Sainsbury's to hire 20,000 at Christmas

The supermarket’s expansion comes on top of 2,300 jobs it is creating in the north of England and Scotland by next summer

Sainsbury’s is to recruit up to 20,000 people over Christmas and new year – the largest number of temporary staff the supermarket chain has ever taken on.

Of these 20,000 seasonal workers, at least 1,000 will be retained in permanent positions, the company said today. This comes on top of 2,300 jobs that Sainsbury’s is creating in the north of England and Scotland by next summer.

Last year, Britain’s third-largest supermarket group, which has 817 stores and 150,000 staff, took on about 12,000 seasonal workers during Christmas.

Helen Webb, Sainsbury’s director of retail human resources, said: “Last year nearly 23 million shoppers visited Sainsbury’s stores in the week before Christmas and the huge numbers of customers means that our in-store colleagues always have something different to do.”

The supermarkets continue to hire staff as they expand their non-food ranges, in contrast to most other sectors of the economy where unemployment has shot up.

Tesco, Britain’s largest retailer, announced last week that it was creating more than 800 jobs in Scotland as it expands into financial services.

Morrisons, the country’s fourth-largest grocery chain, said it would take on 7,000 people this year.

sourced from The Guardian

Filed under: Newspapers, Sainsbury's, sales soar, Stores, supermarket, The Guardian, 000 new jobs, 20, Christmas, consumer, economy, global recession, Sainsbury's, sale, shopping, shops, Stores, Supermarkets, UK

Retail sales 'continue to rise'

Retail sales rose again in July, as the wet weather lifted demand for furniture and homeware goods, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said.

The BRC said last month’s rain boosted furniture sales

 

UK-wide like-for-like sales – which pulls out the impact of new store openings – increased by 1.8% last month compared with July 2008.

This was a bigger increase than the 1.4% rise reported for June.

However, the BRC cautioned that rising unemployment was preventing a wider return of consumer confidence.

‘Home improvements’

Sales of furniture and homewares saw their biggest year-on-year growth in three years during July, although the BRC said this was against a very low base in July 2008, and lifted by extensive discounting.

Filed under: bbc, recession, sales soar, Stores, BRC, business, capitalism, carrier bags, consumer, continue to rise, high street, news, retail, shopping, shops, Stores

Waitrose sales grow as recession fears fade

Waitrose rides recession as middle classes spurn Tesco

The cheese counter at a Waitrose supermarket in London. Shoppers have returned to the upmarket store as recession fears have eased. Photograph: Frank Baron

Consumers’ concerns about the recession appear to be on the wane, with middle-class shoppers who tightened their belts and experimented with discount supermarkets last year making their way back into Waitrose.

Filed under: news, Newspapers, recession, Stores, supermarket, Tesco, The Guardian, Waitrose, business, consumer, middle-class, recession, sales, sales grow, shoppers, Stores, Supermarkets, Tesco, UK, Waitrose

Sainsbury's to boost Scots jobs

Sainsbury’s has announced plans to expand in Scotland, creating 1,300 jobs by next summer.

The new posts will be created through new stores at Strathaven in Lanarkshire and Prestwick, in Ayrshire, and the extension of existing shops.

Sainsbury’s also said the move would give Scottish suppliers more opportunities to sell their produce.

Sainsbury’s has embarked on a nationwide expansion Supermarket giant

The announcement came amid a drive by the company to open 150 convenience stores by 2010-11.

read full article at recession2009 – Food

Filed under: bbc, Changing recession, employment, news, recession, Sainsbury's, sales soar, Stores, bbc, downturn, recession, Sainsbury's, Scotish jobs, scotland, shops, Stores

NEW blog in development

allaboutgrub

Hi all, I have been developing a new blog please come and visit it

allaboutgrub.wordpress.com

 - this blog is all about food, ingredients and where to buy good quality food from – add a marker to my allaboutgrub map to tell others about great places to eat out or places to buy great food from -

“go on share your food experiences with others” 

Filed under: Advert, Aldi, banking sector, bbc, blog, blogger, expansion, fresh, Get Involved, high street, homes, house price fall, housing, Iceland, Lidl, local produce, manufacturing, McDonalds, Morrisons, news, Newspapers, recession, Sainsbury's, sales soar, Stores, Strikes, supermarket, Tesco, The Guardian, The Independent, The Mirror, The Observer, The Sun, The Telegraph, The Times, Unemployment, Update, USA, Waitrose, Wild cat strikes, woolworth, basic, eating, eating out, eating well, food, free range, fresh, good quality, grub, helthy, ingredients, local, recession, Supermarkets, supply, support

Good Bye Woolworth or is it

Woolworths to be reborn on the internet after buy-out by web retailer Shop Direct

High street brand Woolworths is to be relaunched as an online store after the name was today bought by the UK’s biggest internet and home shopping retailer.

Shop Direct – which also owns brands such as the Littlewoods catalogue – plans to launch Woolworths online in the summer following the deal to buy the brand for an undisclosed sum.

End of an era: Woolworths stores across the country had closing down sales in January

The move brings the famous brand under the control of Sir David and Frederick Barclay, whose interests also include the Telegraph newspaper group.

Woolworths was forced into administration late last year after plunging sales and mounting debts, costing 27,000 jobs. The last of its 807 stores closed in January.

But Shop Direct, which has also bought Woolworths’ childrenswear brand Ladybird, said it was confident that the store would “stay at the heart of British retailing” as an online presence.

Chief executive Mark Newton-Jones said: ‘Woolworths is a much-loved brand that engenders huge affection among British consumers and is an important part of the country’s retail heritage.’

Woolworths first opened its doors in the UK 100 years ago this year. The move would revive the brand for future generations, Mr Newton-Jones added.

Details of the new product ranges to be offered will be announced in the next few months, the company said.

Shop Direct employs around 10,500 people and has around five million customers. Its other well-known catalogue brands include Kays and Marshall Ward.

Woolworths appointed Deloitte as administrators in November after efforts to rescue the business failed. Deloitte was unable to find a buyer for the firm and launched a closing-down sale in December.

sourced from The Daily Mail

Woolworths re-born on internet

Woolworths re-born on internet

The high street chain Woolworths is to be relaunched as an online retailer. The company’s last stores shut down in January but now it has been bought by the owners of the Daily Telegraph, Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay. Chief executive of Shop Direct, Mark Newton-Jones, discusses why it is worth saving.

Filed under: Internet, Internet sales, Stores, woolworth, business, catalogue, Internet, internet based shop, new, re-born, woolworth

McDonalds to open 1,000 stores this year

McDonald’s to open 1,000 stores

McDonald’s US sales were up 5% on the year before US fast-food chain McDonald’s says it plans to open 1,000 new restaurants this year. The world’s largest hamburger chain also said fourth-quarter net income fell 23% to $985.3m (£710m), from $1.27bn a year before. Revenue fell to $5.57bn from $5.75bn, even though global same-store sales rose 7.2%, as the firm was hit by the strong dollar. In the US, the firm raised the price of its Double Cheeseburger in November. Announcing the results, chief executive Jim Skinner said: “For 2009 we plan to invest $2.1bn in capital to open about 1,000 new restaurants and reinvest in our existing locations.” Despite beef, cheese, and other ingredients rising in price, the company reported an 8% fall in total operating costs and expenses. McDonald’s has seen sales rise in the economic downturn, helped by its low prices and ubiquity of its outlets. In the quarter, its same-store sales in the US rose 5% on the year before. International same-store sales were also ahead, rising 7.6% in Europe and 10% in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa division. sourced from The BBC

McDonald’s to open 1,000 new stores

Despite falling short of Wall Street expectations, the burger chain experiences better-than-expected profit and will open 1,000 new restaurants.

NEW YORK (Reuters) — McDonald’s Corp. reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday though revenue fell short of Wall Street expectations due to a stronger U.S. dollar, and its shares fell more than 2%.

The world’s largest hamburger chain also said it would open 1,000 restaurants this year.

Fourth-quarter net income fell about 23% to $985.3 million, or 87 cents per share, from $1.27 billion, or $1.06 per share, a year earlier, when results included a large tax-related benefit.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 83 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

sourced from CCN Money read full article

Filed under: bbc, employment, expansion, McDonalds, Stores, USA, bbc, Billion $, capitalism, CNN, consumer, downturn, fast food, fast-food chain, food, junk food, lossing money, McDonalds, new stores, US

Tesco trails after new discount offers backfire

One of the largest supermarket changes in Britain “Tesco” has suffered over the Christmas period. It was the worse performing on the top four supermarkets. This article is in direct contrast to Sainsbury’s bumper Christmas sales.

The Article

Tesco will this week report the weakest Christmas trading of the big four supermarkets as doubts set in over its ambition to become “Britain’s biggest discounter”.

Analysts expect Tesco to post a 2.5% increase in like-for-like sales, lagging behind a field led by Morrisons, with an estimated 9%, nearly 7% at Asda and 4.5% at Sainsbury’s.

Last year Tesco introduced a range of discount brands such as “Country Barn” cornflakes and “Daisy” washing up liquid to compete with Aldi and Asda. Analysts fear that the cheaper brands cannibalise sales: because these brands cost less, Tesco must sell more to stand still.

“This is the first big mistake Tesco has made in a decade,” said Planet Retail analyst Bryan Roberts.

The supermarkets fared better than non-food specialists during a tough holiday season for the retail sector with results from specialists such as Currys and Argos, also due on Thursday, expected to make grim reading as consumers deferred spending on non-essential items. Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy will say that consumers let go of the purse strings to buy “special” Christmas treats for their families.

read full article sourced from The Observer

Filed under: Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury's, Stores, supermarket, Tesco, The Observer, Aldi, Asda, business, Christmas sales, Lidl, Sainsbury's, shops, Stores, Supermarkets, Tesco

Sales soar at Primark

Primark sales sour over the Christmas period. As the rest of the high street suffer Primark sales increase.

Article

Primark has enjoyed another successful Christmas, with sales soaring by more than a fifth as its cut-price chic continued to appeal to shoppers.

Parent company Associated British Foods said today that total sales at the fashion store rose by 21% in the final 16 weeks of last year.

The sharp rise was partly attributed to Primark opening six new stores during the year, but the group said like-for-like sales growth, which excludes new space, was “very strong” at around 4%.

Primark’s performance provides further evidence that shoppers are becoming increasingly thrifty as the recession hammers consumer confidence – a trend that sent clothing sales falling sharply at Marks & Spencer.

Primark fired several suppliers in 2008 following allegations that they were using child labour. But this week, allegations emerged that one of its UK suppliers was subjecting its workers to sweatshop conditions, with illegal immigrants receiving just half the minimum wage for 12-hour days, seven days a week.

read full article sourced from the Guardian

Filed under: bbc, down turn, high street, recession, sales soar, Stores, bbc, business, consumer, downturn, high street, Primark, recession, sales soar, Stores

Sales slide at Currys and Argos

When I read this article, it really does real like the downturn is having a major effect. You would expect a lot of small retail shops to close and the odd big one like Woolworth, but here we are facing the end of Argos, Currys and PC world – so all those out of town retail parks will soon be very empty.

The article

Sales at several of Britain’s top retail chains have fallen markedly as a result of the economic slowdown.

DSG International, which owns Currys and PC World, said like-for-like sales – which ignore new stores – had dropped 10% in the three months to 10 January.

Home Retail Group said like-for-like sales at its Argos chain had fallen 7.5% in the 18 weeks to 3 January.

DIY chain Homebase, which is also owned by Home Retail Group, saw like-for-like sales in the same period drop 10.2%.

Many retailers are struggling as consumers cut back on spending amid rising jobless figures, falling house prices and recession worries.

read more sourced from the BBC

Filed under: bbc, Changing recession, down turn, high street, recession, Stores, Argos, bbc, business, Currys, downturn, news, PC world, shops, Stores