Clive Black news and analysis – Page 32
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News
Thorntons gives move abroad a second bash
Thorntons is planning a move overseas, 13 years after pulling the plug on its last international venture, chief executive Mike Davies has told The Grocer.The chocolatier has appointed a new finance director to develop an international...
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Comment & OpinionSecond Opinion: Discounter revolution? Hmm...
The deep discounters are doing well but their growth isn't sustainable, says Dr Clive Black
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NewsChristmas misery to come if we don’t delay tax hikes
A Christmas bombshell of VAT and duty hikes and the withdrawal of trade credit support threatens this vital trading period and beyond. Join our new campaign to fight it. By James Ball
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NewsNetto misses out on the discounter switch
All the major discounters and freezer centres apart from Netto have gained sales from other retailers in recent weeks, according to switching data from TNS. Aldi, Lidl, Iceland and Farmfoods have all stolen customer spend from the rest of the...
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News
Advertising: Successful retailers need the human touch in tough times
Retailers should engage consumers emotionally, not just give them the hard sell, according to research by Cognosis. Glynn Davis reports
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NewsTen problems to keep Sir Terry up at night
The Tesco juggernaut keeps on trucking, with sales of £59bn and profits north of £3bn in its latest accounts. Yet Tesco is not infallible and against the backdrop of a global economic recession suppliers, industry consultants, City analysts and marketing experts have been unusually critical of certain aspects of its ...
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News
Tastings and taste itself are the key for offies and indies
Wine volumes are falling and independents are bearing the brunt. It's time to bring out the David and Goliath tactics, reports Nicolette Allen
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Comment & Opinion
Saturday Essay: Why there isn't, and won't be, a price war
Forget the headlines - the industry's margins and returns are too low to justify a price war, says Dr Clive Black
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News
Mezzanines shelved as Tesco wrings out costs
Tesco is understood to have scrapped plans for new mezzanine floors as it seeks to cut costs “in every orifice of the business”. Shore Capital analyst Clive Black told The Grocer that in the final days before Tesco’s accounting year finishes...
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News
City: axing 25 Simply Food stores won't fix M&S food problems
Marks & Spencer's closure of 25 "underperforming" Simply Food stores will do little to fix its struggling food business, analysts said this week. Defiant chairman Sir Stuart Rose claimed he was "encouraged" by this year's 5.2% drop in food...
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News
Can hard-pressed suppliers take wing with foodservice?
As retail margins are squeezed ever harder, Northern Foods is not alone in looking to foodservice contracts to buoy sales, finds Helen Gilbert
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News
Booths defies crunch with profit rising 73%
Upmarket northern supermarket chain Booths has defied the economic gloom by notching up a 3.8% increase in full-year like-for-like sales – ahead of its much larger rivals Marks & Spencer and Waitrose. Pre-tax profit jumped 73% to £6.9m on sales up...
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News
Premier hopes to calm City nerves with Hovis relaunch
Premier Foods is pinning its hopes on Hovis as its new profit-generating champion brand. But won’t that big pile of debt get in the way? Alex Beckett reports
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News
Premier ‘will need a strong second half to ease City fear’
Price hikes on some of the most iconic grocery brands on the supermarket shelf helped Premier Foods post a 43.5% sales jump to £1.29bn – but its gigantic debt is worrying investors. Britain’s biggest food manufacturer, which owns Hovis, Mr Kipling...
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News
Waitrose readies itself to take on convenience
Waitrose has appointed Anthony Wysome as head of convenience to oversee a new wave of small shops, the first of which could open early next year. Wysome was promoted from senior project manager to take charge of plans to expand into the...
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Brands: will they help or hinder M&S food profits?
It has finally done it. After years of speculation, Marks & Spencer has decided to bite the bullet and trial branded products such as Marmite, Lemsip, Whiskas, Smirnoff and Kit Kat alongside its own-label products. Nineteen stores in...
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News
Can Morrisons keep on wowing the City?
Who'd have predicted Morrisons would be hailed the darling of the City? Yet that is exactly what has happened following a stonking sales uplift over Christmas that left its rivals trailing in its wake. The analysts were fulsome in their...
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News
Wal-Mart Canada gets Cheesewright as boss
The departure of Asda's chief operating officer David Cheesewright on 4 January will come as a huge blow to the retailer, say analysts. Cheesewright is taking over as president and CEO of Wal-Mart Canada from Mario Pilozzi, who is...
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News
Mason vows 'brutal' cost controls as Fresh&Easy takes keen price position
Tesco has told City analysts its Fresh & Easy operation will be taking a "brutal" approach to cost control as it seeks to compete with traditional grocers in the US.The business has been designed to be low cost to support Fresh & Easy's...