Latest news with #TimSteiner
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Horror on High Street as half of independent stores mull closure: Retail chiefs sound alarm over yet more painful tax rises
Retail chiefs sounded the alarm over rising taxes as it emerged more than half of independent shopkeepers have considered closing this year. As official figures showed unemployment has soared to a four-year high, the boss of Sports Direct and House of Fraser owner Frasers warned of 'dark clouds' on the horizon due to the looming Budget. And Ocado founder and chief executive Tim Steiner called for 'lower taxes and less regulation' to boost growth. The comments came as an industry survey found over 50 per cent of independent retailers have thought about shutting up shop this year. And 84 per cent said they lack confidence in the Government to help. Frasers finance chief Chris Wootton said there were 'dark clouds' over the next Budget. The company, which also owns Flannels, Evans Cycles and Gieves & Hawkes, said last year's Budget hit consumer confidence after it imposed higher National Insurance contributions and a hike in the minimum wage. And Labour has promised to 'level the playing field between the High Street and online giants' by replacing the business rates system. Ocado boss Steiner said: 'I think that all businesses and, in fact, all people in the UK should want to see lower taxes and less regulation, because that's what will create growth.' A survey by website Save The High Street found that more than half of independent shopkeepers have thought about shutting their business this year. Jeff Banks, designer and founder of fashion chain Warehouse, said businesses of all sizes are laying off staff. He added: 'Taxation is being used as a blunt instrument, driving small businesses out of existence rather than encouraging entrepreneurship and growth.' There has already been a wave of devastating shop closures and job cuts. Household names including Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons have axed staff, citing the pressure of higher costs. At least one in ten retail workers could leave the sector before 2028, amounting to 300,000 staff, claims the Retail Jobs Alliance, which represents big names such as Tesco and M&S. But it is feared the reality could be even worse, as this estimate does not even include the impact of last year's Budget, let alone any further hikes this autumn. By Hugo Duncan The hospitality industry has lost a 'devastating' 84,000 jobs since Rachel Reeves imposed higher taxes at last year's Budget. Restaurants, pubs, cafes and hotels have been hammered by increases in national insurance and the minimum wage. And fears of further job cuts are mounting as firms struggle to stay afloat. Kate Nicholls of the UK Hospitality trade group, said: 'These devastating job losses are a direct consequence of policy decisions at last year's Budget.'
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Ocado blames Reeves's tax rises for higher food prices
The boss of Ocado has blamed Rachel Reeves's Budget for pushing up family shopping bills. Tim Steiner, the chief executive of the online grocer, said it would be 'unrealistic' not to expect higher costs from the Budget not to lead to food price rises. He said: 'Am I surprised to see inflation coming through? Of course not. 'You can't increase the cost of labour in food production and food distribution and food retailing in the way that we have, with National Insurance (NI) increases and the minimum wage increases, and not expect to see prices move. 'That would have been a wholly unrealistic expectation if anyone had that.' His comments come after inflation accelerated to 3.6pc in June. Food inflation rose from 4.4pc to 4.5pc. Retailers have warned that the decision to hit employers with increased NI contributions while simultaneously raising the minimum wage by 6.7pc would lead to higher prices in stores. Mr Steiner said: 'It's not good to make people more expensive.' He insisted that Ocado Retail was doing 'a lot to keep prices down for shoppers', adding that its average price increase was 'dramatically below the level of food price inflation'. The typical basket value at Ocado grew by 0.7pc to £124.19 over the six months to June 1, which the company said reflected a 1.4pc increase in average item prices. Balwinder Dhoot, of industry group The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), said this week: 'The pressure on food and drink manufacturers continues to build. 'With many key ingredients like chocolate, butter, coffee, beef and lamb climbing in price – alongside high energy and labour expenses – these rising costs are gradually making their way into the prices shoppers pay at the tills.' Mr Steiner's comments came as Ocado Group swung to a profit of £612m over the half year, compared with a £153m loss over the same period a year earlier. The surge in profits was linked to a revaluation of its holding in Ocado Retail, its online grocery business which it runs under a joint venture with Marks & Spencer and accounts for separately. Ocado Group also enjoyed the strong performance at its technology business, which sells warehouse tech to other retailers across the world. Revenues here rose 13.2pc to £674m. Sales in the British retail business rose 16.3pc to £1.53bn. However, this division posted a loss after tax of £25m. Mr Steiner said Ocado had felt a 'very minimal, if any' impact from the cyber attack which wreaked havoc on M&S over recent months. He added Ocado was having 'constructive conversations' with M&S over a £190m payment linked to their joint venture, amid a brewing legal battle between the two. M&S has refused to make the payment in a row over performance targets. Mr Steiner said: 'We've got a very strong working relationship with them and spent a lot of time with them in the last few weeks.'
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Ocado upbeat on Kroger relationship despite management change
LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) - Ocado (OCDO.L), opens new tab, the British online supermarket and technology group, is confident its U.S. grocery partner Kroger (KR.N), opens new tab will opt to grow its e-commerce business despite a recent change in management, Ocado's boss said on Thursday. Ocado struck a deal with Kroger in 2018 to help the U.S. firm ratchet up its delivery business with the construction of robotic warehouses. The initial deal saw Kroger identify 20 sites to build automated warehouses, or customer fulfilment centres (CFCs) as Ocado calls them, in the United States, making the group Ocado's most important partner. However, so far, only eight sites have gone live, with a further two in the cities of Charlotte and Phoenix not due to open until early in Ocado's 2025-26 financial year, which starts in December. Last month, Kroger's interim CEO Ron Sargent, who succeeded long-time boss Rodney McMullen in March, said he was reviewing the group's e-commerce operations. Ocado CEO Tim Steiner told Reuters he visited Sargent and Kroger's chief digital officer Yael Cosset in the U.S. earlier this week. "We were together for many hours," Steiner said in an interview after Ocado reported first-half results. "It's really clear from their own statements that they want to grow their e-commerce business, and we're committed to help them in any way we can to achieve that," he said, adding that the U.S. is "undoubtedly an enormous ongoing opportunity for us as a business." However, Steiner said he could not put a timeline on when the target of 20 sites would be achieved. He also declined to comment on whether the exclusivity element of its deal with Kroger, which is conditional on growth, would roll off later this year.
Mint
6 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Britains Ocado says priority is to turn cash flow positive in 2025/26
LONDON (Reuters) -Ocado's priority is to generate cash in its next financial year, the high-spending British online supermarket and technology group said on Thursday, as it reported a 77% rise in first-half underlying earnings, sending its shares higher. The group runs an online supermarket through a joint venture with Marks & Spencer, though its market value is mainly driven by the sale of its cutting-edge robotic warehouse technology to retailers around the world. It said its core priority was to turn cash-flow positive during its 2025/26 year - which starts in December - by reducing costs, and to be full-year cash positive in the following year. Finance chief Stephen Daintith told Reuters Ocado was "well on target" to achieve this, highlighting 93 million pound lower cash outflows in its first half to June 1 versus the previous corresponding period, a falling cost base, and a 15% increase in revenue in the key technology division. Shares in Ocado were up 13%, paring 2025 losses to 12% that reflect market anxiety at the pace of new site openings for its grocery retail partners and a lack of new technology deals. Ocado's most important partner, Kroger in the United States, has slowed its roll-out of automated warehouses, or customer fulfilment centres (CFCs) as Ocado calls them, while last year its Canadian partner Sobeys paused the opening of a fourth warehouse. Last month, Ocado did, however, expand its partnership with Spanish supermarket group Bon Preu. Ocado has a further eight CFCs due to go live over the next three years. CEO Tim Steiner said he expected to sign up new grocery clients as exclusivity terms with existing partners end in multiple markets towards the end of this year. Bernstein analyst William Woods said this "may not be helpful to some of the long-term relationships or could be seen as a sign that the partnerships have deteriorated to a point where there is little chance of improvement". Ocado made first half adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 91.8 million pounds, up from 52.0 million. Revenue rose 13.2% to 674 million pounds. It swung to a statutory first half-profit of 611.8 million pounds versus a loss of 153.3 million pounds a year earlier, reflecting changes to the way it accounts for its stake in the Ocado Retail joint venture with M&S. The group said its expectations for the full year were unchanged. (Reporting by James Davey. Editing by Paul Sandle, Mark Potter, Philippa Fletcher)
The Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Ocado shares surge after ‘strong' half-year
Ocado hailed 'strong' trading over the past half year as sales jumped on the back of progress in its technology arm and it reported rising demand from UK shoppers. The online retail specialist also swung to a profit amid a boost from its joint venture with Marks & Spencer. Shares in the company jumped in early trading on Thursday as investors welcomed the figures. The London-listed firm revealed that group revenues increased by 13.2% to £674 million for the six months to June 1, compared with the same period a year earlier. This was supported by 14.9% growth in its technology business as it benefited from further expansion and investment. Elsewhere, the company's third-party logistics business saw revenues rise 12.1%, largely driven by a rise in inflation. The company's Ocado Retail business – its 50-50 joint venture with Marks & Spencer – revealed that revenues jumped 16.3% for the half-year, outstripping the rest of the UK grocery sector. It said the strong performance was driven by a 14.7% jump in orders to 491,000 orders per week. Ocado added that average customer numbers grew by 13.4%, while shoppers also increased the frequency of orders. The group also posted a pre-tax profit of £611.8 million for the half-year, rebounding from a £153.3 million loss a year earlier, as it benefited from a revaluation of its stake in the Ocado Retail business. Tim Steiner, chief executive of Ocado, said: 'Ocado Group has delivered a strong first half and we have reached important milestones both in our UK business, as well as across our international partnerships. 'Our technology solutions division has more than doubled Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) and our underlying cash flow has improved significantly, ending the period with liquidity in excess of £1 billion. 'Our focus remains on turning cash flow positive during full-year 2026, supported by continued growth with our partners and cost discipline across the business.' Ocado shares were 14.5% higher on Thursday morning.
