News

Retail and consumer goods industry news

05 August 2013
Waitrose has announced that it first half sales have broken the £3bn barrier and bolstered its food quality reputation through the purchase of The Good Food Guide. Impressive first half In the 26 weeks to July 27th, sales increased by 11.0%, excluding petrol (+8.7% including petrol). Commenting on the achievement Waitrose managing director Mark Price said sales growth had been significantly...
05 August 2013
Following an 11% increase in sales for the first half, we take a look at Waitrose's formula for success as it grows ahead of the market... Waitrose grows ahead of the market Waitrose has grown by 37% since 2008, compared with the market average of 14%. Indeed, today brought the announcement from Waitrose managing director Mark Price that sales had exceeded £3bn in the ...
05 August 2013
Latin America's a region of great and diverse natural beauty, vibrant cultures and larger than life personalities - the late Hugo Chavez of Venezuela to name but one. But there's more to it than carnivals and salsa. Here are three reasons why consumer goods companies should keep an eye on the region... 1. Expanding urban populations Ever heard of a megalopolis? It's a city home to more than...
05 August 2013
The Co-operative has announced a major overhaul of its standard private label tier, which will be renamed "Loved by us". 700 lines relaunched by Christmas The "Loved by us" branding will initially launch in stores in September, covering food-to-go, ready meals, pies and pizzas. The Co-operative plans to have reintroduced 700 lines by Christmas, with the remaining 1,800 standard tier ra...
05 August 2013
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of budget airline Easyjet, plans to take on discount retailers with the launch of his own budget food store - Easyfoodstore.com. Pilot site in Croydon Plans for a pilot site in Croydon have been announced for the Easyfoodstore concept, which will see it open on the ground floor of a nine-storey building that EasyGroup has bought and is also expected to hou...
05 August 2013
Leading South Korean retailer Shinsegae plans to invest KRW 2.5tn (USD 2.3bn) this year to support growth amid weak domestic demand. Investment will boost retailer's performance and create jobs in South Korea Leading retailers including Shinsegae are fighting to achieve growth in a difficult trading climate. The South Korean market is undergoing a period of low consumer confidence and ...
02 August 2013
Latin American e-commerce company MercadoLibre has reported 38% revenue growth for the three months ended 30 June (+26.3% in USD terms). Exciting opportunities ahead Items sold on MercadoLibre during the second quarter of 2013 increased by 27% to 20.1m. Income from operations also increased by double digits (+23%). President and CEO Marcos Galperin commented: "Our strong performance this qua...
02 August 2013
The Russian retailer has outlined its rapid expansion plans for the second half of 2013. At least ten new stores planned The retailer currently operates 62 hypermarkets across 37 Russian cities and is planning to add 10-12 new stores by the end of 2013. Lenta has not stated how much has been invested in this latest expansion plan. Stores are planned for Ulyanovsk, Belgorod, Tomsk, Perm as...
01 August 2013
Tesco has made a number of significant changes to the make up of its senior and middle management teams, according to press reports. Marketing function most impacted According to Retail Week around 50 staff across all departments will be leaving the company. The axe will fall most heavily on the marketing division of its Cheshunt headquarters, though finance and property teams will also be a...
01 August 2013
New market figures from Nielsen show a strong boost to sales following a  period of good weather across the UK. In the four weeks to 20 July, sales were up by 6.4% year on year, well ahead of the June period which showed growth of 2.3%, according to Nielsen. Weather drives drinks categories Not unexpectedly, the category showing the strongest growth were soft drinks, with a 27% value increase...