Top stories in the papers this week 30 July – 5 August 2010
Illegal cigarettes worth €4m seized at port; Retailers welcome move to introduce UK grocery watchdog; Unilever braced for continued price pressure
Print5 August 2010
1. Illegal cigarettes worth €4m seized at port
Customs officials have seized a massive haul of illegal cigarettes, worth an estimated €4 million, at Dublin port. The Irish Examiner reports the cigarettes marked as Benson and Hedges, with a UK government health warning, were found in a container on a ship from China. Retail lobby group, Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS), praised the work of customs officials in seizing the cigarettes that were set to flood the British market, however no one has been arrested in connection with the illegal cargo.
2. Retailers welcome move to introduce UK grocery market watchdog
The introduction of a Grocery Code Adjudicator (GCA) in the UK, to prevent abuse of buyer power in the market place, has been welcomed by the Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association (NIIRTA). The Belfast Telegraph reports funding by retailers will see the UK Government install a GCA within the existing Office of Fair Trading – to oversee the relationship between supermarkets and suppliers in Northern Ireland – from as early as next year. The GCA will not have power to raise fines, but will be able to ‘name and shame’.
3. Unilever braced for continued price pressure
Consumer giant Unilever has said its ability to increase prices will remain constrained despite the prospect of rising commodity costs. The group which has a portfolio including brands from Dove to Knorr, said it is facing strong levels of competition and weak economic conditions in some of its major markets. The Sunday Business Post’s breaking news service reports that while prices were down 2.6% in the half year, this was more than offset by volume growth of 6.6%. However, this growth was driven by emerging markets, while European volumes growth stood at 1.7%.
4. Drogheda food firm scoops €2m Tesco contract
Nature’s Best Ltd, the Drogheda-based producer of fresh chilled convenience foods, has agreed a €2m deal with Tesco which will result in 25 new jobs. The Sunday Business Post’s breaking news service reports the deal will see 24 new own-label fresh salad products being offered across Tesco stores nationwide. Nature’s Best sales director Gus O’Reilly said the agreement represents"a tremendous vote of confidence in Nature’s Best and has allowed us to employ an additional 25 people.”
5. Dunnes urged to boycott Israeli goods
Dunnes Stores has received a petition signed by 6,000 of its customers which calls on the supermarket to stop stocking Israeli products because of its policies on Palestine. The Irish Times reports the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) handed the petition into Dunnes Stores’ head office in Dublin after collecting the signatures in stores around the country over recent weeks. IPSC chairperson Freda Hughes said all supermarkets selling Israeli goods would be targeted eventually but Dunnes had been chosen first because of the historical significance of the anti-apartheid strike at the retailer in the 1980s.
Also:
Diesel car sales overtake petrol in UK for first time (The Guardian, UK)
Galway overrun by illegal cigarettes, says McNelis (Galway Advertiser)
Euro zone retail sales flat in June (Irish Times)
Beanz meanz canz? Heinz to sell plastic jars (The Guardian, UK)
Personal spending shows 11% slump (Irish Examiner)
Councillor says Cuffe’s allegations over developer payments ‘outrageous’ (Irish Times)
Irish annual retail sales down 1.3% (Irish Times)
Cloned cow milk claim prompts urgent investigation by stores (The Guardian, UK)
Marks and Spencer finance director is ex-WH Smith group FD (The Guardian, UK)
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