Welcome to our ‘weekly news in brief’, covering the latest from UK retailers and manufacturers.
Retail News in Brief
Tesco is to create 16,000 permanent jobs as Britain’s biggest supermarket chain looks to capitalise on “exceptional growth” in its online business. It's expected that most of the roles will be filled by workers who joined temporarily at the start of the pandemic. Online groceries have risen to 16% of Tesco’s sales during the pandemic, up from 9% at the beginning of the year.
Morrisons has launched its second Market Kitchen format, at its Manchester Piccadilly Gardens store, describing the new concept as part grocery, part takeaway. Customers can either wait for breakfast, lunch or dinner to be prepared by chefs, pick it up in pre-packed portions, or order food from home via Deliveroo. A catering menu is also available for local businesses or larger groups.
John Lewis said it had brought forward the launch of its online Christmas shop by ten days compared to 2019 in response to searches for Christmas products on its website being up 370% on last year. The retailer hopes the move will steal a march on its revivals during what is predicted to be a tough festive trading period.
Asda claims to have launched the cheapest supermarket lunchtime meal deal. With prices starting at just £1.60, it spans the retailer’s entire food-to-go range of 336 items and works on a 3 for 2 basis, meaning it is not limited to a sandwich, drink and snack combination.
Manufacturing News in Brief
New e-commerce platform Era Zero Waste has introduced a refillable shopping platform, based on the ‘milkman model’, to help consumers reduce their plastic waste. The service allows shoppers to have their personal care products refilled at home, either by a bike refill station or carbon-neutral mail.
Brewdog has confirmed it will sell its ALD IPA in Aldi stores after the budget supermarket ripped off the craft brewery firm’s signature beer with its own Anti-Establishment IPA. Co- founder James Watt said, “They made a copy of Punk IPA, so as a joke we did an ALD IPA as a copy with their design”. The banter ended with ALD IPA set to be sold in Aldi stores as soon as October.
Yeo Valley has reintroduced the ‘organic’ descriptor to its branding as part of a major new marketing push to promote its links to sustainable farming. Using the tagline ‘Put Nature First’, the campaign, described as a “rallying cry” by Yeo Valley, will launch on 1 September. Yeo Valley said the replacement of the words ‘family farm’ with ‘organic’ on its packaging would reinforce its commitment to maintaining organic soil health.
John West has released two new ready meal ranges, John West Tuna Bowls and John West Bites for Kids, in the UK. Both pair tuna meatballs with a selection of vegetables and either pasta, beans or rice to create convenient, microwaveable meals. Both ranges will be available in the UK from the end of August.
Other News in Brief
According to our own analytical modelling, the impact of the government’s ban on aisle- end and front-of-store promotions will cost companies £1.7bn a year just from the restrictions on products high in sugar. Tom Hall, director of analytics here at IRI, said the impact of the proposals was so massive it would hit revenue in a way companies have not seen before.
A recent study has revealed that 56% of people say they went to their local convenience store for the first time during the lockdown. Younger consumers in particular are driving this revival, with this figure rising to 68% among 18-24 year olds, and 59% of 25-34 year olds.
The UK government has announced a consultation on proposed plans to clamp down on illegal deforestation by forcing large companies to clean up their supply chains. Under the proposals, businesses would be required to carry out due diligence on their supply chains by publishing information on where key commodities such as cocoa, soy and palm oil came from.
City centres could become "ghost towns" if the prime minister does not do more to encourage workers to go back to the office, according to Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, the head of the CBI says. She continued saying "it's time for the UK to bring its workplaces back to life or we will look back with regret at the jobs lost, training missed and communities harmed," It comes as a BBC study found 50 major UK employers had no plans to return all staff to the office full time.
