Marks & Spencer is set to lose the battle of the Christmas aisles as its struggling food arm posts its worst festive performance for a decade (Telegraph). M&S’s upmarket food division used to be its growth engine, but analysts believe the chain continues to lose customers to rival supermarkets and the discounters. As a result, the City is pencilling in a fall in like-for-like food sales of between 2% and 3.5%, the worst result since the recession. Marks & Spencer, which is in the midst of a turnaround, will report another fall in underlying sales in clothing and food, but is likely to be largely in line with City expectations (The Times £).High street retailers Marks & Spencer and Debenhams are set this week to reveal further falls in sales over Christmas — but are likely to avoid profit warnings thanks to a last-minute spending surge (The Sunday Times £).
“Every new boss at M&S has the same timetable for recovery in mind - but it never quite happens as planned,” writes The Observer.
There is only one problem with the new line of vegan meals that Marks & Spencer has launched under the label Plant Kitchen. Its packaging suggests that the dishes are not free from animal products, and so may not be vegan at all (The Times £). Confusion has arisen after M&S added allergy warnings to dishes such as cauliflower popcorn, green Thai curry and mushroom stroganoff. While the labels describe the Plant Kitchen products as “suitable for vegans”, the small print warns customers they are “not suitable for milk or egg allergy sufferers”.
Morrisons has announced it is slashing the price of more than 900 products, as a week of retail trading updates is expected to show that Aldi and Lidl’s low prices helped the two German chains win the Christmas battle among supermarkets (The Guardian). City trading updates this week from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose, along with reports by big retail analysts, are expected to indicate that Aldi and Lidl continued to grab an even bigger market share.
The Christmas winners and losers on the high street will be revealed this week as at least 20 retailers, including Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Debenhams, report festive trading figures (The Guardian).
Panic gift-buying in the run-up to Christmas was not enough to lift high street sales last month, capping the worst year on record for bricks and mortar stores, according to fresh figures (Telegraph). Despite discount posters plastered across shop windows for most of December, high street sales fell by 1.9% last month, the sixth consecutive year of falling sales during the crucial festive trading season, accountants BDO found.
Some retailers may have barely scraped through Christmas this year, but Selfridges has rung up another record-breaking Christmas (The Times £). The department stores chain best known for its giant shopping emporium on Oxford Street, central London, is set to publish figures today showing that sales across its stores and online business rose by 8% in the 24 days to Christmas compared with the same period last year. Sales were up by 8% in the week to Christmas.
Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe has been accused of taking his eye off the ball on sales at the supermarket giant, writes The Sunday Times (£). “Dealmaking and shopkeeping have proved a difficult balancing act for Coupe, who has a mounting list of problems as he starts a decisive year. While his attention has been focused on details of the Asda deal, the chain’s performance has been steadily deteriorating.”
Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe faces further pressure this week as the supermarket is expected to reveal a drop in Christmas sales (Daily Mail). The poor performance has been predicted ahead of the company’s planned £14billion tie-up with Asda.
Waitrose is expected to be revealed as the biggest festive loser in the battle of the supermarkets after families flocked to Lidl and Aldi for Christmas food (Daily Mail). Part of the John Lewis Partnership, Waitrose has traditionally managed a strong performance over Christmas, with customers buying posher trimmings to treat friends and family. But trading updates this week from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose are expected to reveal that the employee-owned chain lagged behind rivals last month.
Two companies that sell meal kits online have raised a total of £24m as the competition for health-conscious customers heats up (The Times £). Mindful Chef, founded by school friends Giles Humphries and Myles Hopper, has raised £6m from the private equity firm Piper. Gousto, its bigger rival, has received £18m from backers including Unilever Ventures, BGF and the fitness writer Joe Wicks.
Coca-Cola’s outgoing chairman Muhtar Kent is intent on a smooth transition to ensure a lasting legacy, writes the Financial Times £.
Uber Eats and Deliveroo were warned that their delivery couriers were renting out their jobs to unvetted illegal immigrants as long ago as last summer (The Times £). The companies allow couriers to appoint “substitutes” who are supposed to be legitimate workers. Whistleblowers told The Sunday Times that illegal residents, including people who have entered the UK concealed in lorries, were paying up to £100 a week to deliver food without undergoing any checks.
A sharp fall in prices after a bumper harvest, competition from other countries and a trade deal between Brussels and South Africa have created a devastating perfect storm for Spain’s orange farmers (The Times £).
“Brexit poses a giant headache for small food and drink firms,” writes The Times (£). William Kendall has big plans for Cawston Press, but they depend heavily on the outcome of Brexit, amid fears of a no deal departure.
Sears is preparing for a potential liquidation, according to people familiar with the matter, in a move that would put up to 68,000 jobs at risk and make the once-mighty US retailer one of the biggest corporate casualties of the ecommerce revolution (Financial Times £). A deadline for the US company to approve a rescue bid from billionaire hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert came and went on Friday amid scrutiny by the company’s advisers of the terms.
For the first time in a century, bared soap is making a comeback in Brits’ bathroom, emerging as a luxurious, and altogether classier alternative to bottled soaps (Telegraph). Following decades of decline, sales of barred soap have risen by nearly 3 per cent over the past year, retail data collected by Kantar Worldpanel has revealed.
The strength of the recovery in the US retail sector is under new scrutiny in spite of record-breaking holiday sales, as data show sliding footfall in stores, slowing rental growth at malls and stuttering demand for consumer electronics (Financial Times £).
More than 60 years after traditional pear champagne last fell out of fashion it is being revived in a beautiful corner of the West Country (The Times £). Lord Price, the former Waitrose boss who became a government trade minister, begins blending his first vintage at his property in Dorset this month.
No comments yet