All news articles – Page 3287
-
News
Beer companies hit by promotional warfare
Shifting patterns in drinks consumption have been blamed for another bad year for the UK's big beer companies.The OC&C Grocer Index 2007 shows a 1.6% fall in turnover for Stella Artois producer InBev UK, number six in the UK's top 25...
-
News
The big squeeze is on
Sales are soaring. Up 8.7% on average. But in the boardrooms of the UK's food and drink manufacturers, a case of the jitters has set in. After a 10-year growth in profit margins, last year they declined from 8.6% to 8.4%. This may sound...
-
News
Booker value range tackles independents' pricey image
Booker is to help independent retailers take on the discounters with the launch of a new value brand called Euro Shopper.The syndicated economy line, which is already sold in 15 countries and worth £337m, will be rolled out across all...
-
News
In Brief: Scotland's vice chair; Granini's new recruit; Gatt elected for SFF; JML sales boost; Fairtrade's CEO; Sands now chairman
Scotland's vice chair First Milk's membership director Alan Taylor has been appointed vice chairman of Dairy UK Scotland. He will hold the post for two years. Granini's new recruit
-
News
New private equity owner for Brakes
Foodservice giant Brakes is set to pass from one private equity firm to another after its owner Clayton, Dubilier & Rice agreed to sell it to US-based Bain Capital.The deal, understood to be worth up to £1.4bn, is due to be completed...
-
News
Opinion - "Premier's got it right. The only route to survival is to combine brilliant NPD with ruthless operational efficiency"
Brian Revell, national officer of the Transport and General Workers' Union, got it half right. "Premier Foods is acting like a private equity company," he moaned, as CEO Robert Schofield announced plans to axe 600 staff and close six factories this...
-
News
Greencore brings sushi into the mix
Convenience foods manufacturer Greencore has expanded into the sushi market for the first time with the acquisition of Liverpool-based Sushi San.The company, which supplies own label and branded sushi products to Asda, Booths and...
-
News
Dairy leaders unite in call for innovation
Dairy industry leaders have issued farmers and processors with a stark warning not to let high commodity prices water down investment in innovation.The Milk Development Council, NFU, NFU Scotland and Dairy UK buried their differences to...
-
News
campaign trail - Ocean Spray
Ocean Spray mocks the lengths people will go to in order to look good inside, in a £2m TV campaign launching this week. The ads feature "Kate", a fan of extreme health spa treatments, and "Fiona", who prefers to drink Ocean Spray Cranberry, which...
-
News
Health challenge
Convenience store owners face the same pressures as the multiples to promote healthier foods but many are reluctant to act because they don't believe there is the same demand as in larger stores, where consumers do their weekly...
-
News
we work together - Communications manager UK & Europe
Communications manager UK & Europe Jill Watson and European regional director Paul Schaafsma work together in the UK office of Australian wine company McGuigan Simeon Jill on Paul We first worked together in Sydney. Paul interviewed me for a job...
-
News
stores and insurers count cost of floods
The clean-up operation after last week's flooding could result in an insurance bill of £200m for the grocery industry alone, experts have predicted.The floods caused havoc for retailers, with a number of stores in the worst affected...
-
News
Rising costs hit Costco UK full-year profit
Costco Wholesale UK has reported a 13% downturn in pre-tax profit to £24.3m, according to its latest accounts.Profit for the 53 weeks to 3 September 2006 was hit by increased promotional activity, rising energy costs and rates and a...
-
News
Soaring costs hitmargins
Profit margins at the UK's leading food manufacturing companies have dropped for the first time in a decade as rising costs hit home, we reveal this week.The OC&C/Grocer 150 index of the biggest suppliers showed margins fell from 8.6% to...
-
News
Fat and sugar cuts 'threaten health of elderly and the ill'
The Food Standards Agency is on a collision course with manufacturers over its proposals to cut fat and sugar consumption by reformulating grocery lines.The Food and Drink Federation has warned the FSA that a cross-category programme of...
-
News
Parisian debut for Thomas Green's
Thomas Green's, the Continental UK grocery franchise operation, has opened its first store in Paris.The shop, the company's 11th in total and its second in France, is in the 15th Arrondissement, a short distance from a former branch of...
-
News
Tesco rides to rescue of south LA's food desert
Tesco has announced it is to move into an area of Los Angeles that has been dubbed a "food desert" since the infamous riots there in 1992.A Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market is to open in south LA by the end of the year as Tesco's plans...
-
News
Price is right despite the upmarket makeover
In which high street retailer would you find products as diverse as dragon fruit, mojito-style olives, ham in Polish beer and Ukranian honey pepper vodka under one roof? And what multiple grocery store has a dinner menu similar to that of a...
-
News
Signs of the times rake in the dough
The introduction of the smoking ban in England last Sunday proved manna from heaven for Rainbow Safety, a manufacturer of No Smoking signs.The Wolverhampton-based company says orders have swelled from 500 a month to 8,500 as businesses...
-
News
Low-carb labels try to earn a little respect...
Last week, the Carbon Trust, Defra and BSI British Standards joined forces to develop a standard method for measuring greenhouse gas emissions generated by food and drink production with a view to launching a standardised low-carbon...