Media Bites 21 November: Unilever, Lidl, Rathbones, inflation

Unilever has shelved plans to sell its ice cream division (including Ben & Jerry’s, Wall’s, and Magnum) to private equity, according to the Financial Times. The division’s “large size and complicated supply chain” were among factors that led private investors to “cool their interest” in a deal, the FT said. As The Grocer has previously explored, Unilever was hoping to raise as much as £15bn from the sale, while also clarifying its valuation among shareholders, as pulling out of the lower margin division was expected to signal a higher overall valuation.  

Lidl’s results received plenty of coverage. Sales increased by 16.9% to £10.9bn, helping to turn a £76m loss in 2022 into a £43.6m profit in the year ending 31 December 2023. But The Times, The Guardian focused on warnings from CEO Ryan McDonnell that customers should expect higher prices in the near future, with the Mail reporting that Lidl was “reeling” from the implications. Despite a lower cost base McDonnell warned that inflation was inevitable due to the Chancellor’s Budget, which will see hikes to the minimum wage, National Insurance employee contributions and business rates, Lidl was among 80 signatories in a letter to the Chancellor earlier this week warning that retailers faced £7bn in extra costs post-budget. The most unusual coverage was on bbc.co.uk, which focused on the fact that men buy more than women from Lidl’s middle aisle. 

The Grocer’s exclusive concerning the closure of Morrisons in-house bakery business Rathbones, with the potential loss of almost 400 jobs, was picked up by the BBC and the Mail among others.  

Reports from the farmer protest in London are still making headlines. A Times columnist says the whole kerfuffle is down to economists not understanding what farmers do and want, with the super-rich like Jeremy Clarkson still walking away with a better deal than compared to other real estate options, while family-owned farms driven by business sense as much as genuine passion for the job will suffer huge losses (The Times).

And the latest inflation figures released yesterday received widespread coverage. Sky News noted that the 2.3% figure was higher than expected. The Guardian said the jump laid bare the risks ahead for Labour. The BBC did not directly blame Labour but linked the highest inflation in six months to the rise in energy bills as a result of cuts to the winter fuel allowance.