Amazon has halted the aggressive expansion of its checkout-free convenience stores, amid disappointing sales and a bleak economic outlook (The Times £). The US retailer has reportedly walked away from talks for dozens of potential sites for Amazon Fresh stores, after facing disappointing sales at the 19 check-out free shops it already has in the UK (The Telegraph). Amazon has scaled back plans for the expansion of its till-less convenience stores as sales fall short of expectations and consumers face a cost of living squeeze (The Daily Mail).
The Times writes about how surging chicken costs hit Nando’s and KFC. Poultry farms, who supply KFC, face the same pressures with energy costs but are also having to contend with high prices for what their animals eat. Chicken feed, pushed up by global events, is no longer as cheap as it once was. Producers are forced to pass on the cost of rearing the world’s most popular meat, with fast-food chains complaining of suppliers levying price increases of up to 60%. (The Times £)
The news of Just Eat Takeaways.com’s sale of its iFood stake drove a powerful relief rally in the company’s share price yesterday, lifting it by more than a quarter, after a spell in which its stock, like those of other food delivery companies, has plummeted. (The Times £)
Just Eat Takeaway.com’s sale of its iFood stake will keep shareholders satisfied for now. They will soon get hungry for the main course, the sale of Grubhub. Just Eat bought its US rival for $7.3bn in shares in 2021. In April, it said the unit was for sale. Earlier this month, it wrote down Grubhub’s value by €3bn. (The Financial Times £)
Marks and Spencer has promised that the planned redevelopment of its flagship London store will involve improved public access and facilities, softening its position ahead of a planning inquiry that will start on October 25 (The Financial Times £). Marks & Spencer has pledged that 95% of the materials in its existing Marble Arch building in Oxford Street in central London will be recovered, recycled or reused as it fights back against heavy opposition to its plan to flatten the shop (The Guardian).
German chain Aldi has overtaken Morrisons as Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer. Shoppers worried about the cost-of-living crisis have been switching in droves to Aldi and its no-frills rival Lidl. (The Daily Mail)
How Aldi and Lidl stunned the big supermarkets to become a middle-class obsession. As inflation surges and households try to save money, the German discounters are running rampant. (The Telegraph)
The price of a flat white has topped £3 across Britain’s largest coffee shops for the first time, as households face a growing squeeze on their wallets. (The Telegraph)
Struggling UK households are turning to online discount stores to buy almost-out-of-date food as the cost of living crisis puts pressure on budgets. (The Guardian)
Shoppers increased online spending last month, offsetting declines in the sales of fuel, clothing and household goods. Experts said the data felt like “the last hurrah” before the impact of rising interest rates and rocketing inflation choked spending further. (The Times £)
Spiralling energy costs are driving cafes, restaurants and independent shops all around the country to the edge of survival, according to an industry body (Sky News). The Times looks at how SMEs fear going bust as energy prices surge. In the clamour to save households from soaring energy bills, the suffering of small businesses is being ignored (The Times £).
Prices for milk, one of the most of basic of commodities, are surging. That matters not only for shoppers, but for those of us after a sign of how sticky inflation will be as it has traditionally proved stubbornly resistant to inflation… That these rises are happening in such a competitive market highlights how embedded price rises have become. (The Financial Times £)
Brexit killed off the Fortnum & Mason’s hamper, but customers are shrugging off the cost of living crisis. Boss Tom Athron is making Fortnum’s less stuffy — but crisis or no crisis, he won’t skimp on strawberries. (The Times £)
West End landlords told to force out American candy stores at the centre of tax evasion investigation. Westminster Council is currently investigating 30 US-style sweet shops which have taken prime locations in the West End. (The Telegraph)
Flavour firm Treatt is still tasty tip, despite serving up hefty profits warning. For shareholders, this tale of woe is clearly unwelcome and a larger business may have been able to manage the headwinds better. However, Treatt’s strategy should generate returns over the longer term. (The Daily Mail)
For all the evidence that high petrol and grocery prices are squeezing those with the tightest budgets, or that pandemic-weary Americans now prize holidays over home goods, US retailers’ figures suggest that spending remains strikingly robust… Inflation, it seems, has severely affected consumers’ morale but has yet to affect their actual buying behaviour to anything like the same extent. (The Financial Times £)
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