The latest news and views in the grocery retail sector
Aldi plans to expand its retail portfolio announcing its biggest ever investment of £600m next year which will see 60 new stores, refurbishment of much of its existing stores and a new distribution centre in South Yorkshire. In addition to this they will be opening a new regional distribution centre in Cardiff in 2016 which shall serve around 100 stores in the region.
This is all part of the bigger plan for the retailer to reach a 1,000 UK stores by 2021.
Aldi also topped the You-gov brand opinion poll for supermarkets, knocking Waitrose off the top to come third place. Read more here
Morrisons is expanding is Bridgewater distribution centre so it can service 100 more convenience stores in the South West. They plan it will create 50 more jobs at the site and help them to continue to deliver their target of 200 convenience stores by the end of the 2014/15 financial year.
Lidl are planning to create a further 2,500 jobs in the UK over the next few months as it spends £220 million on opening 20 new stores this year. The supermarket currently has around 600 stores but have announced plans to eventually operate in the region of 1,500 stores in due course.
They also came second in the You-gov brand opinion poll for supermarkets, putting Waitrose in third place. Read more here
Sainsbury's have launched an initiative to help families cut down on their food waste with a new online tool. It is called "Food Rescue" and is partnered with Google. Read more here
Waitrose have committed to pay farmers a minimum of 345p/kg until 1 October through processors Dovecote Park. Furthermore the Mark Price, Waitrose MD, has warned that half year profits will be down due to "unprecedented investment" in the business.
Co-op have announced they have a buyer for their farm business, the Wellcome Trust . In a deal worth £249 million, the business will now trade as Farmcare Trading Ltd, with just under 250 Farmcare employees transferring with immediate effect.
The purchase involves the Co-operative’s existing farming operations, including:
15,997 hectares (39,533 acres) of freehold and third party owned land
15 farms, including three pack houses
over 100 residential properties
27 commercial properties.