A ban on ‘all you can drink’ promotions in pubs and bars and on certain supermarket discounts are among a range of new measures announced today by British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Health Secretary Alan Johnson.Following an independent review, which reportedly discovered a number of retailers not abiding by their own voluntary standards for responsible selling and marketing of alcohol, the government intends to introduce a new mandatory code of practice to target “the most... ...Read more »
Tesco, Britain’s largest retailer, has seen sales growth fall in the face of more intense competition and a struggling economy, but still remains positive about the future. The company, which is the market leader in the grocery sector in the UK, reported overall sales growth of 11.7% in the third quarter, but this was largely due to their international expansion - which some have credited with taking their focus away from their primary market. The company did note their food and grocery sector... ...Read more »
The latest survey on the GROCERYchoice website has indicated that, on a total grocery basket, Woolworths supermarkets are the cheapest in 45 of the 61 regions surveyed. This compares with 30 of 61 regions in the previous month’s survey. Independents are again the cheapest in the Eastern Central Queensland sector, with Coles on top in the other 15 regions. The basket prices represent the average price for a retailer within a specified region, not the price for a specific individual supermarket... ...Read more »
Grocery and liquor wholesaler Metcash Limited has seen profit fall 7.1 per cent in the six months to October 31, 2008 due to a one-off interest hedging termination cost, but profit after tax and pre non-recurring item rose 12.9 per cent from $86.2 million to $97.3 million. An 8.2 per cent rise in wholesale sales to $5.3 billion was recorded “despite challenging economic conditions and strong price competition in the retail sector”. Metcash Chief Executive Officer, Mr Andrew Reitzer said... ...Read more »
American households without children spent considerably more on vitamins, liquor and wine than the average American household during the 52 weeks ending June 28, 2008, according to Nielsen data.’Households’ are often considered to be conventional families with children but the number of households without children has grown considerably over the last couple of decades. In Australia, couples without children are expected to outnumber couples with children at some point within the next... ...Read more »
The cost of living pressures in the UK are not likely to inhibit growth of ethical consumerism, according to the Co-operative Bank. Its 9th annual report into green spending in Britain discovered the ethical market had risen by 15 per cent to £35.5b (A$83.6b) in 2007; although ethical spend remained a reasonably small percentage (about 5%) of total retail sales of over £600b. Dick Parkhouse, Managing Director for Retail at the bank, believes that Government stimulus packages can help ensure the... ...Read more »
A new survey has discovered that many UK consumers have been willing to change supermarkets during the downturn in order to save money. In the poll conducted by Empathy Research for TalkingRetail.com, over a third indicated the choice of their current primary supermarket has been influenced “a little” by the credit crunch, with a further 16 per cent suggesting it had been influenced “a lot”. Only 58% would visit the same supermarket consistently for their weekly shop, with... ...Read more »
Lenard’s, Australia’s largest specialty meat retailers, has reported an agreement with Metcash to expand throughout IGA Supermarkets nationally. The agreement builds on the success of Lenard’s outlets in IGA shopping centres since a deal was made between Ritchies IGA and Lenard’s in 2000. Lenard’s founder, Lenard Poulter, is adamant the alliance offers potential for both companies, as it gets Lenard’s into a high flow shopping area and presents a point of difference... ...Read more »
Australia’s largest supermarket operator, Woolworths, has informed shareholders that their growth outlook remains on track, with plans to strengthen their market position in coming years. The nature of their business would partially “shield” them from the impact of any downturn, with investments unlikely to dry up because of economic conditions. Speaking at their AGM today, Woolworths Chairman James Strong outlined his belief that there was “continuing potential” to... ...Read more »
A 3-year European Union project is set to provide state-of-the-art science on nutrition labels and consumer behaviour as well as best practice guidelines for future research, industry and policy-makers. The first EU-funded research programme on nutrition labelling, FLABEL (Food Labelling to Advance Better Education for Life), was officially launched this week. The issue In response to the prevalence of diet-related diseases, governments and food companies increasingly promote nutrition information... ...Read more »