All articles by Peter Cripps – Page 9
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News
Organic sales slump is worse than predicted
Demand for organic has fallen further than many experts predicted - with some categories in double-digit volume decline.Volume sales of bread fell 29%, fruit by 20%, eggs by 12%, and vegetables by 8%, according to figures from TNS [52w/e 25...
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News
Hard core stays loyal to organic
Organic is taking a battering as consumers try to cut their costs. But a principled core of shoppers will see Abel & Cole through the recession, Duncan Gibson tells Peter Cripps
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News
Constellation tipped to sell its 50% stake in Matthew Clark
Babycham and Hardys Wine owner Constellation Europe is expected to sell its 50% stake in on-trade drinks wholesaler Matthew Clark, The Grocer has learned.Insider sources revealed this week that Rothschild bank was trying to broker a deal to...
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News
Two depots axed as 3663 feels the pain
3663 First For Foodservice is set to close two depots after profits fell by a quarter in the second half of 2008.Chief executive Fred Barnes said the business was feeling the effects of the economic downturn as consumers ate out less and...
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NewsBargain Booze profits from growth of mults
Bargain Booze claims the growth of Tesco Express has helped it to expand its own stores as independent retailers seek a value symbol group that competes on price. The company has opened 60 stores in the past year, many of which it said had...
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News
Scots will go on ‘booze cruise’ to fight the ban
Carlisle could become the next Calais and Belfast the next Boulogne if the Scottish Government’s crackdown on alcohol comes to pass. That’s the prediction of retailers and wholesalers north and south of the border, who believe Scottish shoppers would flock into England and even Northern Ireland in search of cheaper ...
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News
Brakes targets food-to-go demand with Bake & Bite concept
Brakes has unveiled a new Subway-style in-store café concept to tap into growing demand for food-to-go in convenience stores.The Bake & Bite Café features a glass-fronted sandwich counter to enable consumers to design their own sandwiches...
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News
Majestic trials half-size minimum wine purchase
Majestic Wine is trialling a minimum purchase of six bottles rather than its usual 12 after like-for-like sales slumped 2.9% over Christmas. The six-bottle minimum is being tested in six stores, although there is still a minimum spend...
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News
Retailers compete to buy former pub sites
As the recession forces record numbers of pubs out of business, independent retailers are racing the mults to convert the best into convenience stores. Five pubs in the UK are closing every day and independent retailers are seizing the...
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News
Why is Iceland aiming for another go at foodservice?
Iceland is poised to buy DBC Foodservice. But it has bought a foodservice provider before with limited success, so why again? Peter Cripps reports
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News
Iceland set to buy DBC after Baugur collapse
Bosses at Iceland Foods Group are understood to have launched a bid to buy DBC Foodservice after Baugur, which owns a 50% stake in the company, was placed into administration.The Grocer has learned that Iceland Foods' CEO Malcolm Walker and...
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News
Can businesses survive the big credit insurance lockout?
The withdrawal of credit insurance has hit suppliers hard. But it doesn't necessarily spell the end for a company, report Peter Cripps and James Ball
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News
New Netto chief aims to accelerate sales growth
Charles Kay has replaced Richard Lancaster as MD at Netto, The Grocer can reveal.The former European trading director for AMS Sourcing, an international buying group with 11 members including Morrisons and Netto’s parent company Dansk, has...
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News
Wholesalers forced to chase payments from independents
Independent retailers are proving much less recession proof than their supermarket rivals, The Grocer can reveal.While the multiples have announced thousands of new jobs since the start of the year, wholesalers are increasingly being forced...
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News
Wholesalers keep profits strong but fear for foodservice
Sales and profits in the wholesale sector were up in 2008, according to The Grocer's Big 30 survey. But 2009 is set to be different altogether, experts warn. Despite the continuing expansion of the multiples into the convenience sector, a...
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News
Farrington picked to design Costcutter's new store formats
Costcutter has appointed Craig Farrington as head of store development, tasked with designing five new shop formats.Farrington joins from Musgrave Retail Partners GB, where he was head of format development for Budgens and Londis...
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News
The Big 30: Who's holding the best hand?
The Grocer’s annual The Big 30 league table of Britain’s wholesalers reveals which companies have played their cards right over the past 12 months and which have been dealt a losing hand. Peter Cripps sorts the jacks from the kings
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Rankings
The Big 30
Fluctuating petrol prices, food inflation, the squeeze on lending - it’s fair to say the credit crunch has made it a whole lot harder for wholesalers to compete effectively with the multiples over the past year.Throw into the mix duty fraud (cash & carries claim it deprived them of up ...
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News
Today's Group appoints ex-Midcounties man MD
Bill Laird is to replace Rodney Hunt as managing director of Nisa-Today’s wholesale arm Today’s Group.Laird is a former COO of Midcounties Co-operative Society and owns management consultancy business Future First.The Today’s Group...
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News
Beer duty fraudsters hit cash & carry sales
Cash & carries have revealed that sales of leading beer brands were down by up to 90% in the run up to Christmas - because of duty fraud.Carling and Foster's were the brands most affected by retailers buying cheap beer from duty fraudsters,...