Aldi has overtaken Asda to become Britain’s third biggest supermarket, analysis shows. It is the latest blow for the grocer, which has been losing market share since a £6.8bn takeover led by the Issa brothers saddled it with huge debts. (Daily Mail)
Zuber Issa is planning to step down as co-chief executive of the debt-laden petrol stations empire that he built with his brother. (The Times £)
Ocado is on course for another showdown with investors at its annual meeting this month over a new pay scheme that includes a bonus share award of up to £15m for boss Tim Steiner. (Financial Times £)
The number of retail insolvencies has risen dramatically as businesses feel the impact of higher interest rates, increased costs and cautious consumer spending. (The Times £)
As the UK’s biggest supermarket, accounting for more than a quarter of our national food shop, Tesco will shine a spotlight on a rapidly changing grocery market with its annual financial results on Thursday. (The Guardian)
Tesco revels in its successes amid the supermarket price war. Though faced with rising costs of its own, it has managed to resist the discounters’ advance, crediting its Clubcard Prices loyalty initiative and Aldi Price Match and Low Everyday Prices propositions for giving it firepower in the price war. (The Times £)
The Body Shop collapsed owing almost £50m to unsecured creditors who face being left out of pocket as administrators pursue a company voluntary arrangement in an effort to keep the retailer’s remaining shops open (Financial Times £). The Body Shop’s UK arm owed more than £276m to creditors including landlords, suppliers, tax authorities and its international divisions when the ethical beauty retailer collapse in February (The Guardian).
Administrators running The Body Shop are expected to demand rent cuts from its landlords as they race to secure a future for the collapsed business (Telegraph £).
Majestic has bought Vagabond Wines out of administration, saving the latter group’s bars from closure (The Times £). Majestic Wine has bought bar chain Vagabond Wines out of administration, rescuing over 170 workers from redundancy (Daily Mail).
Food inflation across rich nations has dropped to its lowest level since before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with a slowdown in price growth easing pressure on millions of households hit by the two-year surge in food costs. (Financial Times £)
Starbucks paid a “derisorily low” £7.2m in UK corporation tax last year despite making a gross profit of £149m on sales of £548m in Britain. (The Guardian)
Israel McDonald’s branches to be taken over by fast food giant’s headquarters after Gaza boycotts hit sales. The US-based firm’s intervention comes after its global sales were hit by controversy surrounding the conflict. (Sky News)
A boycott was sparked after Muslim-majority countries such as Kuwait, Malaysia and Pakistan issued statements distancing themselves from the firm for what they saw as support of Israel. (BBC)
The competition regulator’s hardline approach to greenwashing risks businesses pulling back on their sustainability efforts, a retail lobby group has warned. The intervention from the British Retail Consortium comes as the Competition and Markets Authority has stepped up its scrutiny of companies that may be exaggerating their green credentials. (The Times £)
Corporate bosses are forced to get creative to talk up price increases. “Price pack architecture”, in other words, has lately become a synonym for shrinkflation — when products get smaller, but their price stays the same. Use of the phrase globally is at an all-time high, according to data from transcript analysis firm AlphaSense. (Financial Times £)
‘Our margins are threadbare’: UK’s craft beer scene says it’s on the brink. Small brewers are being squeezed, with a flurry of insolvencies hitting the sector despite strong sales. (The Guardian)
There was a bunfight in Britain’s start-up scene last week with a ready meal firm claiming another business was trying to piggyback off its appearance on BBC 1’s Dragons’ Den. (Daily Mail)
The discount chain 99 Cents Only announced on Friday that it will close all 371 of its stores in the US as part of an “orderly wind-down” of the business. (The Guardian)
No comments yet