All articles by Peter Cripps
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NewsFocus On Soup: Twice the price, but twice as nice
You’d expect chilled soup to be out in the cold given the fragile state of the economy. But it's actually the fastest growing sub-category – despite the price tag. Peter Cripps finds out why
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NewsWhich way forward for the stalling discount chains?
Netto has thrown in the towel, leaving Aldi and Lidl as the UK’s only true limited assortment discounters. What’s the future for them, asks Peter Cripps
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NewsPremier Wholesale’s catering bid blamed for its adminstration
Premier Wholesale has fallen into administration with sources blaming its multimillion pound diversification into catering. Administrator Leonard Curtis, confirmed it had taken over the running of the Harrow-based cash & carry, which...
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NewsOutcry as Osborne's carbon ‘stealth tax’ lands on retailers
An "environmental stealth tax" introduced in the Comprehensive Spending Review could cost retail chains up to £20m a year each, it was claimed.
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Shifting Sands
In Scotland, there is more supermarket floorspace per head than anywhere else in the UK. It’s no surprise then that Scottish indies are feeling the heat, but some are triumphing. Peter Cripps heads north to discover David Sands’ blueprint for the c-store of tomorrow
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News‘No more skiving’: Walker poised for buyback of Iceland
Iceland boss Malcolm Walker joked this week he had been guilty of "skiving" after four years of stellar growth, but declared his eyes were firmly back on the prize with plans to buy back his business. Walker's admission came at the...
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NewsHMRC cuts ‘will hand millions to fraudsters’
The government risks creating a duty fraudsters’ paradise if it scales back HM Revenue & Customs, the FWD has warned.
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NewsAldi left devastated by discounter-style offensive of big four
Aldi, which just two years ago was promising to revolutionise the UK grocery industry and had Tesco on the run, made a whopping £54.2m pre-tax loss last year, The Grocer can reveal.
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NewsChocolate giants push up prices of key brands
The humble chocolate bar is in danger of becoming a luxury item rather than an affordable treat as the latest in a series of price hikes hits this month, independent retailers warn.
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Beer doesn’t need duty stamps, claim brewers
New figures from HM Revenue & Customs showing beer duty fraud has fallen prove there is no need to put duty stamps on beer, brewers have claimed.
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Small drops adding up to big gains for rookie Dairy Trader
A dairy wholesaler set up this year to make small drops to independents and wholesalers has broken the £1m revenue barrier and aims to top £2m by Christmas.The Dairy Trader scheme, set up in February by transport provider Oakland...
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Lidl installs its third MD for UK ops in two years
Lidl has moved fast to appoint Ronny Gottschlich as its new UK MD after the shock departure of Frank-Michael Mros.Gottschlich becomes the German discounter's third UK MD in two years. Mros, the former head of Lidl Germany, was in the...
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Winehouse owner BIG aims to open 50 stores
A new independent off-licence chain has opened 15 stores in former Threshers and plans to grow its estate to 50 in the next two years.BrandInvestGroup, set up this year, has spent over £1m opening the 15 stores in Scotland under its two...
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AWG closes Eurospar store and changes focus to convenience
Appleby Westward Group is to close one of the three Eurospar stores it opened last year and is considering closing another because both have failed to turn a profit. AWG Spar's wholesaler in the south-west of England said it will...
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NewsScots name minimum price: 45p a unit
The Scottish government has for the first time set out the minimum price per unit it wants charged for alcohol.
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In for a pound: an interview with Jim McCarthy
They’re cheap, but Poundland CEO Jim McCarthy’s new stores are cheerfully paying dividends. Peter Cripps reports
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Thousand jobs axed as suppliers close factories
Nearly 1,000 jobs in grocery have been lost in recent weeks as tough trading conditions force factory, depot and store closures.Red Mill Snack Foods' crisp plant in Wednesbury, owned by Tayto, is to close next month with the loss of 300...
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News'Home of brands' Landmark to push own-label after strategy re-think
Landmark Wholesale has launched a major push on its core own-label products as part of a new strategy to help give wholesalers and retailers a point of difference over the major multiples.
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Wholesalers to reveal the real cost of drink
Wholesalers are working out the average price they pay for key booze lines to help the government ban below-cost sales of alcohol.A representative sample of Federation of Wholesale Distributors members have supplied information about how...
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British wheat crop set to cool inflation fears
Food inflation fears continue to grip the media but a very promising start to the British wheat harvest should allay fears of a significant rise in food prices, according to experts.