Grocer back issues from May 2008:
Opinion.(Viewpoint essay)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008; ... He would never ask for it but I'm feeling a little sorry for Peter Freeman. The chairman of the Competition Commission has just spent two years investigating the grocery sector. But events have overtaken him. First, the OFT announced a statement of objections alleging collusion ...
Hats off to Warren Buffett for picking up Wrigley at half price--and seeing the value in food over finance.(THIS WEEK'S HOT TOPIC)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008; ... The bogof was once every grocer's favourite expletive. But us we report this week, it's falling out of favour, with half-price and save deals coming to the fore. Is this o case of consumers wising up to the waste that's often synonymous with this form of promotion, as bargain ...
Fingleton fingers grocers.(news)(Office of Fair Trading )
May 03, 2008; ... Retailers and suppliers have been left reeling by the shock intervention of the OFT over alleged price-fixing between the multiples and major suppliers with the new enquiries threatening to completely undermine this week's final report by the Competition Commission. Just days ...
Greencore targets US chilled food with HMBF acquisition.(news)(Home Made Brand Food Companies Inc.)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... Greencore has finally gained a long-awaited foothold in the US chilled foods market with the acquisition of Massachusetts-based Home Made Brand Foods. The Dublin-based manufacturer paid an initial 22m [pounds sterling] for HMBF, a leading regional supplier of ready meals, salads ...
Hikes in milk price 'kept by retailers'.(news)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... Supermarkets have kept most of the profits from-increased milk prices over the past decade for themselves, the Competition Commission has claimed. The retail price rose from 41ppl in 1994 to 52ppl in 2006, the Commission noted in its report this week. "The benefit of increases ...
Bogofs fall out of favour with mults.(news)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... Supermarkets are reacting to the economic downturn by axing bogofs in favour of straight price cuts. Last year 36% of deals offered by Tesco were bogofs, according to market research company Assosia. In the first four months of this year that dwindled to 12% while the ratio of ...
The Commission just won't be told.(news)
May 03, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Small shop leaders have rounded on the Competition Commission for concluding the number of convenience stores is on the up in the week that a new report showed a further decline in the market. In the final report of its two-year investigation ...
Cadbury is vulnerable after Mars' purchase of Wrigley.(news)(Cadbury Schweppes PLC)(Mars UK Ltd.)(The Wrigley Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008; ... A demerged Cadbury is more vulnerable to a takeover by Kraft following Mars' purchase of Wrigley, analysts have warned. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Cadbury lost its status as global confectionery leader this week as Mars, backed by billionaire Warren Buffett, paid $23bn ...
Pepsi sets sail for UK water market.(news)(PepsiCo UK)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... PepsiCo has made its first foray into water in the UK with the acquisition of vitamin water brand V Water. The purchase of the 1.2m [pounds sterling]-selling brand, which pitches it against Coca-Cola in the niche category, would "create significant opportunities" for PepsiCo, ...
Soft drinks grow in face of adversity.(news)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... The soft drinks industry staved off attacks from all quarters last year to grow 1.9% to 3.5bn [pounds sterling], according to TNS. In 2007,18% of the drinks on sale were new as manufacturers fought to fend off the health lobby, the government and the wet summer. The health ...
Costcutter reports 9% rise in turnover.(news)(Costcutter Supermarkets Group)(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... Costcutter has announced an increase in turnover of almost 9% to 533m [pounds sterling] in the year to 26 April. The York-based symbol operator, which has more than 1,500 franchised convenience stores in the UK, said its growth was boosted by increased advertising and new ...
Tesco Thai row angers writers.(news)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A group of British authors has written to Sir Terry Leahy urging Tesco Lotus in Thailand to drop "deeply chilling" libel action against critics of the business. Writers including Nick Homby and Joanne Harris are concerned that Tesco is pursuing ...
Store and range revamp ups Netto's profit 16.5%.(news)
May 03, 2008; ... Cigarettes, premium lines and tight cost control have helped contribute to a 16.5% increase in pre-tax profit at Netto, according to MD Richard Lancaster. As part of a range and store revamp, Netto has "focused on improving layout, signage and graphics, our in-store marketing ...
Leaf UK goes, handing sales and marketing to Bendicks.(news)(Leaf United Kingdom Ltd.)(Bendicks of Mayfair)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... The UK subsidiary of Leaf International, which makes Chewits, is closing barely two years after production was moved to Slovakia. Bendicks of Mayfair will take on the UK marketing, sales and distribution of the Chewits brand from June. These had been Leaf UK's only ...
Unilever to run big UK brands abroad.(news)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... Unilever has moved the management of iconic brands such as Marmite and Pot Noodle to a centralised office in the Netherlands in a bid to boost sales of brands that are successful nationally but not necessarily globally. With Peperami and Bovril, they are among 14 European ...
Co-op to build prefab stores.(news)(Co-operative Group (CWS) Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Co-operative Group plans to use semi-constructed store shells when building new stores in a bid to hit its expansion targets. Despite being in discussions to buy Somerfield, the Co-op aims to open 400 new stores within three years. ...
Tesco adopts revised carbon footprint label.(news)(Tesco Stores Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008; ... The Carbon Trust has revamped its controversial Carbon Reduction Label dropping the arrow symbol in favour of a footprint. The new-look black and white label, displays the C[O.sub.2] emissions of the product in grams and has already been adopted by Tesco, which this week started ...
Sainsbury's to ditch paper for Talkmans.(news)(Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... Sainsbury's claims that accuracy of its stock picking has improved to 99.99%, after ditching paper picking lists for voice technology. The chain, which has in the past struggled with its supply chain and four years ago had to write off 120m [pounds sterling] against equipment ...
Grocery's biggest moneybags revealed on annual Rich List.(news)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... The founder of Grampian Country Food Group, the owners of Northern Irish wholesaler Henderson Group and the CEO of Reckitt Benckiser have all made the Sunday Times Rich List for the first time. Fred Duncan, founder and chairman of Grampian, entered the annual list of Britain's ...
Ambient range to help Instore sales.(news)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... Value retailer Instore, which operates the Poundstretcher and Instore fascias, is planning to increase sales of ambient food and drink products in its stores. The retailer has been offering ambient lines including crisps and snacks, soft drinks, tea, coffee and confectionery, in ...
Displays sectioned off in war on booze abuse.(news)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008; ... Selling alcohol in off-licences, supermarkets, forecourts and c-stores in the Irish Republic is about to get a lot more difficult as a result of measures announced by justice minister Brian Lenihan this week. The measures, aimed at curbing binge drinking and tackling ...
Scotmid food stores recover.(news)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Improved trading at Scotmid food stores has helped move the co-op society further into the black. The society reported pretax profit of 3m [pounds sterling] for the year to 26 January against profit of 100,000 [pounds sterling] the year before, ...
Cook launches summer party range after three-year wait.(news)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... Frozen food retailer Cook has finally launched a range of summer party food after a three-year delay. The range, which includes dishes such as fruity couscous salad, Coronation chicken, feta and red pasta salad, and decorated side of salmon, will be made at the company's factory ...
C-store hero hailed for campaign work.(news)(Association of Convenience Stores' Community Hero 2008. )(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... Independent retailer Nigel Dowdney has been crowned the Association of Convenience Stores' Community Hero 2008. Dowdney, who has been a finalist in the competition every year since it was launched four years ago, runs two c-stores in Norfolk with his wife Shaz. He received the ...
One Stop deal as P&H boosts chilled ranges.(news)( One Stop with chilled lines)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008; ... Palmer & Harvey McLane, the UK's biggest wholesaler, has won a contract to supply Tesco's c-store business One Stop with chilled lines, The Grocer can reveal. The move marks a major expansion of P&H's chilled offer in the week it also relaunched its symbol format, Mace, with an ...
Glasgow refit boosts Makro.(news)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Makro has reported significant sales hikes following a revamp of its Glasgow depot. The wholesaler began refurbishing its 33-depot network three years ago with improved fixtures, new signage, extra lines and greater ...
Tu label extended to homeware lines.(news)(Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... Sainsbury's is to trial a new homeware range called Tu home in two stores. The 1,700 line range, which marks the first extension of its clothing brand, will initially go into the Sydenham and Oldbury stores before being expanded to four more stores by next month. The range will ...
No action over chatroom scandal.(WORLD NEWS)(Whole Foods Market Inc.)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... AUSTIN, TEXAS: Whole Foods Market has said it is to face no action over its chief executive's anonymous chatroom postings. Between 1999 and 2006, John Mackey anonymously talked up Whole Foods Market and suggested a rival, Wild Oats Markets, might fall into bankruptcy. Last year, Whole ...
Bakkavor gets into frozen foods.(WORLD NEWS)(Bakkavor Group acuires Italpizza)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... REYKJAVIK: Bakkavor Group has bought Italpizza, an Italian fresh and frozen pizza manufacturer, in its first major step into frozen foods. Bakkavor said the acquisition would have a significant effect on turnover and profit in the group's continental European operations ...
Metro Group sales up 7.3%.(WORLD NEWS)(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... DUSSELDORF: Metro Group has announced a 7.3% increase in group sales to 15.6bn [euro] (12.3bn [pounds sterling]) in the first quarter of 2008. Eckherd Cordes, CEO of Metro Group, said the group's Metro Cash & Carry, Media Markt and Saturn had driven the growth. In Germany, sales increased ...
Wal-Mart shoppers go green.(WORLD NEWS)
May 03, 2008 ... BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS: Wal-Mart has revealed a 66% increase in sales of key eco-friendly products since April 2007, including lightbulbs, organic babyfood and ...
UN urges against food export bans.(WORLD NEWS)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... BERNE, SWITZERLAND: The heads of the UN and the World Bank have urged countries not to use food export bans to deal with the global food crisis, saying restrictions would only fuel inflation. UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon said he had asked governments to consider "immediately lifting" ...
FDF snaps up former FFB exec Lawson.(movers & shakers)(Food and Drink Federation)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... Former Food from Britain director Charlotte Lawson is set to join the Food and Drink Federation as head of member services. Lawson, who was business and UK services director at FFB, left the group in November last year in a management cull. Lawson worked at FFB for 11 ...
Heineken UK appoints Blood as its new MD.(movers & shakers)(Managing Director )(Brief article)
May 03, 2008; ... Jeremy Blood has been named managing director of Heineken UK following the completion of Heineken and Carlsberg's joint 7.8bn [pounds sterling] takeover of Scottish & Newcastle this week. The Dutch brewer takes control of S&N's UK portfolio as part of the deal, along with its ...
Crisp companies fill management roles.(movers & shakers)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... Premium crisps manufacturers Seabrook Crisps and Kettle Foods have boosted their management teams with senior appointments. Seabrook Crisps has appointed John Tague as commercial director. He joins Seabrook Crisps from Dextra Solutions, Europe's largest distributor of mobile ...
Finsbury chooses Saatchi's successor.(movers & shakers)(Finsbury acquired Yorkshire Farm Bakery)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... David Marshall has been made chairman of premium cake maker Finsbury Foods. Marshall has been deputy chairman since Finsbury formed in 2002 and replaces Lord Saatchi, who announced his retirement last January. Marshall is also chairman of market research group Creston and of the ...
A family affair wins the day: superb availability, smooth and professional customer service and a friendly family appeal at its Chorley Extra in Lancashire has landed Tesco with its first Top Store award in four months.(the grocer 33)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008; ... After an absence of four months, Tesco has won our Top Store award thanks to the family appeal and perfect availability at its Chorley branch in Lancashire. The 80,000 sq ft Tesco Extra boasted excellent customer service with floor staff and checkout operators interacting ...
Q&A with Denise Sparkes: acting store manager of the week.(the grocer 33)
May 03, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Which products ore selling well at the moment? Pre-cooked chicken. At this time of year, people are starting diets so they are ready to squeeze into summer outfits but they also want warm food because of the chilly weather. Chicken on the dell ...
This week a year ago the winner was ...(the grocer 33)
May 03, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A commitment to source local produce helped Waitrose Harrogate in North Yorkshire win our Top Store award this time last year. Our shopper was delighted by the wide offer of local fruit and veg, and charming staff. One year on and ...
Price survey.(the grocer 33)(Market share report)(Statistical table)
May 03, 2008; ... Asda snatched the cheapest retailer title back from Morrisons as the price gap between them and the other retailers widened this week. Asda climbed to top spot with a 46.73 [pounds sterling] basket, 3.78 [pounds sterling] cheaper than the third most expensive retailer, Tesco, ...
Availability.(the grocer 33)
May 03, 2008 ... * ASDA Hemel Hempstead 0 [OUT OF STOCK] Although the required sizes of prawns end HP Sauce were not stocked, availability was generally good. A few packing trolleys mode it difficult to walk through the fresh produce urea but overall the store was very clean and ...
Top-up shop.(Statistical table)
May 03, 2008 ... Every week The Grocer's mystery shoppers also visit convenience stores to check out the price of 10 commonly bought fast-moving food items across all grocery categories Who we visited BUDGENS High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire COSTCUTTER Shard End, Birmingham ...
Carbonates keep their fizz ... with Coke's help: carbonated lines accounted for 55% of activity last weekend, maintaining their dominant position in the year-to-date chart.(promotrack)(Market share report)(Statistical table)
May 03, 2008; ... The carbonated drinks sub-category is making a concerted effort to stem any loss of market share to 'healthier' soft drinks by keeping up the pressure on the promotional front. Carbonates accounted for 55% of activity among the top five soft drink sub-categories last weekend, ...
Short-termism will wreck quality meat production: leading retailers need a strategy--and quick--to deal with structural changes in supply chains if quality British meat supply is to survive.(SATURDAY ESSAY)
May 03, 2008; ... Our three largest retailers--Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's--refuse to tell The Grocer whether the imminent potential collapse of the UK pig industry is of any consequence to their businesses (Wolf at the Door, Meat & Fish, The Grocer, 19 April, p22). They remain silent also on ...
Sunday Express.(WHAT THE PAPERS SAID)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... Tesco is launching a loft insulation service next month that could pave the way for the retailer to enter other areas of the home improvements business, the Sunday Express reported. According to the ...
The Daily Telegraph.(WHAT THE PAPERS SAID)(Unilever and Procter & Gamble have become embroiled into allegations of price-fixing)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... Unilever and Procter & Gamble have become embroiled in an Office of Fair Trading investigation into allegations of price-fixing. The competition watchdog has demanded that the pair--two of the world's largest fast-moving consumer goods companies--hand ...
The Sunday Times.(WHAT THE PAPERS SAID)(Gallaher won its case of tobacco smuggling)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... A three-year legal battle fought by Gallaher has exposed its own connections with tobacco smuggling and product dumping in the developing world, according to The Sunday Times. Gallaher won its case in the High Court this month against a distributor when it ...
The Times.(WHAT THE PAPERS SAID)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... Researchers in Norwich are seeking 150 women who are prepared to eat a bar of chocolate a day as part of a study to see whether it improves their health. The volunteers must be past the menopause, must suffer from type-2 diabetes and ...
The time is over for easy answers: sorting out the global food crisis is not about helping developing countries; it's about accepting that the UK is part of the problem.(SECOND OPINION)
May 03, 2008; ... Smoke signals from last week's Downing Street food security seminar highlighted Whitehall thinking but also its limitations. The dominant view sees the challenge of future food supply as mainly global. What's happening to food prices so far has little impact on us, or can be kept under ...
Carbon labelling is the way to go.(LETTER OF THE WEEK)(Letter to the editor)
May 03, 2008; ... Euan Murray General Manager Carbon Footprinting Carbon Trust This week the Carbon Trust launched a range of 20 carbon-labelled products at Tesco across four different categories. For the first time shoppers will be able to compare the impact of like for like products, ...
Time to take rules on competition seriously.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
May 03, 2008; ... Susan Singleton Solicitor, principal, Singletons SIR; The recent OFT raids and pricing investigations might make supermarkets feel their sector, which arguably has delivered better value and low prices to the consumer than others, is being unfairly targeted. ...
It's GM time, so why is it taking so long?(letters)(Letter to the editor)
May 03, 2008; ... Tony Combes Waking SIR; The FDF is right to ask "Could GM be the solution to our global food crisis?" (The Grocer, 26 April, p24). Coming the week after Kevin Hawkins agreed on your pages that sound science should replace soundbites, we now have the country's grocers ...
Debate is good, but don't dismiss organic.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
May 03, 2008; ... Alex Smith Chair, FDF Organics Group SIR, In his recent Second Opinion column, Kevin Hawkins, former director general of the British Retail Consortium, reopened a vital debate about the future direction of food policy in these turbulent times of shortages and rising ...
It's the ideal time to embrace agencies.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
May 03, 2008; ... Russell Johnston Director of Client Services, Soles Placement Contract People SIR; In response to Mark Choueke's excellent article on Manufacturers' views on promotions, (The Grocer, 26 April, p30) I would like to point out that it is little wonder manufacturers ...
Future forward for Freeman: in an exclusive interview, Competition Commission chairman Peter Freeman tells Adam Leyland he would have liked more time to investigate the groceries market, but is now keen to put its remedies into practice.(analysis)
May 03, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's not over, of course. The fat lady hasn't sung, there's an ombudsman to appoint, a GSCOP to write, retailers still have to give undertakings and everyone from the ACS to Tesco has two months to appeal. But after 722 days the Competition Commission has ...
Death of the bogof? In the heat of a high street price war, supermarkets are focusing on price promotions more than ever. As we shift ever further from the bogof, Charles Orton-Jones looks at why fewer supermarkets are offering consumers 'one free'.(trade promotions)(Market share report)(Statistical table)
May 03, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The bogof, or buy-one-get-one-free, was once a much-loved piece of promotional jargon, even transferring into popular usage. Somehow two-for-the-price-of-one never had the same satisfactorily expletive impact. A tftpoo doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, ...
PG Tips its hat to ethical tea: PG Tips was the UK's first major food and drink brand to take an ethical stance. Stefan Chomka reports from its vast Kenya plantation.(ethical sourcing)(Company overview)
May 03, 2008; ... From the air, the tea plantation appears as a vast green oasis in an otherwise arid landscape. Its full scale becomes even more apparent once you have driven through the 13,500 hectare estate having landed on its private air strip--the distance from the first tea bush to the last is 75km ...
Company profile: The Cake Bake Company: building a car from cake is no laughing matter: when Sharon Goodyer, founder of The Cake Bake Company, was asked to build a car from cake for a TV ad, she thought it was a joke. One Skoda Fabia and some priceless PR later, she's glad she took the challenge seriously.(SUPPLIERS ON THE UP)(Company overview)
May 03, 2008; ... Established: 2005 Turnover: 3m [pounds sterling] No of lines: 15 When Sharon Goodyer received a phone call asking if she could supply 400 huge sponge cakes that would be used to build a car, she assumed someone was pulling her leg. The owner of The Cake ...
Small companies play traditional card.(The Challenge)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... Premier Foods poses the biggest challenge for any manufacturer operating in the cake category. The company, which owns the Mr Kipling brand, the licence to produce Cadbury-branded cakes and, following its purchase of RHM, 15 of the UK's top 20 bestselling cakes brands, has a portfolio of ...
How do you turn a small business into a national food or drink company?(THE ADVICE SHOP)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008 ... You first hove to check you are making something the customer wants. There are o lot of products we want to make and sell but to identify what people will actually want to buy is very difficult. There is no point in making something for yourself. To grow your business you need a ...
Soft drinks prove not so soft: after a long and difficult year of weathering legislation, lobbyists and a soaking wet summer, the soft drinks industry is ready to come in out of the rain.(focus on ... soft drinks)
May 03, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The soft drinks industry took a series of hard knocks last year, from the government, health lobbyists, advertising controllers and the mother of all summers. But in the face of adversity it has shown itself to be remarkably resourceful and ...
How healthy can you get?(Health and wellbeing)
May 03, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Health has set the agenda in soft drinks in the past 12 months. New lower-sugar carbonates, superfood fruit juices and added-vitamin waters have all hit the shelves. Fruit juices have performed particularly strongly, with sales up 8.2% to more ...
The marketer: brands set the strongest trends.(focus on ... soft drinks)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008; ... The unpredictable nature of the weather means we have to constantly monitor the long-term weather forecast to manage supply and demand. When the weather doesn't meet expectations, it is down to retailers and suppliers to smooth peaks and troughs with clever promotional mechanics. ...
The managing director: it's all about health.(focus on ... soft drinks)(Brief article)
May 03, 2008; ... As a general trend consumers are moving away from carbonates and are leaning towards soft drinks that contain natural ingredients or those that can contribute towards a healthier diet. Almost half (46%) of all consumers consider the sugar and calorie content of a soft drink before ...
Research notes.(soft drinks)
May 03, 2008; ... The take-home soft drinks market is up 1.9% on last year, worth 3.5bn [pounds sterling] , with fruit juice one of the key areas of growth. Fruit juice commands first place in the soft drinks value share table, worth 1.1bn [pounds sterling] and experiencing 8.2% growth on last year. This ...