Britain's big grocers are on the run – and shoppers are hungry for a change
Joanna Blythman 20 March 2014 The Guardian Expensive, inconvenient and boring. No wonder we’ve grown to hate supermarkets and their last-century business model Supermarkets are in trouble. The money men are worried. Nine years of growing sales have juddered to a standstill at Sainsbury’s. And it’s not just a dip in the cycle, or limited to Sainsbury’s. According to the retail analyst David McCarthy of HSBC, the sector “is in structural decline, with no end in sight”. Chris Haskins, whose company used to supply supermarkets with ready meals, recently told the BBC: “They [mid-range supermarkets] believed their formula would last forever, but they’re being left high and dry.” And do we detect a hint of schadenfreude? “I think they’ll get their comeuppance,” he added. Is a seismic shift in Britain’s shopping habits now under way? British supermarket chains have thrived on three myths – that they are cheap, convenient and…
Read MoreGreen tea Weetabix? Top 10 weird foods from McLobster to sweet potato Kit Kat
Steve Myall Mar 18, 2014 Around the world dozens of well-known brands have been given bizarre twists to appeal to the local market – here are our favourites Popular breakfast cereal Weetabix is to go on sale in China with a green tea flavour to help appeal to the savoury tastes of the oriental market. The iconic cereal brand is hoping to crack the overseas market by adapting the traditional cereal to Chinese preferences and experiment with a raft of different flavours, one of which would be the tea which originated in China. Around the world there are dozens of well-known brands which have slightly altered the product which we love in the UK to appeal to the locals. Here is our list of famous food brands with a twist. McLobster McDonaldsCheap in Canada: Lobster at Maccy D’s We’ve all had a Big Mac or a chicken McNugget, but how…
Read MoreSpirited away to dreamland in Japan
AACS Will visit Tokyo as part of our overseas study tour in October EDMUND DE WAAL MARCH 15, 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN I AM not sure if we could be wetter. The stone rills by the paths are overflowing, the pines are bowed by the torrential rain, and the stalls selling tea by the entrance to the temples are full of shivering schoolchildren in yellow waterproofs. There are slow carp in the pools in the gardens, but the downpour obscures them. And this is our morning for the temples of Kyoto, our chance to take our children — 15, 14 and 11 — to see the greatest Buddhist architecture in Japan. I want them to sit on the smooth cedar floor overlooking the 12th-century rock garden at Ryoan-ji, to see the gardens around the golden temple at Kinkaku-ji, and definitely to experience the bamboo groves in the temples near the river…
Read MoreWoolworths worker to mum: 'You should be breastfeeding'
Melanie Mahoney March 19, 2014 Sadly, it’s nothing to new to hear of mums being shamed for breastfeeding in public. But we also often hear about how mums who formula-feed their babies are judged, too – like the Albury mum who was recently told by a senior supermarket staff member that she shouldn’t be giving her baby formula. Reannon Spencer, a mum of three, was shopping for baby formula in her local Woolworths in Thurgoona, NSW, when she couldn’t find the brand she was after. She later emailed store management about the matter, asking why there were toddler milk substitutes available but only a limited number of baby formulas in the store. She eventually received a phone call from the manager of the baby products section of the store. “[The manager] first started to explain to me the reasons why Woolworths couldn’t supply the stock,†she told Melbourne radio station…
Read MoreDespite Popularity, Carbonated Soft Drinks Facing Challenges
CSD Staff March 7, 2014 Not very long ago, carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) were the rage of a young Baby Boomer generation. Coke and Pepsi ruled the cold door, and life was good for convenience store retailers. But that day has passed, as the category has been flat—or even in decline—for several years, forcing retailers to reset coolers to capitalize on emerging beverage trends. According to Nielsen convenience store data, soft drinks saw a marginal 3.2% gain in dollar sales between 2011 and 2012. That gain slowed even more between 2012 and 2013, growing just 1% last year. Unit growth was similarly uninspiring, showing 2.3% and 0.5% gains respectively. Which isn’t to say CSDs have become an afterthought. With $8.2 billion in sales in 2013, CSDs represent the second-largest category in the cold vault (to beer) in the convenience channel. Still, the days of wild growth are likely over for…
Read MoreMurray Goulburn circles Peters Ice Cream in $400m play
REBECCA URBAN MARCH 21, 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN AUSTRALIA’S largest dairy processor, Murray Goulburn, is believed to be mulling a $400 million purchase of the Peters Ice Cream business as it forges ahead with its ambitious plan to consolidate the local dairy industry. Fresh from booking a $51m profit following the Warrnambool Cheese & Butter takeover battle, the Melbourne-based co-operative has recently hosted a presentation by management of the ice cream company, which is currently being shopped around by its private equity owner, Pacific Equity Partners. Speculation has been mounting in recent days that Murray Goulburn, which looked into a potential purchase of the business two years ago before it was snapped up by PEP, has made an indicative offer in the range of $400m, subject to a request to conduct further due diligence. PEP purchased the company behind the iconic Drumstick and Icy Pole frozen treats from Nestle for about…
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