News and Trends

 Namnews,  27th October 2021 Asda has revealed that it is linking up with data science firm ‘Quantium’ to enable the retailer and its suppliers to “better understand customers and meet their needs even more effectively”. The new partnership will combine Asda’s existing insights and data assets with new products and services that support data-led decision making across product development, range, price, and promotion. It is hoped that this will improve the total customer experience and therefore sales. The announcement was recently shared with 150 of Asda’s biggest suppliers at their annual supplier conference. Quantium Checkout, Asda’s new Customer Insight Platform, will be made available to a select number of suppliers later this year, with a wider rollout scheduled for the first quarter of next year. Derek Lawlor, Chief Merchandising Officer, said: “Asda has always been focused on customer-led decision making – but our partnership with Quantium will allow us to take this to ...

As the roll-out of the Asda On The Move convenience format moves up a gear, with the aim of reaching 28 sites by the end of 2021, the conversion of the store on Euro Garages’ Holtspur forecourt near Beaconsfield is the first to showcase a premium variant relevant to more affluent catchments. Using Asda ‘Extra Special’ brand to elevate both store and range Incorporating the identity of Asda’s ‘Extra Special’ private label range in its branding the store mixes the quality cues of that top tier range with a sophisticated interior store fit and lighting, to create an attractive environment to appeal to both motorists and local residents. Lines from the ‘Extra Special’ range are featured prominently in food categories across the store, providing a strong complementary premium visual impact and a specific point of differentiation within the forecourt sector.        Strengths in traditional core forecourt categories As you would expect of a forecourt site, Asda On...

Namnews, 26th October 2021 Waitrose has released its latest annual Food & Drink Report which highlights some of the trends established during the pandemic. The analysis confirms that people are placing greater importance on their homes and rediscovering dinner parties and entertaining friends and family. Sales of Champagne at Waitrose are also up 40% year-on-year as its customers spend more money on treats as the country emerges from the pandemic. Over the year, people brought their kitchens outdoors with one in five of those surveyed by the supermarket saying they’d invested in a new barbecue while one in ten said they’d installed an outdoor bar. The report into how eating and drinking habits have evolved over the past 12 months also highlights how social media has influenced shopping lists. Platforms such as Instagram and TikTok have driven sales of everything from feta and tortillas to pesto and potatoes due to viral food trends. The TikTok trend for making pasta chips at home a...

Plugging a £750m hole leaves the supermarket chain in a weaker position in a tough economy Asda has told investors that the collapse of its petrol stations sale, one of a complex series of deals to fund the £6.8bn acquisition of the retailer, was triggered by fuel suppliers refusing to maintain the same terms. Mohsin and Zuber Issa, the supermarket chain’s owners, and the brothers’ private equity backers, TDR Capital, had intended to sell the sites for £750m to their other business EG Group. The sale to EG Group, itself a highly-leveraged petrol stations operator, had been a key part of an intricate series of debt deals and asset disposals to  fund the  Asda purchase. But the sale was  called off this week  and Asda will instead shell out £250m of cash from its balance sheet, as well as taking on an extra £500m in debt, which will incur an estimated £12m in fees. Moody’s downgraded Asda’s debt further into junk territory on Monday after the sale collapsed. The unrave...

Namnews, 25th October 2021 The overhaul of the product offering and pricing in Marks & Spencer’s food business is helping it lure customers away from nearly all its supermarket rivals. According to recent industry data seen by The Mail on Sunday, the chain has taken market share from most of the other leading grocers except for its delivery partner Ocado and Lidl. And the report suggests that M&S is set to benefit from what is expected to be a bumper Christmas for the grocery sector after last year’s celebrations with curtailed by a Covid lockdown. After adding more everyday lines and reducing the prices on many of its basic ranges to attract families doing weekly shops, M&S is also promoting “affordable luxury” items this Christmas. The chain has traditionally proved popular during the festive season as shoppers trade-up to better quality food. The gains over its rivals follow an upbeat presentation to the City earlier this month covering food and clothing categories. Geor...

21 October 2021 Business investment in the hospitality industry rose 40% in Q2 on a quarterly basis, according to the latest ONS data. Business investment by hotels and restaurants climbed to £994m between April and June, up from £710m in Q1, analysis of the latest ONS data by business tax relief specialists Catax reveals. This means the sector has recovered by 45.5% since the second quarter of 2020, when it was being badly hit by lockdowns and covid disruption. It remains 38.4% down on the £1.6bn recorded for Q4 2019 and 19.3% down on the £1.2bn recorded for the same quarter pre-pandemic (Q2 2019). It is still 52.2% lower than the sector’s all-time high of £2.1bn in Q4 1997. The sector eclipsed the UK’s overall performance in Q2. Overall business investment nationally rose 4.5% compared with the first quarter of the year and grew 12.9% on an annual basis. By comparison, UK GDP increased by 5.5% in Q2 — leaving it 3.3% below where it was pre-pandemic (Q4 2019). The ONS business investm...

21 October 2021 After the most volatile trading period since benchmarking began, UK hotel trading performance is set to improve in 2022 as demand continues to return, according to research from PwC. Although there are encouraging signs for hoteliers, trading is still not anticipated to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022. The prediction forms part of PwC’s UK Hotels Forecast 2021-2022 analysis into market conditions for hotels over the next 12 months. The forecast for occupancy rates by the end of 2022, is between 70% and 90% of pre-pandemic levels in London. Meanwhile in the regions, the forecast is even higher at between 87% and 96% of pre-pandemic levels. The speed of recovery will be the major issue in 2022, but will be driven by factors outside of the sectors’ control; the pace and size of the return of tourism, international and domestic business and events. An encouraging sign for hoteliers, when surveyed, 63% of people said they plan to take either more or the same...

25 October 2021 Leonardo Hotels has confirmed that its new Chester hotel and Italian-inspired Corvo café, bar and restaurant will launch on November 4 in the city centre. Leonardo Hotels signed an agreement for a 94-bed hotel within the Grosvenor Shopping Centre on Pepper Street this summer. Premier Inn had pulled the plug on its own plans for a hotel, along with a Bar + Block restaurant, at the vacant site in the spring. The hotel chain had been due to take on the lease for the completed building within the centre, but had decided against it after "the developer went into administration during construction" resulting in "long delays". Jason Carruthers, managing director for Jurys Inn and Leonardo Hotels UK, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be opening our first Leonardo Hotel in Chester. "The city has a truly unique atmosphere and we’re excited to be located right in the centre, surrounded by its ancient history and culture, from the Roman Amphitheatre and...

FOOD & DRINK 22 October, 2021 | by The Retail Bulletin Pret A Manger is to trial self service coffee stations in a range of locations including convenience stores, forecourts, universities, healthcare facilities and workplaces. In a partnership with JDE Peet’s, ‘Pret Express’ will provide the same organic coffee and tea offered in Pret shops  in places where the company’s baristas are unable to operate. Pret said the move is the next step in its transformation plan following the launch of its coffee subscription service last year. The company is planning to open  200 more shops across the UK over the next two years and has recently unveiled plans to double the size of its business within the next five years. This will include hiring at least 3,000 new workers and baristas by the end of 2023. Guy Meakin, UK trading director at Pret A Manger, said: “We are excited to be working with JDE Peet’s to launch Pret Express, our first ever self-serve coffee machines. This is ne...

  21st October 2021, Namnews SPAR UK is launching a number of new frozen own label products to capitalise on the recent strong growth in the category. The five new SPAR products rolling out from 25 October are frozen Curly Fries (£1.50), Potato Wedges (£1.00), Corn on the Cob (£1.35), Raspberries (£2), and Blueberries (£2). Dave Wright, SPAR UK Brand Manager, said: “With consumers trust in the quality of our SPAR Brand lines, the increase in sales in SPAR stores is predicted to continue as shoppers look for value and look to reduce their food waste. “We will look to capitalise on this switch of shopping habits by bringing added interest to the range with these five new product lines.” The new frozen products will be supported in-store with POS as well as featuring on the symbol group’s digital channels.

Namnews, 19th October 2021 Whilst demand remains buoyant, frozen food sales growth is slowing as consumers return to pre-pandemic shopping habits. Kantar data published by the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF) shows that frozen sales over the year to 5 September 2021 are nearly £900m higher than the same pre-pandemic period in 2019. However, with the reopening of hospitality and shoppers reverting to smaller basket sizes and more frequent shopping trips, frozen sales have declined, a trend reflected across the whole of the grocery market. Over the 12-weeks ended 5 September, total grocery sales were down 2.7%, fresh and chilled sales were down 1.2% and frozen fell by 3.6%. Across the nine frozen categories monitored seven remain in value and volume growth with meat and poultry and frozen vegetables seeing small value declines. Richard Harrow, Chief Executive of the BFFF, commented: “The latest figures are to be expected, as consumers start to eat out again and make more regular sho...

Namnews, 19th October 2021 Total till grocery sales in the UK fell 0.7% in the four weeks to 9 October due to tough comparatives and shoppers beginning to rebalance their spending habits amid growing concerns around rising energy and fuel costs. The data from NielsenIQ revealed UK shoppers spent £11.8bn on groceries during the month, which is £41m less than the same period last year. However, this is still up 6.6% compared with pre-pandemic shopping two years ago. In terms of retailer performance over the last 12 weeks, Lidl (12.1%) and Aldi (8.9%) continued to grow sales as consumers opted for more value-based options. Tesco (1.9%) and Marks & Spencer (9.4%) were the only retailers to gain market share outside of the discounters. NielsenIQ highlighted that spend on promotional items remained low at 20%, down from 22% during the same period last year amid growing concerns around availability issues and disruption in the supply chain. Households are also being encouraged to shop ear...

Namnews, 19th October 2021 Tesco opened its first checkout-free outlet for the public in central London today, just months after Amazon entered the physical grocery store market with its ‘just walk out’ Fresh format. Known as GetGo, the Tesco Express store in High Holborn, London, uses a combination of cameras and weight sensors alongside an AI system to establish what products customers have chosen. Shoppers must download the Tesco.com app to use the store, checking in by scanning a QR code. Once inside, customers just pick up the items they want and are then automatically charged to their account when they leave. The shop looks similar to a standard Tesco Express store with the usual range of food and other grocery items. Tobacco and alcohol are sold in a separate zone where a member of staff checks that shoppers meet age restrictions. The technology is provided by Israeli firm Trigo, which has similar partnerships with supermarkets in Germany and the Netherlands. Tesco has been tria...

Namnews, 20th October 2021 Shareholders in Morrisons yesterday approved CD&R’s £7.1bn takeover offer, bringing the curtain down on a fiercely contested battle for the UK’s fourth-largest grocer. Despite a last-ditch rebellion from some smaller independent shareholders, strong backing from institutional investors ensured the deal secured approval from 99.2% of shares voted, well over the 75% required level. The deal will put Morrisons into private hands for the first time since the founding family listed it on the stock market in 1967. Unions and politicians have been anxious about what a private equity takeover will mean for Morrisons, with concerns raised that the business could be stripped of its valuable property holdings and loaded up with debt. CD&R’s pre-auction offer had promised that the retailer’s head office would remain in Bradford, staff pay rates would be protected, and there were no plans to sell off its store estate to raise cash. However, these commitments are n...

Namnews, 15th October 2021 Russian technology giant Yandex has joined the increasingly crowded rapid grocery delivery market in London. The firm’s ultrafast service will operate under the Yango Deli brand and offer delivery from a selection of more than 2,500 products within 15 minutes. The business model is based on its successful Yandex Lavka grocery service that operates across Russia and follows recent launches in Israel and France as part of an international expansion drive. In London, Yango Deli has launched four so-called ‘dark stores’ – mini warehouses located in residential areas where orders are processed. Located in Bethnal Green, Battersea, Bermondsey and Acton, they initially cover 1.4 million potential customers. The company said it will expand operations across the city in the coming months. “The UK, and London in particular, is an exciting new market for Yango Deli, as the city is especially well suited to the dark store model,” said Yevgeny Chernikov, head of Yango Del...

Namnews, 18th October 2021 MERE, the Russian discounter that opened its first grocery store in the UK  in August , is reportedly on the immediate hunt for up to nine more sites. The firm had already said that the outlet in Preston would be followed by another three stores this year in Caldicot, Castleford, and Mold. However, trade publication The Grocer reports that MERE wants to boost numbers to 13 stores in the short term, with it currently seeking suitable sites. The Russian retailer has previously stated that it has a long term target of over 300 stores in the UK within eight to 10 years. MERE, whose slogan is Low Cost Every Day, claims to be up to 30% cheaper than other discounters such as Aldi and Lidl. To keep costs down, goods are sold from pallets with limited in-store services and only a handful of staff. The product range is focused on longer life ambient and frozen items, alongside household items. Everyday staples like milk, eggs and bread aren’t available, and there i...