Rami Baitiéh

5 great reasons to become a co-owner in JNCK Bakery 😎 🚀 Launched nationally in 550+ Tesco stores in October (UK #1 Grocer) 📈 Selected for Tesco’s competitive Accelerator Programme to drive growth 🥇 Multi-award winning and recognised at World Food Innovation Awards 🧁 Awarded funding by Innovate UK to accelerate new products 🕺 Be a part of something special… Less than 3 days to go before we close… Don’t miss out 😀 https://lnkd.in/eRTiNzPK Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Crowdcube

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Today, we announced Asda’s trading update for the first quarter of this year, with total revenues increased by 6.6% to £5.3bn (excl. fuel) and like-for-like sales up 1.4%. We’re pleased to see continued growth across our food and non-food businesses during the quarter, which clearly demonstrates our underlying strength as a business. In the first quarter, our focus has remained on delivering uncompromising value for customers. We became the first supermarket to price match both Aldi and Lidl, have continued to cut prices on hundreds of products, and have seen our Asda Rewards loyalty scheme continue to resonate with shoppers. George at Asda has also led the way in outperforming the fashion and homewares markets, as customers continue to respond positively to the investments made in the brand. We are proud to have become the highest paying traditional supermarket with a record £150m investment in retail pay this quarter, as we continue to invest in our hard-working colleagues. Net leverage as a multiple of proforma EBITDA after rent reduced from 4.1x at Q1 2023 to 3.0x at the end of Q1 2024 – and earlier this month, we successfully refinanced more than £3.0bn of debt, extending our debt obligations into the next decade. This further strengthens our capital structure, enabling us to continue investing in our business and deliver our ambitious long-term growth plans. You can find the full results here:

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12 week kantar update. Similar theme as previous quarters…Tesco and Sainsbury’s lead the pack with a market share increases of 0.6% and 0.5% respectively. Interesting numbers for the shareholders as we head to the mid way point of many businesses financial year. No doubt both Tesco and Sainsbury’s are capitalising on the worrying decline at Asda. Another record low market share and on the back of scathing comments by Lord Rose. They are in desperate need of a captain to lead the rudderless ship. Is a CEO on the way? Discounters continue to accelerate with Lidl in pole position on terms of growth. Aldi slowing down but still in double digits and with the news they are launching instore bakeries that could drive some much needed footfall and volume.

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I’ll be in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan soon to explore the retail supermarket landscape in both countries. I’d love to hear from those familiar with the region — what are some unique or distinctly Kazakh or Kyrgyz aspects of the retail supermarket world (good and bad) I should be looking out for? In particular, I’m keen to visit some of the most popular supermarket chains like Magnum Cash&Carry and Ramstore Kazakhstan in Kazakhstan, as well as ЗАО "Азия ритейл" and Народный in Kyrgyzstan. If you have any recommendations, insights, or places I should explore, please drop your ideas below! Looking forward to discovering more and hearing from all of you. #Retail #SupplyChain #Innovation #BusinessDevelopment #Agriculture

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Slightly unnerving sharing a giant photo of my face.... Er, please try to ignore that(!) and instead have a look at the article if you're interested in #cocoa #sustainability! It comes with a big caveat: there are many, many people & businesses more specialist than me in this area. This article speaks to the challenge of the breadth of issues we need tackle as a food retailer, and the value of collaboration in doing so. The issues - farmer living incomes, deforestation, child labour - demand it. [If you're not a BusinessGreen member, you can always try their 7 day free trial to access it!] With thanks to our wonderful partners in this space, including The Fairtrade Foundation, Tony's Chocolonely & 3Keel Waitrose & Partners

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The Australian Halloween event is forecast to be worth $450m this year with 38% of consumers purchasing #confectionery for the event and 21% of Australians planning to celebrate with an average spend of $93 per person according to a recent interview from Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and Roy Morgan As a significant growth opportunity I am delighted to share our latest blog as we unpick some of the trends and products from the #ukretailers inspiring consumers this #halloween #chilledfoods #frozenfoods #confectionery #entertainment #chocolate #wine #sustainablepackaging #responsiblesourced #privatelabel #ownbrand #brandstrategy #seasonalinnovation #productinnovation #australianretail Prof. Consulting Group #foodandrink #exportstrategy #contractmanufacturing

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Morrisons will utilise long-standing tech partner Ocado’s fulfilment centres to help drive its move to more in-store fulfilment, as the bricks-and-mortar grocer reassesses its online grocery operations.

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In the supermarket business, offering the lowest price poses a challenge. However, communicating these prices to customers presents an even greater obstacle. In 2019, as Tesco marked its centenary, the aim was to convey their long-standing commitment to providing the best prices over the decades. What better way to achieve this than through pop culture references from each era? The campaign, "Prices that take you back," features amusing and iconic cultural nods from previous decades. Picture '70s roller girls and '60s Mods cruising through Tesco aisles on mopeds. Even '90s legends like Wolf from Gladiator and Mr Blobby make appearances. During communication bursts, all other Tesco campaigns were paused. Tesco estimated that its message reached an impressive 93% of the UK adult population within three weeks. Utilizing sales and store data, Tesco identified "value hotspots" for targeted advertising. These efforts aimed to persuade shoppers frequenting discounters to switch to Tesco. According to Nielsen data, the campaign became the most memorable retail ad in the UK. It not only enhanced Tesco's value perception but also drove a notable 50% increase in incremental sales. #Retail #Supermarkets #FMCG #Tesco

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Sainsbury’s sales soar as it makes biggest market share gains of any grocery Sainsbury’s sales soared in its first quarter as the supermarket said it had been winning customers from competitors every month for 15 consecutive months. In the 16 weeks to 22 June 2024, total sales grew 4.2% at the retailer, while grocery sales were even stronger, up 4.8% as chief executive Simon Roberts boasted of Sainsbury’s “market-beating grocery performance”. It came as the grocer saw a second year of volume growth and is winning more volume from primary customers than all other full-choice grocers, which it said is driving basket size growth “significantly ahead of all competitors”. During the first quarter, Sainsbury’s also had the biggest market share gains of any grocer with consistent net switching gains, it said. #sainsbury #marketshare #growth #retail #grocery #supermarket #competition #Aldi

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Allan Leighton returns to Asda. Former legendary boss appointed executive chairman to turn around the struggling retailer. Leighton also served as president of Canadian Loblaw Companies Limited and chairman of Britain's Co-op and the Royal Mail. Will be watching with genuine curiosity the developments at ASDA. Are retail best practices universal over time? Can what delivered 2 decades ago still deliver today? Are talent and leadership subject to change? If so how? Impact of changed environment on leadership? A lot of pros and cons. Legacy experience applied in modern reality vs universal fundamentals of leadership? One thing for sure - UK grocery retail just got whole lot interesting. #retaildemocratization https://lnkd.in/gxjfdeQZ

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Growth in convenience market will outpace supermarkets and discounters, says GlobalData Food and grocery spending in UK convenience stores is projected to reach £43.2bn by 2028, with this growth to outpace the hypermarkets, supermarkets and discounters channel, according to GlobalData.  Between 2023 and 2024, the traditional ‘big four’ grocers – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons – collectively added 800 new convenience stores to their portfolios, with Asda and Morrisons leading this growth through acquisitions.  GlobalData said that while UK supermarkets successfully focused on price in large format stores to appeal to consumers during the cost-of-living crisis, they should now shift their focus on agile pricing to convenience locations. #retail #store #grocery #supermarket #hypermarket #convenience #growth #trend

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7 UK supermarkets transforming their store estates this year A focus for many UK supermarkets this year is to refresh, modernise and expand their store estates to improve the shopping experience for customers across the country. With so many grocers planning to update their sites and in a range of different ways, we round up what changes to expect from seven of the UK’s leading supermarkets in the year ahead. #supermarket #transformation #store #customerexperience #expansion #customer #grocery

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Victoria Ward has written an interesting article here about the difference between a Merchandise Strategy and a Merchandise Plan and why retailers need both to succeed https://lnkd.in/eR5dPH9U

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Our latest #whitepaper regarding how the future of #confectionery could look with accelerated growth opportunities and changing consumer demand has generated some interesting discussion with current and new clients, I hope you find it insightful #confectionery #sweets #candies #chocolate #snacking #ukretail #australianretail #groceryretail #grocery #privatelabel #ownbrand #growthstrategy #brandstrategy #healthierchoices #innovationleadership Prof. Consulting Group

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Lidl GB reaching record market share growth. Various reasons, public eye seems to be caught by most splashy ones like loyalty programs missing the backbone of Lidl’s success on the UK market - Unrivaled ecosystem of controlled supply in core food segments facilitated by meticulous own logistics. In-store bakery is great case in point - Lidl overtook Tesco gaining largest share of in-store bakery market in the first quarter of the year, at 18.2% just above Tesco which holds 18%. What the article is missing is that Lidl’s in-store bake-off business is supplied by Bonback frozen bakery fully owned by Schwarz Produktion manufacturing arm of Schwarz Gruppe. Independent and controllable sources of supply in strategic food categories will be essential growth factor and unrivaled competitive advantage in grocery retail. Coming 5-10 years such models will be delivering even more than what we have seen so far because of increasingly disruptive and pragmatic global markets. #retaildemocratization

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🚀 Sainsbury’s Range Improvement: Key Insights for Retailers 🚀 As Sainsbury's enhances their #conveniencestore product ranges, it’s critical to consider #shopperbehavior and how this can shape assortment decisions. #Retailers should focus on: Shopper Demographics: Tailor products based on who shops in your #stores. Shopping Time: Not just peak hours, but the average time shoppers are willing to spend. This impacts decisions like whether to include products that require time to prepare (e.g., items needing to be warmed). Willingness to Wait: Optimize for convenience by offering products that cater to quick, efficient shopping. iCape's hassle-free video analytics solution, provides valuable insights on demographics, shopper behavior, activity, and in-store traffic flow, helping retailers align product offerings with customer needs. 📊 Grocery Gazette Cara Houlton Simon Roberts https://lnkd.in/dEADKmJT

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The final set of share numbers before Christmas already give us an indication of the winners & losers. Tesco & JS are powering ahead, as they have all year, Lidl are slowing down at a crucial time, Waitrose are growing ahead of the market, as are Iceland. The others are losing share. Aldi although they are behind the market are improving & when you go in their stores then they feel like they have their swagger back & it's been missing for some time! Retail is all about confidence & simplicity. When a Retailer is confident then their stores look good, the offers are competitive & they are often taking the lead. When a Retailer is not confident then stores feel tired, offers are not compelling & are often scattergun. Sometimes Retailers are outwardly shouting confidence but still come up short as they forget the number one rule, simplicity. If you have an offer for a product that everyone else is offering at a very competitive price & you want to undercut it by 15% then don't make that offer complicated. Don't put rules around it such as £8.50 for loyalty card holders when they spend over £45. This sounds like a promotion by someone working in Finance! Maybe because Finance know that when these stunt deals are run most Customers come in, buy the deal & leave, the halo effect really is not that great! You can always add in cheap rides for the kids, only 10p! During the Christmas period you have to appeal to your Core Customers first, then the secondary customers. If you lose your core shoppers at Christmas you lose twice, once for their big Christmas shop & then the following year when they keep shopping at the alternative! Waitrose have got it right this year, they have remembered what their customers want. It's not about niche food brands, it is about outstanding own label products, especially the top tier! They have a difficult job ahead to try and get back to 5% share, I am not sure they ever will with M&S firing on all cylinders! Customers are savvy, they know a good Retailer from a poor one or an average one & they take their money there. The next three weeks are absolutely crucial for every single Retailer & some of them will slip up. I am not sure that JS large stores will cope with demand with all the self-serve checkouts, I think that they have put in too many. They won't find this out until it's too late though, woe betide you if you make the big Christmas shop difficult! The next few weeks are all about availability & managing the colleagues. I worked instore for seven years, managing teams, at Toys R Us & Habitat, I know what the chaos is like in a store at Christmas. Calm heads will prevail as will those who make it simple, retail really isn't that complicated.... #theretailmind #groceryretail #Christmaschaos

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🇺🇸 Memorial Day: remembering all those who gave their lives to protect our freedom 🇺🇸 Here are some interesting stories from the world of retail for Monday, May 27: 👚 Off-price retailers are still posting sales gains and taking market share from rivals, but it’s not just because consumers are under pressure and hunting for value. It's because of a mindset shift in how people see the stores. 💍 For its 100th anniversary, Zales is looking to revamp its image and diversify its product assortment in an aim to acquire new customers. The brand is implementing a handful of marketing strategies to increase brand 🛑 Ahold Delhaize is planning to shutter an unspecified number of stores under its Stop & Shop banner as part of its ongoing effort to improve the struggling supermarket chain’s performance. 🍇 NYC grocery-store owners are blasting Big Apple officials for allowing licensed fruit and vegetable vendors on the same block as their shops — in some cases fewer than 30 feet away — eating into their profits. 👗 The surprise announcement on Wednesday that The Vampire’s Wife is shutting down highlights the tough economic conditions facing smaller UK fashion brands, and some larger ones, like Ted Baker. 🌈 Walmart promoted its new Pride apparel on social media ahead of Pride month on Saturday. The company’s promotion comes just weeks after Target said its Pride collection would only be available in select stores. 👙 Marks and Spencer & Spencer has achieved record-breaking sales in the UK bra market, capturing a 38% share. The retailer sold over 20 million bras last year, with its underwear being particularly popular among the under-30s. ♻️ eBay launched a pincer movement aimed at British sellers last month, cutting fees for selling clothes on the platform to zero in a bid to out-compete rivals , while appealing to vendors with a new brand campaign. 📦 Your package wasn't delivered? Try living at LA's ½ addresses. Retail websites programmed to reject special characters, including the fraction’s slash, often refuse shipping addresses or auto-correct it to another location. 😔 After a spurt of optimism, Americans are feeling a little more glum about the economy, again. Consumer sentiment, a gauge of Americans’ economic perceptions, is at a six-month low. 📱 Apple has officially introduced its 'Tap to Pay on iPhone' feature in Canada, which enables businesses to accept contactless payments without needing additional point-of-sale hardware. 🛒 Google is set to invest $350m in Walmart-backed Flipkart, giving the Indian e-commerce firm a valuation of $37bn. The investment will make Google a minority stakeholder and is subject to approvals. 🇦🇺 Australian fashion label Dion Lee, which has dressed celebrities such as Taylor Swift, has called in administrators. The move came after Australian retail chain Cue withdrew its investment in the brand. #retail #retailnews #economy #DailyRetailNews

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According to Tim Steiner 'There were some ludicrous statements being made....' He is talking about the claims made by the rapid delivery players who said that they were the future. Maybe he needs to remind himself of what he said back in 2020, 'The world as we know it has changed. We are confident that accelerated growth in the online channel will continue, leading to a permanent redrawing of the landscape of the grocery industry worldwide'. Four years later where are Ocado? Still with 1.8% market share and having burned through £1.3bn! If you lost an average of £100m for 15 years what would you be saying? You'd probably be saying 'We told you back then that their model wasn’t sustainable'. This is what Tim Steiner said about the rapid delivery players, he still believes that the jam tomorrow he has promised is still on it's way! Over the past 4 years Ocado's pre-tax losses have been £1.1bn, their first half results were an improvement to only £154m of pre-tax losses. For some strange reason this has been received positively by the City! Imagine if Tesco or Sainsburys had a single half year where they made a loss, what would the City say then? Their combined share is 43%, Ocado is 1.8%, where it has been for quite some time! At the latest City update, Steiner said “the global channel shift to online has now resumed” and yet this is what is happening with their overseas 'partners'. In Canada plans to open a fourth robotic warehouse for supermarket chain Sobeys had been put on hold, and their tie-up was no longer exclusive. In the US, Kroger is to shutter three sites powered by Ocado. In Australia last year Coles Group is on the hook for a further $120 million in costs and a 12-month wait following another major delay in the commissioning of its Ocado pick-and-pack fulfilment centre being built in Victoria. Is this really a shift to online? The future of retail is bright, but it's not Ocado. I'm just waiting for someone to shout that the Emperor is not wearing any clothes..... #theretailmind #groceryretail #bricksandmortar

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