All articles by Charlie Wright – Page 17
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Comment and Opinion
Laughing stockings
It must be the warm weather getting everyone so hot under the collar. In the papers it’s as if the silly season has started a couple of months early, with a bunch of dozy stories surfacing in the past few days that you’d normally expect to see only in high ...
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NewsHaldanes snaps up Midlands bakery Woodhead
Haldanes has swooped to buy Scarborough-based Woodhead Bakery in a move that will bring production of its freshly baked items in-house. The retail chain also adds 11 stores to its footprint after taking over Woodhead, a family-run business that had slipped into administration.
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Comment and Opinion
Candid Clarke, Mk II
In recent weeks Tesco has been playing copycat with Asda over the latter’s price guarantee, with what you might politely call ‘mixed’ results. As well as being an avoidable PR own goal, Double the Difference also exposed Tesco to criticism that it has become uncharacteristically reactive of late.
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NewsClarke concedes ‘We must do better’ as Tesco falters in fourth quarter
Tesco has admitted it must do better in its home market after UK sales fell in the final three months of the year. Profits at the retail giant rose by more than 12% to a record £3.8bn in the year to 26 February. But Tesco again relied on its overseas business to drive much of the growth, with profits at its Asian business up 17%.
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Comment and Opinion
Best food forward
Aptly for a government so concerned about waste, the coalition has been doing a bit of recycling over the weekend. It now wants to get rid of ‘best before’ labels, reasoning that people really do chuck away stuff that’s fine to eat because of the date on the wrapper.
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News
Brakes finance chief Fearn to join brewer Greene King
Brakes Group finance chief Matthew Fearn is leaving the foodservice giant to join Greene King. Fearn, who joined Brakes in 2007, will start at the brewer on 1 September.
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Comment and Opinion
Wine and reason
At the start of the year Constellation threw up its hands in despair at the UK’s habit of buying whatever wine is on promotion, selling its UK business to Aussie private equity group Champ at an appropriately hefty discount.
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NewsCVAs all the rage as retailers bid to dodge insolvency
In the month Oddbins fell into administration after failing to secure a Company Voluntary Agreement, a new report shows rising numbers of retailers turning to the controversial practice to stave off insolvency.
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NewsUnilever and P&G fined €315m over EU detergent cartel
Two giants of fmcg manufacturing have been fined hundreds of millions of euros for anti-competitive activities across a host of European countries. Unilever and Procter & Gamble were fined a combined €315.2m (£280.85m) for their part in a three-year cartel that fixed the price of washing powder in eight European Union nations.
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NewsFood inflation eases as high street suffers ‘worst month in 15 years’
Food retailers have continued to keep a lid on inflation, official figures show, as the high street suffered its worst month in 15 years. The Consumer Price Index fell from 4.4% in February to 4% last month – with food prices down 1.5% month-on-month, according to the Office of National ...
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NewsHolland & Barrett pilots Rewards For Life loyalty scheme
Holland & Barrett has launched a customer loyalty scheme, dubbed Rewards For Life. A pilot scheme began this week in 40 stores across the Midlands and the north of England.
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Comment and Opinion
Indiana Bond and the Temple of Doom
Last week Andy Bond warned that the recession hadn’t yet hit home for retailers. Speaking at the Retail London conference, the former Asda boss said “an extended period of constrained consumption” was looming, resulting in a “long, long-term trend of trading down”.
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NewsSainsbury’s calls on 1 Million Kids to get into Paralympic sport
Sainsbury’s has unveiled a new scheme, dubbed the 1 Million Kids Challenge, designed to get more youngsters involved in disabled sport.
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NewsBogofs get blame for £14bn food waste mountain
Multi-buy deals have come under fire again after new data laid bare the extent of the UK’s food waste mountain. Food worth £13.7bn was binned in England last year – equivalent to each household throwing away £520 of food.
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NewsCritical Eye... on smoking beagles and punching donkeys
Smuggling has an oddly cosy ring to it, like something you'd do during a Sunday lie-in. It evokes images of ruddy-faced pasty-munchers shifting cheese in a row-boat rather than terrified mules downing condoms of heroin.
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Comment and OpinionAd of the Week: Heineken's late entrance only just worth the wait
Heineken's The Entrance aired globally last year but, like a Hoxton dandy fashionably late to the party, hit UK screens this week.
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NewsMakro nabs Asda procurement man Edwards
Makro has named Asda executive Huw Edwards as its new offer management director. Edwards spent 15 years with the Leeds-based supermarket, most recently as procurement director. He has also previously worked for Marks & Spencer.
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NewsM&S raids Morrisons again for new head of Simply Food
Marc Bolland has returned to his former stamping ground to recruit a new head of Simply Food. Christopher Taylor joins the high street giant from Morrisons, also taking responsibility for the franchise and hospitality business.
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NewsNorthern competition nod completes win for Boparan
Ranjit Boparan has cleared the final hurdle in his pursuit of Northern Foods. The chicken mogul’s offer for Northern became unconditional today after gaining regulatory approval for the £342m cash bid.
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Comment and Opinion
Coke's hero to Zero
Tomorrow morning Wayne Rooney finds out whether he’ll cop a suspension from the FA for his potty-mouthed outburst down the Sky Sports cameras. While he’s sure to start against Chelsea tonight, Rooney certainly won’t be pulling on the hallowed red and white colours of Coca-Cola any time soon.