NEWS IN REVIEW JANUARY 2018
1,000 Lidl jobs
NEWS IN REVIEW JANUARY 2018
1,000 Lidl jobs
Lidl has announced plans to build its biggest warehouse in the UK yet , which will create 1000 new jobs and service stores across Greater London . The news comes
after the German grocery chain exchanged contracts with the Houghton Regis Management Co . on a 58-acre site in Luton .
The new regional distribution centre , which will be approximately 1 million sq ft , will be double the size of any of Lidl ’ s other UK warehouses . The new warehouse will be the fourth to service Greater London and Lidl ’ s 16th overall in the country . It also forms part of the retailer ’ s ambitious expansion plans in the UK , which includes £ 1.45 billion worth of investment between 2017 and 2018 . Lidl is also set to open five new London stores in Shepherds Bush , Walthamstow Central , South Ruislip , Hornchurch and Rosehill in the next two months .
The announcement of the new Luton warehouse follows the official opening of three new distribution centres in the past 18 months as well as plans for a further three new warehouses .
“ As more London households choose to shop at Lidl we are committed to the continued investment in our operations and infrastructure to support our growth ,” Lidl UK board director for expansion Ingo Fischer said .
“ With five new stores opening in the next two months alone , and further store expansion and development plans in place for the Greater London area across the new fi- nancial year and beyond , this new warehouse is vital in supporting our ambitious expansion plans in and around the M25 .”
Inflationary pressures lead to lacklustre December retail sales . Grocery and food retailers have enjoyed a bumper Christmas trading season , but non-food retail sales took a hit as inflationary pressures forced consumers to tighten their belts in spending over the festive period .
According to the latest monthly Retail Sales Monitor from the British Retail Consortium ( BRC ) and KPMG , UK retail sales growth slowed down to 0.6 per cent on a like-forlike basis in the five weeks ending December 30 , compared to the same in 2016 when they had increased one per cent .
On a total basis , sales rose 1.4 per cent last month , against a growth of 1.7 per cent in December 2016 . The BRC said this was consistent with the three-month and 12-month averages of 1.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent , respectively .
Over the quarterly period ending December 30 , in-store sales of non-food items declined 3.7 per cent on a total basis and 4.4 per cent on a like-for-like basis – the deepest since the Retail Sales Monitor began in December 2012 . On a 12-month basis , the total decline was 2.2 per cent . On an overall basis , non-food retail sales decreased 1.9 per cent on a like-for-like basis and 1.4 per cent on a total basis – the lowest since March 2009 . This is below the 12-month total average growth of zero per cent .
And while online sales of non-food products grew 7.6 per cent in December , it was still below the 12-month average of 8.0 per cent but above the three-month average
Tesco has launched the largest own-brand range of 100 per cent plant-based meals as the vegan health craze continues to rage . Coinciding neatly with “ Veganuary ,” in which people pledge to stay vegan for a month , Tesco has launched 18 new meals in its Wicked Kitchen range .
The range , which will be rolled out across 600 Tesco stores , was created by American chef and former Whole Foods executive Derek Sarno who now acts as Tesco ’ s director of plant-based innovation .
“ When I first arrived in Britain from America I was hugely surprised at how little choice there was for vegans and
of 6.2 per cent . Meanwhile , in the same quarterly period to December , food sales increased 2.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis and 4.2 per cent on a total basis . This is the highest since June 2016 and remains above the 12-month total average growth of 3.4 per cent .
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said the results presented both the “ light and dark ” in Christmas trading .
“ Growth in spending was in line with the , albeit modest , average for the year . However , the divergence between growth in sales of food and non-food has never been so stark ,” she said . With inflation outpacing income growth , shoppers continued to see more of their spending power absorbed by essential items , including food , leaving less left over for buying Christmas gifts .
“ That made this year ’ s festive period all the more nail-biting for non-food retailers , many of whom offered deep discounts in the last weeks before Christmas in the hope of something to celebrate at the end of a year which has seen , on average , zero growth in non-food sales .
“ These promotions came as a welcome relief for stretched households , although the late lift in sales came at the expense of margins for many retailers .
“ With spending likely to remain under severe pressure in the next few years , it ’ s imperative that in the forthcoming trade negotiations , the government does all it can to avoid adding new tariffs to existing price pressures .”
those considering a lifestyle change ,” said Sarno . The only thing I could find was a falafel wrap .”
10 January 2018