Morrisons

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Morrisons says Britain set for best asparagus crop in a decade

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Britain could have its best crop of outdoor grown asparagus in nearly ten years, Morrisons vegetable buyers have predicted.

In a press release, the UK retailer said intelligence on growing conditions from its farmers, and a forecast three month heat wave, would mean 2015’s asparagus crop could increase by up to 20%.

“Growing conditions look like they are going to be perfect,” said Morrisons asparagus buyer David Bartle. “The good weather will not only affect the amount of asparagus grown but also the quality of the crop. We could have the most exceptional year since 2007.”

Morrisons asparagus crop will arrive in store on 27 April. Most of the crop will originate from the supermarket’s outdoor growers in the Vale of Evesham and Kent.

The exceptionally warm growing conditions augur well for tender spears with tight heads which will taste sweet and fresh, the company said.

Read more.

Image: “Green Asparagus New York 11 May 2006” by Ryan Freisling. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

 

 

 

 

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Big ad spends help Aldi, Lidl grab more of UK market

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German discounters Aldi and Lidl now hold an 11% slice of UK grocery sales.

According to Nielsen figures for the 12 weeks to March 28, Aldi’s sales grew 17.9% year-on-year, to reach a 6.2% share of the grocery market, and Lidl’s sales rose 10.8%, for a 4.9% share – cementing their positions as the UK’s 5th and 7th biggest supermarkets, respectively.

Lidl biggest spender on TV & press ads

In the four weeks to March 28, Lidl spent the most on TV and press advertising (£5.9 million) – up 160%  on the same period last year – followed by Asda (£4.0 million) and Aldi (£3.5 million).

“Aldi and Lidl have become the fifth and seventh biggest supermarkets partly due to their large ongoing investment in advertising. Not only do they consistently spend the most in relation to each percentage of market share they hold, their advertising has changed the perceptions and expectations of UK shoppers,” Nielsen’s UK head of retailer and business insight Mike Watkins said.

Bad month for the Big Four

Over the same period, all of the big four supermarkets saw a decline in year-on-year grocery sales. Asda’s slipped 1.7%, Tesco’s 1.1% and Sainsbury’s and Morrisons 0.6% each.

However, Tesco remained in top ranking, with a share of 27.5%, followed by Sainsbury’s with 16%, Asda with 15.7% and Morrisons with 10.7%.

Outlook for next 3 months more positive

Watkins said the current trading environment is challenging for the supermarkets. “…people (are) spending less on groceries than they used to.”

“Consumer spend continues to be impacted by a combination of record-low food inflation and supermarkets’ competitive pricing policies – good news for shoppers but not retailers, whose margins are continually under pressure. However, the outlook for the next three months is more positive than we’ve seen for some considerable time,” he said.

Read the Nielsen press release.
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