TESCO’S boss said the supermarket was “robustly challenging every cost increase” amid accusations that some of the best-known food brands are hiking prices to boost profits.
Britain’s biggest supermarket — which takes around one in every four pounds spent on food in the UK — admitted it had been able to use its size to bag some of the best terms with its suppliers.
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Ken Murphy, chief executive, said that it was a “delicate balance” with suppliers but the company was “committed to the customer”.
He also appeared unfazed by inflationary pressure, saying “rather than knock us off course, I think it has made us a stronger business.”
Tesco outraged many small suppliers last month by charging a new fee to sell products online.
The supermarket’s treatment of supplier income had been the cause of a major accounting scandal in 2016 but the supermarket said its supplier satisfaction scores were at record levels.
Tesco has had to work hard to stop cash-strapped shoppers fleeing to Aldi and Lidl and it launched Clubcard Prices and Aldi Price Match as well as lowering prices to be more competitive.
Mr Murphy said that roughly 2,000 products — around half the range of a discounter’s store — were at “prices you can’t find better”.
As a result, he said Tesco was the only major supermarket to gain market share over the past three years.
He admitted “conditions are favourable” for Aldi and Lidl but said Tesco was a “one-stop shop” and more convenient with its online offer, which its rivals lack.
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Tesco’s pre-tax profits halved from £2billion to £1billion largely due to accounting charges related to higher interest rates.
Brits eat in and save up
SHOPPERS are swapping restaurants for meals-in to weather the cost of living.
People are opting for batch cooking, leftovers and cheaper own-brands.
Tesco boss Ken Murphy said chicken was proving more popular than pricier red meat, as he expects shoppers will stick to new “economising actions”.
He added: “We’re stocking barbecue products for consumers to enjoy this summer at home”, as trips abroad remain costly.
Less dough for bread
BREAD, pasta and olive oil prices could fall soon said the boss of Tesco.
It comes a day after the supermarket began lowering cow’s milk for the first time in two years.
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Ken Murphy said that commodity prices were dropping in oils and grains but rice and meat is still rising.
Food inflation is at a 45-year high of 18.2 per cent and the cost of a loaf of bread, pasta and oil has jumped by up to 40 per cent in a year.
Sainsbury’s lowered the price of milk to below Aldi and Lidl.
Industry experts said it was the “light at the end of the inflationary tunnel”.
Amazon back to offices
THE boss of Amazon said that workers will be called back to the office “at least three days a week” from next month.
CEO Andy Jassy argued in a letter to shareholders that the company was “more effective when we’re working together and learning from one another in person”.
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He said many “breakthrough moments” arose with people “staying behind after a meeting and working through ideas on a whiteboard” or “just popping by a teammate’s office later that day with another thought”.
Mr Jassy took over from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2021.
The past year has been brutal, with 27,000 job losses and the closure of a number of stores, some of its devices and warehouses.
Mr Jassy reaffirmed that food remained a “big growth opportunity” but it was still working to find “a mass grocery format that we believe is worth expanding broadly.”
Trade on Twitter
ELON Musk wants to make Twitter an “everything app”, after partnering with crypto trading firm eToro.
It will mean users can trade shares, index funds crypto tokens and view prices speedily.
Twitter has helped fuel a boom in day traders and Musk is a big fan of cryptocoin Doge, even briefly using its dog mascot as his site’s logo.
The billionaire has said he wants Twitter to be the world’s “biggest financial institution”.
Ex-TSB boss hit
AN ex-TSB boss has been fined £81,620 five years after an IT meltdown locked millions out of online accounts.
The Bank of England said Carlos Abarca, TSB’s former chief information officer, failed to “take reasonable steps” in ensuring an IT upgrade was adequately managed.
The Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority said senior managers have an essential role “ensuring firms manage and supervise outsourcing effectively”.
Last year TSB accepted a £49million penalty over the 2018 calamity.
EY plans blow
EY has spent £478m on its aborted break-up plan but has warned more staff will have to go.
The accounting giant, which has around 19,000 UK staff, had been working to split its business since last May.
But demerger plans to separate its auditing arm were scrapped this week.
The Financial Times reported thar Anna Anthony, UK managing partner, told employees there were “inefficiencies in our business…so we are already working on reducing our costs.”
This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
