...with brief, occasional, italicized and sometimes gratuitous commentary…
• The Financial Times reports that Tesco appears to be making progress in its turnaround efforts, saying that the company's core UK same-store sales in 2016 were up 0.9 percent, with food up 1.3 percent - "the first full-year growth since 2010."
CEO Dave Lewis, brought in to right a severely listing ship, described the company as being ahead of where he thought the company would be at this point in the turnaround.
Of course, sales were up in part because, as FT put it, the UK saw "the first signs of food price inflation following a bitter price war that has hit the profitability of all supermarket chains." That price war continues ... as Tesco has pledged to keep prices low despite inflation, mindful of the ongoing pressure put on mainstream retailers by discounters Aldi and Lidl.
• Reuters reports that "U.S. payments startup Remitly has launched services in Britain, expanding its international footprint to a third country from which users can send money abroad, the Seattle-based firm told Reuters on Tuesday.
"The digital money transfer service, backed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, sends more than $2 billion in remittances annually to India, the Philippines, Mexico and other Latin American countries for users based in the United States and Canada.
"Customers in Britain will be able to use Remitly's desktop and mobile app, and will initially be able to send money to India and the Philippines."
• The Financial Times reports that Tesco appears to be making progress in its turnaround efforts, saying that the company's core UK same-store sales in 2016 were up 0.9 percent, with food up 1.3 percent - "the first full-year growth since 2010."
CEO Dave Lewis, brought in to right a severely listing ship, described the company as being ahead of where he thought the company would be at this point in the turnaround.
Of course, sales were up in part because, as FT put it, the UK saw "the first signs of food price inflation following a bitter price war that has hit the profitability of all supermarket chains." That price war continues ... as Tesco has pledged to keep prices low despite inflation, mindful of the ongoing pressure put on mainstream retailers by discounters Aldi and Lidl.
• Reuters reports that "U.S. payments startup Remitly has launched services in Britain, expanding its international footprint to a third country from which users can send money abroad, the Seattle-based firm told Reuters on Tuesday.
"The digital money transfer service, backed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, sends more than $2 billion in remittances annually to India, the Philippines, Mexico and other Latin American countries for users based in the United States and Canada.
"Customers in Britain will be able to use Remitly's desktop and mobile app, and will initially be able to send money to India and the Philippines."
- KC's View:
