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☆ Britain faces 'epidemic' of shoplifting as Primark profits hit
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sadly, in the last year we've seen twice as many offences," Sharon White, chair of the John Lewis Partnership that owns department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, told BBC Radio. Weston said some of the theft was "quite organised" and Primark was also seeing higher levels of anti-social behaviour. His comments echo those of Tesco (TSCO.L) CEO Ken Murphy, who earlier this month said Britain's biggest supermarket chain was offering body-cams to staff who need them. Murphy also called for a change in the law to make abuse and violence towards retail workers a specific offence in Britain. Target (TGT.N), Foot Locker (FL.N) and Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS.N) have all warned that profits have been under pressure from loss of inventory due to theft at their stores.

Persons: John Lewis, It's, we've, Sharon White, White, shoplifters, George Weston, Weston, Primark, Ken Murphy, Murphy, James Davey, Mark Potter Organizations: Police, Foods, John Lewis Partnership, Waitrose, BBC Radio, British Foods, Crown Prosecution Service, Reuters, Tesco, Dick's Sporting, Thomson Locations: Britain, United States

☆ The UK's biggest grocery chain is offering body cameras to staff as it seeks to fight the 'scourge on society' of retail crime and abuse to staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tesco is giving all its frontline staff the chance to wear body cameras, The Mail on Sunday reported. Retail crime, including both theft and abuse of workers, is soaring in both the UK and US. "Crime is a scourge on society, and an insult to shoppers and retail workers," Tesco CEO Ken Murphy wrote in an opinion piece for The Mail on Sunday. He also demanded changes in the law, such as making abuse and violence towards retail workers a specific offence in itself. Other British grocery chains, including Sainsbury's, the Co-op, and Waitrose, have also offered body cameras to staff.

Persons: Ken Murphy, Murphy, John Lewis Organizations: Tesco, Service, Waitrose, Ireland, British Retail Consortium, Walgreens Locations: Wall, Silicon, The

"We do believe that we're past the peak inflation," CEO Ken Murphy told reporters. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's key economic pledge to halve inflation in 2023 has been undermined by persistent high food inflation, which was running at over 19% in April, according to the most recent official data. Murphy warned though that while some commodity prices were coming down, higher labour costs which are feeding into inflation are likely to stick. Tesco has said it expects prices to rise in 2023 but with the rate of inflation declining through the year. Reporting by James Davey and Sarah Young; editing by Kate Holton and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ken Murphy, Rishi Sunak's, Murphy, James Davey, Sarah Young, Kate Holton, Jason Neely Organizations: Tesco, Britain's, Aldi, Thomson

☆ Explainer: Why is UK food inflation so stubbornly high?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

While market leader Tesco (TSCO.L) said on Friday there were "encouraging early signs" that food inflation was starting to ease across the market, it remains stubbornly high, running at over 19% in April, according to the most recent official data. Below are possible reasons why:NOT ALL COMMODITY PRICES ARE FALLINGSome global commodity prices have fallen enabling supermarkets to pass on reductions in areas such as milk, bread, butter, pasta and oils. Generally speaking, food retailers and their suppliers operate with long-term contracts. Having eventually secured better prices, suppliers are reluctant to give up those hard won gains. Some politicians and trade unions have raised concerns about profiteering by food retailers, saying they have kept prices high despite falls in commodity, energy and shipping costs.

Persons: Andrew Bailey, reassurances, Ken Murphy, Andrew Opie, Tesco's Murphy, James Davey, David Evans Organizations: Bank of England, Tesco, Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations, British Retail Consortium, THE, Reuters, Brexit, London School of Economics, Supermarkets, Markets Authority, Thomson Locations: Britain, China, Japan, BREXIT, London, Brussels

☆ Tesco chair Allan to step down after inappropriate behaviour claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

However, prior to Friday's update from Tesco, Allan was due to seek re-election at the June 16 annual general meeting (AGM). Tesco said that pending the appointment of a new chairman, senior independent director Byron Grote will become interim chair and will chair the AGM. Earlier this month, the Guardian newspaper reported that Allan was facing claims of inappropriate behaviour from four women. Three of these allegations are vigorously denied by Allan, and for the other Allan unreservedly apologised for a comment he made, Tesco said. "While we have received no complaints about John's conduct and made no findings of wrongdoing, these allegations risk becoming a distraction to Tesco," Grote said.

☆ British supermarkets confront their German discounting demons
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

And the discounters' supermarket sweep still has a long way to run, industry executives say, with Aldi UK CEO Giles Hurley pledging Britain's lowest prices "no matter what". "Over the Christmas period alone shoppers switched 58 million pounds ($70 million)(of purchases) to Lidl from Tesco and Sainsbury's," Lidl GB CEO Ryan McDonnell told Reuters. Tesco and Sainsbury's are now matching Aldi prices on hundreds of key items and using customer loyalty schemes, while they have accepted a profit hit to keep prices down. Sector executives, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the further rise of Aldi and Lidl is inexorable. "Nobody's going to take Tesco out but at some point somebody might take Sainsbury's out," the sector veteran said.

The U.S. food index, including meals eaten at home and in cafes and restaurants, increased 10.4% for the year ended in December. RETAILER PUSHBACKConsumer goods manufacturers - will continue to raise prices until they recover their profitability, said Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne. In December, the CEO of Walmart (WMT.N), the world's biggest retailer, warned that some "packaged goods suppliers are still pointing us towards more inflation next year on top of the mid-double digits this year". Tesco CEO Ken Murphy said last month he was hopeful inflation would peak by mid-2023 and then start to ebb. Barclays analyst Warren Ackerman said although food commodity prices on average were down 20% from March peaks, it will take time for this to reflect in companies' costs.

☆ Britain's Tesco to target value offers after strong Christmas
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Clubcard branding is seen inside a branch of a Tesco Extra Supermarket in London, Britain, February 10, 2022. Tesco, like Sainsbury's, is absorbing some of its cost inflation rather than passing it all on to consumers. The group maintained its forecast for 2022-23 retail adjusted operating profit of between 2.4 billion pounds and 2.5 billion pounds ($2.9-$3.0 billion), down from the 2.65 billion pounds earned in 2021-22. It expects retail free cash flow of at least 1.8 billion pounds and profit from Tesco Bank of 120-160 million pounds. Shares in Tesco have fallen 17% over the last year, but are up 7% over the last month.

Tesco (TSCO.L) and Marks & Spencer (MKS.L), two of Britain's biggest retailers, posted better than expected Christmas sales as people snapped up festive treats despite a deepening cost-of-living crisis. In-store sales were particularly strong, with strikes by postal workers giving an extra reason to return to the High Street. Results on Wednesday from another big supermarket, Sainsbury's (SBRY.L), showed a similar trend, confounding retailers' worries that Christmas trading would be sluggish given double-digit UK inflation and low consumer confidence. It said on Thursday that its revenues were down 3% in the four months before Dec. 31, with UK sales down 8%. Outside the Christmas splurge on food and gifts, Britain's retail market is already finding consumers are cutting back.

☆ Britain's Tesco sticks with profit outlook after strong Christmas sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies UK Q3 like-for-like sales up 4.3%Six weeks to Jan 7 UK like-for-like sales up 7.2%Expects full year profit of 2.4-2.5 bln stgHas "good momentum" going into 2023LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Tesco (TSCO.L), Britain's biggest retailer, kept its full-year profit guidance after it joined rivals in reporting stronger than expected Christmas sales despite an escalating cost-of-living crisis. The supermarket group, which has a 27.5% share of Britain's grocery market, said on Thursday UK like-for-like sales rose 4.3% in its third quarter to Nov. 26 and were up 7.2% in the six weeks to Jan. 7. 2 supermarket group Sainsbury's reported a 5.9% rise in underlying sales for its Christmas quarter, while discounters Aldi UK and Lidl GB have also reported bumper Christmas sales. The group maintained its forecast for 2022-23 retail adjusted operating profit of between 2.4 billion pounds and 2.5 billion pounds ($2.9-$3.0 billion), down from the 2.65 billion pounds made in 2021-22. It expects retail free cash flow of at least 1.8 billion pounds and profit from Tesco Bank of 120-160 million pounds.

☆ Analysis: World Cup could be nightmare before Christmas for Britain's supermarkets
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Retail executives say the World Cup, moved to the winter to avoid the intense Qatari summer temperatures, has totally thrown the algorithms they increasingly use to predict trading and plan their logistics. "It's also an executional headache, because right when you want to have everything Christmas out, you've got to somehow reflect slabs of booze and snacking for the World Cup," he said. During the last World Cup in July 2018, which coincided with a prolonged period of hot weather, shoppers visited UK supermarkets an extra 13 million times, according to market researcher Kantar. Of course, customers visiting stores to buy festive goods could buy in World Cup supplies at the same time. "It's not going to be as big as the summer World Cup, that is clear," said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar.

SYDNEY, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Residents in flood-hit Australian towns ramped up efforts to build levees and sandbag homes on Wednesday ahead of more rain, although authorities said the expected storms could be milder than last week's, bringing relief as recovery operations begin. Police said a 65-year-old man was found dead in floodwaters in Victoria's north on Wednesday, taking the death toll to two. Residents in some areas, including the Victorian rural town of Echuca, are facing their second flooding in a week. In the nearby town of Moama, across the state border in southern New South Wales, defence force personnel teamed up with residents to sand-bag homes. "This is a very, very long event ... these floods will continue for a number of months," New South Wales deputy state emergency services commissioner Ken Murphy told ABC television.

☆ Industria alimentară din Marea Britanie este în criză din cauza lipsei forței de muncă: „Vor fi probleme toată vara”
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-26 | by ( ) www.jurnal.md time to read: +5 min

Sursa foto: Mark Case/ Getty ImagesIndustria alimentară din Marea Britanie este în criză din cauza lipsei forței de muncă: „Vor fi probleme toată vara”Din abatoare şi până la restaurante, sectorul alimentar din Marea Britanie se confruntă în prezent cu o provocare semnificativă: lipsa mâinii de lucru, transmite Bloomberg. Procesatorii de carne sunt însă forţaţi să reducă producţia din cauza unui deficit de şoferi care perturbă livrarea de alimente către supermarketuri. Companiile au redus deja producţia din cauza lipsei de personal care să se ocupe de procesare şi a şoferilor care să efectueze livrările. Producţia de carne de pui a scăzut deja cu 10% în ultimele săptămâni, susţine British Poultry Council. Pierderea controlului asupra modului în care ne hrănim ca ţară ar submina producătorii britanici de alimente" susţine directorul general de la British Poultry Council.

Persons: Situaţia, Shane Brennan, Nick Allen, susţine Brennan, Ken Murphy, Grocer, Bucătarii, Kate Nicholls Organizations: Uniunea Europeană, British, Agerpres, British Poultry Council Locations: Britanie, Europa, UE, Londra, angajaţi, Britanii, chelnerii, susţine

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