Steve Farrell
Steve is deputy news editor at The Grocer.
He’s responsible for covering the discounters and retail property, and for commissioning and editing The Grocer’s analysis features. He has over 20 years' experience as a journalist, during which his by line has appeared regularly in a range of national newspapers.
Contact info
- Tel:
- 01293 846613
- Email:
- steve.farrell@thegrocer.co.uk
NewsLidl overhauls loyalty app with new Points system
Lidl Plus users will earn one point for every £1 spent in store, replacing Coupon Plus rewards for reaching monthly spending thresholds
NewsData shows post-Easter supermarket sales dip amid cautious spending
An earlier than usual Easter contributed to a 0.2% decline in total till sales at the major grocers in the four weeks to 18 April
NewsBrent Cross landlord sues John Lewis for share of click & collect sales
Brent Cross landlords Hammerson and Standard Life Investment argue click & collect sales fall within the terms of a turnover lease that was agreed in 1979
NewsLidl matches Morrisons in grocery market share again
Lidl’s sales rose by 8.8% year on year in the 12 weeks to 19 April 2026, to put it again level in market share with Morrisons
NewsShop price inflation eases but BRC warns of worse to come
‘While we’re yet to see the full force of the Middle East conflict feeding into consumer prices, it will not be long before it begins to,’ said BRC CEO Helen Dickinson
NewsM&S asks shoppers to round up their shopping bill to fight food poverty
The initiative is part of M&S’s work with Alliance Food Sourcing, a collaboration between retailers, suppliers and charities formed in 2024 as a result of the Coronation Food Project
NewsBanning zero-hour contracts will damage jobs, trade bodies warn
BRC, FDF and UKHospitality and warned business and trade secretary Peter Kyle the move poses a ‘substantial threat to good jobs’
NewsLidl publishes latest ‘wish list’ of new store locations
The discounter is offering a ‘finder’s fee’ of either 10% of the first year’s rent or 1.5% of the freehold value
NewsM&S chairman blames self-checkouts for encouraging theft
The proliferation of self-checkouts had removed a ‘human link’ in shopping and the technology had to improve, Archie Norman said
NewsCompany Shop Group celebrates redistributing a billion items
It includes 117 million items in the past 12 months alone, amounting to 47,000 tonnes of food and drink, according to its latest impact report
NewsAldi to to open eight new London stores in £40m investment
Planned new locations include Hanworth, Willesden, Watford, Marble Arch, Hoxton, Orpington West, Epsom and Stepney Green
NewsM&S adds 22 veg staples to value range
All products in M&S’s Remarksable Value range are benchmarked to competitor prices
NewsAldi gifting £300,000 to fund 50 apprenticeships in childcare
The gift has enabled chilcare provider Partou to recruit 50 additional apprentices
NewsLidl GB joins the United Nations Global Compact
The discounter follows in the footsteps of Tesco, which signed up to the UNGC in 2015
NewsAll Original Factory Shop stores and head office closed
TOFS entered administration in January, with its PE owner Modella Capital – also owner of TG Jones – blaming weak consumer confidence
NewsM&S launches ‘Sparks wallet’ in more personalised loyalty scheme
The feature is at the heart of a ‘new and transformed’ Sparks programme launched today
NewsLidl and Iceland first businesses to breach junk food ad ban
The decisions are the outcome of the ASA’s first round of assessments of possible breaches of new restrictions which came into force in January
NewsThe Range boosts online marketplace with new provider Mirakl
The move will give third-party sellers new ways to advertise to the millions of visitors to the marketplace using targeted Mirakl ads
NewsAldi makes £122m price cuts so far in 2026
The price cuts span fresh and frozen food, cupboard staples, household essentials and personal care products
NewsM&S renews contract with IT firm TCS a year on from cyberattack
Two TCS employees were reported to have been tricked by hackers using ‘social engineering’ techniques in the cyberattack on the retailer last year