All The Grocer articles in 20 December 2003

Previous issues.

  • News

    Review of the year

    2003-12-24T00:00:00Z

    Sir Ken Morrison passed the post with his £3bn bid for Safeway. Asda leapfrogged Sainsbury to No 2 spot.Anger turned to active protest as symbol groups united over paypoint margins. Tobacco ads were banned. The food...

  • News

    Pode goes to M&S

    2003-12-24T00:00:00Z

    Marks and Spencer has headhunted one of Sainsbury’s senior marketing people to become its head of marketing for its food division.Miranda Pode, who will join M&S in January, was head of strategy in Sainsbury’s marketing division and had also...

  • News

    Henkel expands in the US

    2003-12-23T00:00:00Z

    European detergent specialist Henkel is set to buy the California-based hair care group Advanced Research Laboratories. The deal, worth between $200m and $300m, comes just a week after Henkel said it would buy US consumer products group Dial...

  • News

    DTI to rule on Christmas Day trading

    2003-12-23T00:00:00Z

    Large stores will not be allowed to open on Christmas Day, when the government amends the law in time for December 2005. Department of Trade and Industry secretary, Patricia Hewitt, said: "We can’t change the law in time for this Christmas...

  • News

    Sorsky in deal with Bingham

    2003-12-23T00:00:00Z

    Hygiene product distributor Sorsky has bought WG Bingham, which distributes workforce clothing and personal protective equipment. Joint managing director of Sorsky, Jon Holt, said he was "delighted" to be taking on the Hull and...

  • News

    Morrisons to divest 140 smaller Safeway stores

    2003-12-22T00:00:00Z

    Morrisons is set to bring in £250m by selling 140 of Safeway’s smaller convenience stores after acquiring the supermarket group last week.Weekend press reports suggest that the Big Food Group, Somerfield and German discounters Netto and Aldi...

  • News

    Sensation at Sainsbury

    2003-12-20T00:00:00Z

    Sainsbury is trialling a new red variety of the Green Comice pear, called Sweet Sensation, in 80 stores.The new red pear has taken Sainsbury’s Dutch pear supplier, Van Doorn, almost four years to cultivate and grow. As the name suggests, it is...

  • News

    Payouts spark rebellion

    2003-12-20T00:00:00Z

    Londis retailers look set to reject Musgrave’s offer for the group, because of their anger over massive payouts it will trigger for four Londis directors.A telephone poll for The Grocer of 190 Londis retailers (10% of the entire membership)...

  • News

    NFRN’s Stevens moves on

    2003-12-20T00:00:00Z

    Rod Stevens has stepped down as commercial manager of NFRN Commercial in order to pursue his own business opportunities.Stevens has headed the commercial arm of the National Federation of Retail Newsagents for four years. The NFRN is expected...

  • News

    They’d like a word...

    2003-12-20T00:00:00Z

    Morrisons is finally tightening its grip on Safeway. Now it will move fast to get things running its way. What can suppliers expect? Elaine Watson reportsWith almost a year now elapsed since Morrisons stunned the trade with a bid for...

  • News

    Joining the Premier league

    2003-12-20T00:00:00Z

    Time is money and Deepak Patel has had precious little to spare lately. With three busy c-stores in Clacton-on-Sea that together turn over £100,000 a week, it was becoming clear that a 140-mile round trip to get to Dhamecha Cash & Carry in Barking...

  • News

    Snacks join the party

    2003-12-20T00:00:00Z

    Tesco moves up to the top of the chart this week, forcing Sainsbury down to second place although there are fewer than two percentage points between them. Both retailers are really strong on promotions on alcoholic drinks with price promotions...

  • News

    Grimsey puts his offer in

    2003-12-20T00:00:00Z

    A bidding war for Londis loomed as The Grocer went to press, with Big Food Group entering the fray and Nisa-Today’s considering its options. Big Food Group, which has sent out a letter to Londis shareholders urging them to reject Musgrave’s...

  • News

    Have you got what it takes?

    2003-12-20T00:00:00Z

    The Grocer Gold Awards 2004 are officially launched this week. And as we start the search for the best in the business, here’s a reminder of who picked up the accolades in our 2003 awardsHave you got what it takes to go for gold?...

  • News

    Retailers need a say in their future

    2003-12-20T00:00:00Z

    from Bernard Warren, retail vice-chairman, Spar National Guild and Spar retailer, Wool, DorsetSir; Re your story and feature last week about Musgrave’s bid for Londis. Londis has long been one of Spar’s competitors in the...

  • News

    Exporters with winning ways

    2003-12-20T00:00:00Z

    Food from Britain recognises true exporting talent with its annual export awards. Julian Hunt reports on this year’s winnersBurton’s Foods has emerged victorious in this year’s Food from Britain Export Awards which are run in...

  • News

    Vodafone e-top ups to roll

    2003-12-20T00:00:00Z

    Vodafone said this week that it had reached agreement on terms for its controversial e-top up vouchers.A spokesman said it expected to be able to start rolling out top up vouchers imminently. He said: “TopUp voucher is a key part of our...

  • News

    Preparation is the key to this well-run depot

    2003-12-20T00:00:00Z

    After a year spent travelling, Arthur Webster decided not to take up a place at university and instead began his working life stacking shelves at the Nottingham depot he now manages. That was in 1992 and the business he joined was Hyperama.The...

  • News

    DeNunzio: speak out on strategy

    2003-12-20T00:00:00Z

    Retailers large and small are being urged to have their say on an important consultation paper that will help shape future government policy relating to the sector. The paper has been produced by the Retail Strategy Group. This industry-led...

  • News

    Sir Don hits out at OFT delay

    2003-12-20T00:00:00Z

    The Office of Fair Trading has been slammed by Sir Don Curry for holding up implementation of the government’s Sustainable Farming and Food policy.Sir Don, who chairs the group overseeing implementation of the government’s food chain strategy,...