All articles by Elinor Zuke – Page 20
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News
B&M plans to go south with 30 bargain stores
B&M Retail is hoping to have opened 30 new B&M Bargains stores by the end of the year including one within the M25. The Liverpool-based discounter has 235 stores across the UK, but the estate only currently stretches as far...
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News
CJ Lang recruitment drive continues with AM Landsburgh deal
CJ Lang has almost sealed its purchase of Spar retailer AM Landsburgh. The Scottish Spar wholesaler this week confirmed it was in talks with the third-generation family business. CJ Lang will take on 10 Spar stores in Dundee and Fife for...
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News'We were the biggest before and we’re still the biggest': an interview with Peter Blakemore
AF Blakemore bought Capper & Co last month, creating a Spar wholesaler with a £1.1bn turnover and a 45% share of Spar. In his first interview since the acquisition, Peter Blakemore talks to Elinor Zuke about the takeover, Spar and Big Society
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ProfilesAG Parfett & Son makes plans for redundancies
AG Parfett & Son has informed staff of plans to make up to 76 redundancies across its six depots. The cash & carry wholesaler decided to lay people off at a board meeting last week. Some roles would be made redundant as a result...
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NewsNuclear sushi fears unwarranted, say ‘Japanese’ suppliers
UK fans of Japanese cuisine need not fear radiation levels - because the majority of Japanese food imported into the UK doesn't actually come from Japan, importers and wholesalers are stressing.
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NewsMarwood takes up non-executive role in field marketing
Outgoing Spar MD Jerry Marwood has been appointed as a non-executive director of field marketing agency exPD8. He will advise the agency on promotional compliance in c-stores as the agency looks to bolster its presence in grocery....
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Analysis & FeaturesIn the world of off-licences, is Bargain Booze a bargain?
Wine Cellar and Threshers went bust. Oddbins is on the brink of a CVA. So who would want to buy Bargain Booze and why? Elinor Zuke reports
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NewsOddbins staff fury over redundancy pay move
Oddbins could face legal action from long-serving staff after it was revealed they would not be paid statutory redundancy pay or full-notice payments. The troubled off-licence chain revealed earlier this month that it was closing 39...
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NewsBurts Chips terminates MJ Baker supply deal
Burts Chips has terminated its supply agreement with fellow West Country business MJ Baker Foodservice after three years with neither party revealing why. MJ Baker Foodservice MD Malcolm Baker claimed he had been left in the dark as to...
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ProfilesJJ Food Service hires new manager for BWS development
JJ Food Service has appointed Mark Hopkins to develop its fledgling BWS category. Hopkins, who starts on Monday as sector development manager, previously held senior management roles in sales, marketing and operations at Turkish drinks...
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NewsFocus On Juices & Smoothies: Keeping the juices flowing
The juices and smoothies market looks poised for recovery, but some sectors are struggling, and the spectre of commodity prices continues to haunt everyone. Elinor Zuke reports
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NewsNew Spar MD is ‘Good with Food’ marketeer Robinson
Debbie Robinson, the former director of food marketing for The Co-operative Group, is to replace long-serving Spar boss Jerry Marwood as managing director, The Grocer can reveal. Robinson will take over from Marwood in the summer when he...
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News
Shipping fuel hikes heap pressure on food prices
Experts have warned food prices are under further pressure after the price of shipping fuel reached a two-and-a-half year high. Known as bunkers, shipping fuel prices at Europe's biggest port Rotterdam have risen by 18.5% since the start...
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NewsPayPoint completes dream week with government welfare contract
The government has handed PayPoint a seven-year contract to provide welfare payments. The contract, which begins in 2012, is worth £20m per year and will be shared between PayPoint and Citibank.
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NewsJJ to move into booze after Landmark link-up
JJ Food Service has signed up with Landmark Wholesale as it looks to dramatically extend its offer with a move into the alcohol market. The foodservice wholesaler is the largest company to join Landmark in the past eight years and becomes...
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NewsBlakemore ‘poised to snap up Capper & Co’
Wholesale experts have predicted major consolidation in Spar UK amid rumours that AF Blakemore is looking to buy fellow Spar wholesaler Capper & Co. Capper confirmed this week it had been in talks with another company "for some time"...
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NewsRivals blitz wholesalers to stymie Stella Cidre
Major cider makers C&C Group and Heineken are targeting wholesalers with competitive deals on their brands ahead of the launch of AB InBev's Stella Cidre, The Grocer has learnt.
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NewsDrop duty drawback says FWD as figures reveal level of fraud
The Federation of Wholesale Distributors is calling for the withdrawal of duty drawback on at-risk alcohol products after the government admitted a fifth of the money paid out was fraudulently claimed. The excise duty drawback system...
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NewsEastenders directors face new asset freeze
The Court of Appeal last week suspended restraint orders issued against the directors of Eastenders in December - but the Crown Prosecution’s fight is far from over. The Old Bailey will hear a fresh application for restraint orders…
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NewsMargins ‘given away’ as top wholesalers toil
Wholesaler profit margins held over the past year but remain wafer thin, The Grocer’s annual Big 30 report of grocery wholesalers has revealed. Total sales rose by 5.9%, and pre-tax profits were up by 12%, boosted by a strong performance…