Insolvencies among food manufacturers have risen sharply over the past year, as competition between supermarkets and discounters has resulted in them being treated “as cannon fodder”, claims accountancy firm Moore Stephens.
Snack manufacturer Metcalfe’s Food Company has reached fourth place on the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 list, making it the fastest growing private food and drink company in the UK.
Further evidence of shoppers’ growing preference for British-produced food came last week in the form of a £1.5bn pledge to UK farmers from the Co-operative.
Waitrose is offering shoppers access to in-store dietary advice on a trial basis in a bid to help consumers with a range of concerns, including food allergies.
Savvy consumers will visit various retailers this Christmas for food and drink shopping, with total grocery spending expected to rise 1.5% from last year to £5.3bn, Webloyalty has claimed.
Sainsbury will open the first six stores in its joint venture with Netto on November 6, but the supermarket chain’s proposition needs serious thought, according to a leading food analyst.
Supermarkets face a Halloween shock as three in 10 shoppers (29%) said they aimed to buy seasonally-themed products from high street discount retailers, according to the latest IGD research.
Asda headed the supermarket pack as the food market officially entered a period of deflation, although consumers were the real winners, according to the latest Kantar Worldpanel figures.
Online retail giant Amazon is to create 1,000 new jobs at UK fulfilment centres, six months after a leading UK wholesale boss predicted the retailer would deliver “a fresh approach” to the UK grocery market.
The rise of the discount retailers was the most disruptive force on the UK grocery market in the last year, according to delegates at the IGD conference yesterday (October 7).
Tesco’s embarrassing £250M accounting discrepancy, admitted last month, will punish shareholders not suppliers but underlines the dangers of over reliance on any one retailer, said retail analyst Conlumino.
Fines of hundreds of millions of pounds could be imposed on retailers if they are found to be in breach of the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP).
Sainsbury’s “very poor” second-quarter results will “send shock waves” through the grocery market, warned analysts, as the retailer revealed its third consecutive quarter of falling sales.
Sainsbury shows signs of tackling its “worrying” reversal of fortunes, shifting towards consistent low pricing, according to a leading food industry analyst.
Meeting the needs of price-driven consumers is the top of seven key trends driving the changing landscape of US supermarkets, according to a report published by the Chicago-based Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).
Claims made by the independent Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) Christine Tacon that alleged supermarket abuses of power were going under-reported have been refuted by an industry expert.
Tesco, a “once great company” according to a leading food industry analyst, has downgraded its profit forecasts and brought forward the date of Philip Clarke’s handover to new ceo Dave Lewis.
Morrisons is investing £19M to speed up the supply of fresh produce and keep it cooler for longer in a bid to keep ahead of competition from discounters Aldi and Lidl.
High hopes have been pinned on the ability of Morrisons’ new chairman elect Andrew Higginson to revive the fortunes of Britain’s fourth largest supermarket chain.
Morrisons is trying to turnaround poor sales and boost its slow-starting online business by giving cash to customers in conjunction with third-party rewards platform Quidco.
Grocery sales in May and June were the “worst ever” seen, as the market reeled in an aftershock of the recession, according to one longstanding industry analyst.
Aldi is the brand creating the most positive media buzz, according to YouGov BrandIndex’s 2014 mid-year Buzz rankings, with both it and fellow discounter Lidl among the top 10 for the first time.
In as many weeks, two polls have sent me a strong message that I still have a big job to raise awareness of what I can do for groceries suppliers and build their confidence so that they give me the information I need to act.
Suppliers remain unconvinced that the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) Christine Tacon is doing enough to stop the big supermarkets abusing their power.
Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) Christine Tacon has criticised food and drink suppliers for failing to complain about supermarket abuses of power, warning her office was threatened unless they were more forthcoming.
News that supermarket chain Sainsbury had entered into a £25M joint venture (jv) with Dansk Supermarked to establish 15 Netto stores across the UK was further evidence that the major multiples recognised they needed to do more to address the inexorable...
Discounters such as Aldi and Lidl are set to double their sales in the next five years, accounting for £1 in every £9 spent by 2019, according to grocery think tank IGD.
Netto brought expertise in running low-cost stores and managing niche discount product ranges, said Sainsbury ceo Justin King, commenting on the UK supermarket chain’s tie-up with the discounter.
Early discounter Netto will be returning to Britain next year in a £25M joint venture with Sainsbury, to take on Aldi and Lidl, whose cut price offers have revolutionised the UK grocery market.
Food and drink distributor NFT aims to develop a temperature-controlled dockside handling facility in the south east of England within the next 18 months.
Morrisons’ chairman Sir Ian Gibson is to step down, the supermarket chain has announced, a month after Roger Owen, a former director of the business, had called for his resignation.
Grocery sales remained “in the doldrums” from February to April, according to leading food analyst Clive Black of Shore Capital, citing data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and accountants KPMG.
Morrisons is expanding its meat processing factory at Winsford, Cheshire and has launched a recruitment drive for 200 new roles there, boosting the workforce by 50%.
Morrisons has refused to confirm or deny suggestions it is preparing to slash suppliers’ prices, in a bid to combat discounters Aldi and Lidl, as top analysts predict food manufacturers could fall victim to a supermarket price war.
A supermarket price war is likely to follow Morrisons’ pledge to cut its prices, in a bid to combat discounters Aldi and Lidl, after the retailer posted a loss of £176M last week, according to leading analysts.
Groceries Code Adjudicator Christine Tacon highlighted a persistent problem within the UK’s food industry last month. She said “excessive risk” was being passed down the supply chain by overly powerful retail customers. As a result, some manufacturers’...
Lack of trust in food prices at the top supermarkets persists in the UK, according to a leading analyst, and independent food stores were well-placed to seize the advantage.
Online retail giant Amazon is poised to deliver “a fresh approach” to the UK grocery market, with online sales of fresh, chilled, frozen and ambient food products delivered direct to customers, predicted Charles Wilson, Booker chief executive.
The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) Christine Tacon aims to crack down on retailers charging suppliers hundreds of thousands of pounds for discrepancies on promotions going back up to six years.
Sainsbury’s ceo Justin King – who announced his intention to quit the supermarket this July – is leaving the business at the right time, industry sources agree.