Grocery inflation dips by just 0.2 per cent as Aldi now has a tenth of the market April 25, 2023 Grocery price inflation dipped slightly in April – but consumers are still paying 17.3 per cent more than this time last year, figures show. Kantar warned that the fall from last month’s 17.5 per cent only meant that prices were not increasing as quickly after 10 months of double-digit growth. As consumers continued to find [...]
Ex-Asda boss secures rescue deal of upmarket online butcher April 24, 2023 The former boss of supermarket Asda has led a rescue of an upmarket online butcher that counts the likes of Harrods and Fortnum & Mason among its customers. Andy Clarke – who was chief executive of Asda from 2010 until 2016 – headed up a group of investors to buy Farmison & Co, which collapsed [...]
Asda introduces self driving delivery vans in AI first April 17, 2023 Asda is rolling out its largest autonomous delivery trial with customers in London set to receive their groceries via self driving cars. The UK’s third largest grocery store is launching the scheme in partnership with Wayve, a developer of artificial intelligence for self driving cars, and the pair will use Jaguar I-Pace electric cars for [...]
Asda owners shrug off £9bn debt pile and size up £8bn Subway take over March 28, 2023 The billionaire owners of supermarket Asdaare reportedly sizing up an £8bn takeover of global sandwich maker Subway. According to reports in The Sun, billionaire’s Mohsin and Zuber Issa are understood to be eyeing up the 44,000 restaurant chain. The pair, who gained their notoriety as the founders of forecourt business EG Group, already have Subway [...]
Milk, meat and fruit worst affected as supermarket groceries DOUBLED in cost over last year, Which? says March 22, 2023 The cost of some everyday groceries has more than doubled over the last year, consumer brand Which? has found. The company analysed inflation on more than 25,000 food and drink products at eight major supermarkets – Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose. Which? looked at the average price of the products in the three [...]
CMA probes Asda’s £611m Co-op petrol station takeover deal over fears it could hike fuel prices March 14, 2023 Asda’s £611m takeover over of 132 Co-op petrol stations has come under scrutiny from the UK’s competition watchdog over concerns the deal was likely to push up fuel prices. After the supermarket snapped up the sites last October the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a Phase 1 investigation at the start of this year [...]
Issa Brothers mull sale of Asda properties as debt rises March 12, 2023 Asda has launched a £8.6bn review of its property estate as the billionaire brothers behind the business scramble for options to reduce its debt pile, according to reports. According to reports in The Telegraph, owners Mohsin and Zuber Issa backed by private equity backers TDR Capital, are targeting the sale and leaseback of Asda’s supermarket [...]
Almost 300 jobs at risk at Asda and 4,100 staff face pay cut January 26, 2023 Asda has unveiled a major shake-up of store operations, which will put close to 300 roles at risk and reduce pay for more than 4,000 night workers. The supermarket chain has proposed that some overnight restocking shifts at 184 stores are moved to the daytime, putting 211 night shift manager roles at risk. It said the [...]
Slow fashion: Retailers embrace second-hand clothing to draw in thrifty eco-conscious fashion lovers January 23, 2023 High street retailers are following in the footsteps of their online rivals, offering more second-hand clothes to lure in shoppers wanting to steer clear of fast fashion and hunt for bargains amid a cost of living crisis. The second-hand clothing market has exploded over the last decade to an estimated £6.5bn last year, largely thanks [...]
Asda owners explore £13bn merger with petrol business EG Group January 22, 2023 Asda’s owners are exploring merging the business with petrol forecourts business EG Group before EG’s 2025’s £7bn refinancing, The Times reported on Saturday. The two businesses are both jointly owned by Mohsin and Zuber Issa and private-equity company TDR Capital. The paper said the merger would create a business worth between £11bn and £13bn, with [...]