All articles by Peter Cripps – Page 10
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Job losses to hit 200 in Brakes efficiency drive
Brakes is to make a fresh round of redundancies as part of an ongoing cost-saving drive. By the end of January, 200 staff would have been laid off since October, confirmed CEO, Frank McKay.
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DCS Manufacturing to employ 50 new staff
Specialist health and beauty products wholesaler DCS Europe is to create 50 jobs when it moves its manufacturing arm to a new factory three times bigger than its existing plant.DCS Manufacturing is due to have closed its site in...
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Abel & Cole bullish as growth slows down
Organic box provider Abel & Cole has insisted it is well placed to weather the recession despite admitting its sales growth has slowed from 40% two years ago to single-figure increases today.The company's sales shot up from £19.8m in the...
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Tax changes have wrecked Christmas, claim wholesalers
The pre-Budget report has angered wholesalers and independents who have accused the Chancellor of "ruining our Christmas".The announcement of duty and VAT changes on Monday left them with just one week to push through complicated price...
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Liptrot joins Blakemore to fuel delivered growth
John Liptrot, the former MD of the now-defunct buying group Key Lekkerland, has joined AF Blakemore in the newly created position of sales director for the Spar distributor's wholesale division.Liptrot has worked in wholesale for more than...
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Waitrose tells branded suppliers: 'We believe'
As rival supermarkets plug own-label and tertiary brands, Waitrose has promised to be the champion of branded suppliers.
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Netto MD quits as discounter cuts back expansion plans
Netto UK MD Richard Lancaster has resigned as the discounter announced job losses and scaled back its expansion plans.
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Wholesale 'absorbing price cuts'
Retail food and drink prices at the big four fell month-on-month for the first time in 2008 - but wholesalers claim suppliers are being forced to pick up the shortfall with price hikes. The Grocer Price Index shows that prices at the...
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Young's Cane retires on 20% growth high note
Jim Cane, managing director of the £300m Young's Seafood business, is to retire early next year. When Young's Seafood's parent company, Foodvest, was bought by Lion Capital in July, it provided a "natural window to hand over the reins", Cane...
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P&H management buyout ups debt by £434m to £1.1bn
Palmer & Harvey's debts have soared by £434m following its management buy-out, accounts leaked to The Grocer have revealed.The wholesaler's bank loans and overdrafts increased by £270m and it raised a further £142m in preference shares,...
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Cavendish takes hold of tobacco control debate
Dr Will Cavendish, director of health and wellbeing at the Department of Health, is set to take over the Government's tobacco policy from Monday. Cavendish - whose remit already includes obesity and alcohol, nutrition and food labelling -...
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Agribusiness gets its own Dragons' Den
Top agricultural students are about to have their mettle tested in a competition described as a cross between The Apprentice and Dragons' Den.Teams from some of the UK's top universities and agricultural colleges will compete in the first...
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Makro expected to turn a profit within the next four years
Makro boss Hannes Floto has said he expects his chain of 33 cash & carries to become profitable within the next four years. The business, which is currently being propped up by German parent company Metro Group, had undergone a transformation since...
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Woolies is on ice, but what of Malcolm’s own empire?
Malcolm Walker has now ruled out a Woolworths takeover, but the future of Iceland is even more intriguing. Peter Cripps and Adam Leyland report
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Iceland’s Walker tipped to swoop on shares in Baugur
Admitting plans to buy Woolworths have been put on the back burner, speculation is rife that Iceland Foods boss Malcolm Walker is mounting a bid to buy out the business outright. In an exclusive interview with The Grocer, Walker refused to rule out...
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AF Blakemore picks Carter to be its first marketing director
Spar wholesaler AF Blakemore has appointed change specialist Jed Carter as its first marketing director. He joined this month from Asda where he was general manager of step change and also worked on the George brand relaunch. Carter said he wanted...
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Sainsbury’s hailed as greenest supermarket
Sainsbury’s has been voted the UK’s greenest supermarket chain by a team of independent environmental analysts assembled by The Grocer.
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Shoppers splash out on Fairtrade but not green
Credit crunch-hit consumers are more likely to pay for Fairtrade than environmentally friendly groceries, according to a survey seen exclusively by The Grocer. Despite feeling the pinch, 92% of consumers still claimed to be willing to pay extra for...
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Netto’s top dog
The credit crunch is doing Netto more than a few favours, as its British boss Richard Lancaster tells Peter Cripps in the latest Big Interview
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Recession raises spectre of Christmas jobs freeze
Fears are mounting that grocery retailers will have to dramatically scale back on the usual temporary staff recruitment drive this Christmas as the economy dips into recession. This week, a Manpower survey revealed that 13% of retailers expected to...