Sainsbury’s fresh plans to boost shareholder returns and cut a further £1bn in costs over the next three years drew a lukewarm response from investors on Wednesday after the supermarket chain also disclosed its capital expenditure would rise (Financial Times £).
Britain’s second-largest supermarket vowed to offset inflationary pressures by making further savings over the next three years, having already trimmed £1.3bn in costs since 2021 (Telegraph £).
Britain’s second biggest supermarket chain proposes to refine its loyalty scheme, aims to “right-size” the company and has pledged to commit to a “progressive dividend policy from the start of the next financial year” (The Times £).
Sainsbury’s is to use more automated tills and warehouse robots as well as AI forecasting tools to ensure it has the right stock in stores as part of a £1bn cost-cutting effort over the next three years (The Guardian).
The group is ‘consolidating’ its general merchandise networks and will use fewer large depots in future (Daily Mail).
The Co-op is installing in its supermarkets more than 200 secure till kiosks, locked cabinets for bottles of spirits and AI technology to monitor self-checkouts after a 44% surge in retail crime last year to about 1,000 incidents a day (The Guardian).
Police failed to attend 40 per cent of shoplifting incidents where covert store staff detained the offender, research by Co-op has revealed (Telegraph £).
Nestlé has called time on its Breakaway biscuit with the final batch of the brand to be made this month (The Guardian).
PZ Cussons shares slumped on Wednesday morning after the group cut its earnings forecast and dividend, as it continues to suffer the devaluation of Nigeria’s naira (Daily Mail).
The owner of Imperial Leather has been forced to cut its earnings forecast and dividend after the dramatic depreciation of Nigeria’s naira currency hit its business in the west African country (The Times £).
Carlsberg’s chief executive said the brewer was still experiencing rises in input costs and would need to keep raising prices to cover the increases, as the company reported weaker than expected full-year earnings (Financial Times £).
The struggling parcel courier Yodel is preparing to call in administrators as hopes of a rescue deal fade, threatening disruption to online shopping (Telegraph £).
Teneo Financial Advisory, an insolvency expert, is on standby after Yodel said this week it was “exploring strategic development options” (The Times £).
Rappers Snoop Dogg and Master P are suing US supermarket chain Walmart and food manufacturer Post Consumer Brands, claiming that the two companies conspired to sabotage the success of the pair’s new breakfast cereal enterprise (The Guardian).
The legal battle revolves around Snoop Cereal, which was launched by Snoop Dogg and Percy Miller in 2022 under the Broadus Foods brand (Telegraph £).
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