News that Asda reported an almost £600 million loss last year was widely reported in yesterday’s papers, with The Financial Times attributing the troubled supermarket’s troubles to ”weak trading, a costly IT upgrade and asset writedowns”.
The private equity owned retailer reported a pre-tax loss of £599mn, compared with a profit of £180mn the year before, According to accounts filed at Companies House, the UK’s third-biggest supermarket plunged into the red for the full year ending 31 December 2024, down from £180 million profit in 2023.
The Guardian also pointed out that trading had struggled over the period, with sales at established stores dropping by 3.4%, while ”the cost of servicing its debt pile increased”. It said the supermarket’s next major debt repayment – of £300 million – is due in February next year.
Asda told the FT that its core business “remains strong and profitable”, with the reported loss largely due to “significant one-off costs”. The Grocer reported on the story here.
Food and drink sales and grocery market share also came under the spotlight, as research company NielsenIQ released its latest industry snapshot.
The Times focused on the slowdown seen across Marks & Spencer’s food business over the past three months, as it dealt with repercussions from April’s cyberattack. Food sales rose by 9.1% year-on-year over the 12 weeks to June 14, falling from the 10.8% and 14.7% growth seen over the previous two consecutive periods.
“No doubt there was a particular dip in momentum at the end of April and into May, but it looks like the label is returning to outperformance again,” said Shore Capital’s Clive Black. “Well done M&S, however, on seeing through a still strong performance in the face of immense malevolent challenge.”
Elsewhere, Amazon has been judged by UK grocery suppliers as ”the worst food retailer by far”, as more than one in three say it ”rarely or never” complies with industry rules governing fair treatment. Reuters reported that the tech and retail giant came bottom of the Grocery Code Adjudicator’s ranking of 14 food retailers for the third consecutive year, although it did show an improvement on 2024.
The results of the survey, which The Grocer also reported on, come just one week after the government regulator launched an investigation into whether Amazon breached the Code regarding delaying its payments to suppliers over a three-year period.
The Times has reported on proposals for an alcohol advertising ban which are being considered as part of a broad package of public health measures being put forward as part of the ten-year plan for the NHS, as reported in The Grocer.
The paper said that health secretary Wes Streeting had promised to shift the focus of the NHS “from sickness to prevention” as part of his efforts to make the most of a £30 billion boost given to his department in this month’s spending review.
It also said that, while Streeting has been wary of “heavy-handed” interventions that would add to the cost of living crisis, Keir Starmer said he is prepared for the “predictable cries of ‘nanny state’” which are likely to follow many of the government’s efforts to improve the nation’s health.
It’s not often that the national papers almost unanimously cover a single piece of own-brand NPD, but the M&S Red Diamond Strawberry & Creme Sandwich is clearly a special case. The £2.80 “game-changing” limited edition dessert sandwich was inspired by Japanese “sweet sandos”, or fruit sandwiches.
Neatly timed to coincide with the start of Wimbledon, the strawberry and cream sandwich featured everywhere from The Independent and The Telegraph, to The Daily Mail, which said one person rated it 100000/10 and described it as the ”best sandwich ever”.
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