asks the FT, noting that stores are turning to augmented reality, robots and smart mirrors in battle against Amazon. (The Financial Times £)
Discount retailer Poundland has caused controversy with its latest Valentine’s Day gift, a heart-shaped package with nothing in it. (The BBC)
A Bangladeshi factory that produces clothes for Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Mothercare was forced to compensate an “outspoken” female worker after she was beaten up on the orders of management and threatened with being murdered, the Guardian writes. (The Guardian)
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