Retail Gazette’s Post

When times are tough, reach for the dump bins! Asda Trafford Park this morning and a huge run of new dump bins lining the self-serve checkout, including branded #HFSS ones. Off fixture impulse displays in high footfall areas are still a great way of maximising basket spend, but dump bins can quickly look messy and you know it won’t be too long until a competitor’s products end up in one of the branded bins! #shoppermarketing #retail #storeoperations

⬇ Not had time to catch up on recent retail news? We've got you covered with a summary of this week's top stories: Asda and Morrisons kick off 2025 with price war. The Big Jan Price Drop will see reductions of an average of 26% on products including in-store and online. 👀 Convenience retailers lost thousands of pounds worth of sales over Christmas following logistical issues at AB InBev-owned keg supplier PerfectDraft UK. 📉 Müller takes £65m hit to profits from Milk & More sale in otherwise ‘strong’ year.💪 Holland & Barrett and Ocado Retail have launched a new ‘shop within a shop’ partnership. 📃 Poundland & Dealz is selling yet more products for £1 or less as it doubles down further on value. The variety discounter has increased the number of products costing £1 or less from about 1,500 to almost 2,400. 📈 #latestnews #newstoday #podtalent #supplychain #technology #sustainability #productivity #recruitment #business #london

Aldi UK is investing over £40m into its Scottish stores over the next two years, with three new sites set to open in 2025. https://lnkd.in/e6gMPisX #retailnews #grocery

Is this the new norm? That seems to be the case. Security guards were once a deterrent, no longer the case. Well done to this lone security guard in a very tricky situation with no support. Perhaps the addition of a bodycam would have been useful. #bodyworncameras #bodycam #securitycameras #DEMS #cybersecurity #iso27001 #PR7 #retail #retailsecurity #digitalevidence #PR7mini

Pick n Pay, founded by Raymond Ackerman in 1967, is technically insolvent. Shoprite has aggressively pushed into the mass market, while repositioning its Checkers chain for the affluent shoppers. Where Checkers continues to pop up with new outlets in its expansion, Pick n Pay is to close a tenth of its corporate supermarket base over the next two years. The Boxer Stores are operated by Pick n Pay. There are currently 281 Boxer Superstores, 150 Boxer Liquors, 31 Boxer Build Stores and 15 Boxer Punch stores. Pick n Pay plan to open 200 more stores by 2026. It is difficult to imagine a South Africa without the blue and white logo, inviting you to pick and the pay.

New Asda boss Allan Leighton begins supermarket price war He promises to restore Asda’s ‘DNA’, heralding a reprise of the famous ‘Asda Price’ mantra. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eRWkJgjb

💸 British supermarket group Asda has launched a major round of price cuts, with 'a significant investment' its new boss hopes will kick start a recovery for the current industry laggard. Shore Capital Markets retail analyst Clive Black commented, "Asda had to do something, it's been ceding enormous market share losses for some time." #UK #grocery #retail #pricecuts https://lnkd.in/eGatbFBi

Bestway Wholesale invests over £2.5 million to support UK retailers 🛒 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eyjaMWT3 Bestway Wholesale is stepping up with over £2.5 million in investment to cut costs on more than 11,000 branded products, helping retailers boost profit margins and compete against larger convenience chains. In addition, from 1 January 2025, fuel levy charges for all mainland Costcutter stores were scrapped, saving retailers up to £3.66 per delivery. 💬 Dawood Pervez, Managing Director at Bestway, shared: “We’re 100% committed to our loyal retailers’ success and believe that ‘together we are stronger’ if we face the challenges the industry is experiencing with a shared approach.” With further plans to support refits and store modernisation in 2025, this move demonstrates a strong commitment to empowering independent retailers 💪 #RetailNews #BestwayWholesale #Costcutter #Foodservice #RetailInnovation

NEW: Morrisons “went a bit too far” with self-checkouts, its chief executive has admitted, as the supermarket chain cuts back on the technology across a tranche of its stores. Rami Baitiéh, chief executive of Morrisons, said that it is “reviewing the balance between self-checkouts and manned tills” and removing some from stores after installing too many. He said: “Morrisons went a bit too far with the self-checkout. This had the advantage of driving some productivity. However, some shoppers dislike it, mainly when they have a full trolley.” Mr Baitiéh added that he believed the rise of self checkouts had also driven more shoplifting. Most of the big supermarkets have expanded their use of self-checkouts over recent years in the hopes of increasing efficiency and trimming costs. However, this has caused anger among many customers who prefer dealing with a human being when paying for their shopping. As a result, many retailers are now re-evaluating the merits of the technology. Read more via The Telegraph https://lnkd.in/egBTufZy

In the UK, the price gap between the #discounters and the #supermarkets has notably closed over recent years, as the supermarkets have increased their competitive position largely due to the #pricematch schemes now seen in all of the "big 4" retailers. Whilst just 7 years' ago, #aldi was over 20% cheaper on a basket of everyday goods, now they are just over 10% cheaper (The Grocer 33 weekly shopping basket analysis - August 2017: 21.1%, July 2024: 10.7%). Most standard KVIs (Known Value Items), such as milk, bread, and sugar are nowadays the same price across all the main supermarkets, so it is important at #seasonal times for a retailer's margin mix to be enhanced using #valueadded #privatelabel products, the prices of which are less commoditised and known by the consumer. I'm interested to see the range of prices on one of the key volume ambient #christmas products right now - the 6-month matured 800g Christmas Pudding. Whilst specifications vary slightly, prices vary significantly. Against #sainsbury's and #tesco, Aldi and #lidl are over 30% cheaper. Compared to #asda and #morrisons they are 15% cheaper. And the difference in prices against #waitrose and #marksandspencer is approaching 50%. No doubt some promotion prices will appear over the forthcoming weeks, likely through #loyalty schemes, but - for now - the discounters can enjoy price gaps they were used to in the past, or maybe it's the supermarkets who are enjoying profit margins they were used to in the past? #ukretail #competition #festiveperiod #pricing #ownbrand International Private Label Consult (IPLC)