Catch up on the latest retail news here on Retail Times and find out what’s happening in the retail sector. Keep up to speed with the latest reports and financials covering the top brands in retail right through to the smaller independents. If retail technology and innovation is your bag then we’ve got it covered be it POS, payments or back-end systems we report on the latest developments. For those who are looking for retail data and analysis check out the data time section for more information. Hear comment from both the supplier and retailer in our opinion sector ‘Why it works’ and ‘In my opinion’. And finally, if you have any retail news you’d like us to consider publishing send it across to the team via the contact page.
Porter Foods claims its new Vanilla Bean Paste, which includes Madagascan vanilla seeds, can be used in place of vanilla pods with no compromise to quality or flavour. The paste comes in sachets with one sachet designed to replace one vanilla pod.
ACS (Association of Convenience Stores) has warned changes in alcohol licensing would be ineffective and cost convenience retailers at least £11m. Speaking in response to the Home Office consultation, Rebalancing the Licensing Act, ACS chief executive, James Lowman, said: “The
Spar UK has posted a 3.1% sales increase in the three months to end July 2010, lifted by the trend to shop locally and growth in sales of own brand products, fresh food and wine. Spar said its 2,583 stores
Samsumg Electronics has appointed of Sally Clift as pr manager for Samsung UK. Reporting into Rachel Cameron, head of pr Samsung UK, Clift will be responsible for campaign and day-to-day pr across the mobile, print, display and digital Imaging divisions
Kelkoo, Europe’s third largest e-commerce web site, has appointed Chris Simpson as European marketing director. At the same time, the company is undertaking a review of its brand and website to meet customer needs in an increasingly crowded price comparison
Sales at fast, casual restaurants in the US have increased by 30% to $23bn in the last four years, according to a recent Mintel foodservice report. Restaurants in this market claim to combine the quality of family casual dining with
US crisp brand, Lay’s, has launched a ‘Chip Tracker’ on its web site to allow consumers to see where their crisps were made and where the potatoes were grown in the US. Customers simply enter their postcode and the first
Otley Brewery, the South Wales-based, family-run brewery, marked its fifth year in business on 14 August 2010 with an event at its premises in Cilfynydd. More than 100 people, including regular customers, key suppliers, beer writers and press, attended the
Group pre-tax profits at the flower and gardening home shopping group, Flying Brands, fell from £2.74m to £480,000 in the six months to 2 July as it exits non-core markets. Flying Brands is selling its online collectables business, Benham, and
Her Majesty, the Queen visited the fishing town of Kirkcudbright last week to meet the staff of Castle MacLellan Foods and learn about the positive impact the company’s pâté business provides to the local economy. The Queen and Prince Phillip
Unilever has awarded BT with a communications contract worth €173m. The new deal will see BT accelerating technology innovation in services including unified communications, messaging, supply chain, wireless technology and agile working in over 100 countries over the next four
South West beef supplier field&flower has been announced as an event partner at the 2010 V Festival Virgin Media Louder Lounge, serving up the evening menu in a pop-up field&flower restaurant. The event is set to take place in Chelmsford,
Starbucks is poised to become the world’s first consumer brand to achieve 10m fans (or ‘likes’) on Facebook – or on any single social network, according to the London-based social media metrics company Famecount. At 10am GMT Starbucks had 9,983,738 fans
The Co-operative has scooped the Best Sausage award at the annual SuperMeat & Fish Awards. The prize was awarded to the retailer for its own-brand Truly Irresistible Gluten Free Sausages. The SuperMeat & Fish Awards aim to reward excellence in
ECR Europe’s co-chairs, Gianni Ciserani, president western Europe, Procter & Gamble international operations, and Dick Boer, COO at Ahold Europe, shared how the joint supply chain initiative is benefiting shoppers in a consumer-driven environment at the Consumer Goods Forum’s Global
Andy Bond, chairman of Asda, revealed his future vision of retailing at the Consumer Goods Forum’s Global Summit yesterday. “There has been an irreversible shift from shoppers as consumers to consumers as participants in every one of our businesses,” he
Pupils from the City of London Freemen School revealed how the net generation of consumers are accessing, using and sharing the information that influences their daily choices and purchasing decisions in an all-singing and dancing mini-drama at the Consumer Goods
Zein Abdalla, CEO Pepsico Europe, revealed the company’s emerging digital marketing strategy at the Consumer Goods Forum’s Global Summit 2010 yesterday. “It’s an area we have still got to learn an awful lot about,” he said. Abdalla told delegates how
The Consumer Goods Forum has elected Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, and Lars Olofsson, CEO of Carrefour, the world’s second-largest retailer, as its new co-chairs. Jointly, the co-chairs will drive cross-industry collaborative action on sustainability, consumer
Shoppers are reaching for premium ranges such as Tesco Finest and Morrisons’ The Best, according to the latest grocery market figures from Kantar Worldpanel, published today for the 12 weeks ending 13 June 2010. In spite of total grocery market
The Co-operative Group has been named Green Supermarket of the Year at the Grocer Gold Awards in London, beating off competition from Tesco, Ocado and Morrisons. The award was given to the retailer that had done the most in the
Couture Food Hall, an urban farm shop in Woolwich Arsenal, has adapted its high end range to meet local community needs. Fiona Briggs reports
Waitrose has opened its first new smaller format convenience store today in Cambridge. According to Waitrose, the store on Fitzroy Street has been designed with customers in mind. It features easy-to-navigate shelves and a product range, which will enable shoppers
Menus around the US are getting a makeover to comply with the new health care bill, which requires all restaurants, with 20 or more locations, to include calorie counts on menus, menu boards and drive-thrus. The rule will also apply
Sainsbury’s has launched a food and drink channel on MSN UK, Microsoft’s portal. The channel is focused on food ideas and recipes and is said to be the first channel of its kind to be hosted on the sitel. Under
