PRICE WARS KILL STORES’ Supermarket chains at risk bank chiefs warn
BRITAIN’S high street price war could wipe out a major supermarket, experts have warned.
An industry report says that continued expansion by the nation’s biggest supermarkets will eat into profits and risks spelling the downfall of one leading chain.
The big four – Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons – have committed hundreds of millions of pounds to price cuts in a bid to combat falling sales and halt the rise of Aldi and Lidl. The two German discount- ers now account for more than 10 per cent of the grocery market. And after overtaking upmarket rival Waitrose, Aldi is now only behind the big four and the Co-op.
But while price cutting is good news for shoppers, industry analysts believe some chains may not survive it.
Retailers will start by closing “I waited my entire life to see Brazil win a gold medal in football and now my dream has come true.” He said Brazil also showed it was a sporting nation with talents not only in football. One of the greatest players of all time, Pele was also highly complimentary about Wales and Real Madrid striker Gareth Bale and Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers. He said: “Gareth is a great team leader. He’s one of the few players who can take the game by himself. He’s an excellent, disciplined athlete.” Pele also revealed he is still in touch with Sylvester Stallone, who he starred with in the 1981 film Escape To Victory. Pele’s tour, organised by sports agent Terry Baker and wife Freda, who run a1sportingspeakers.com, is at Glasgow on September 16, Bolton the following night and Leeds on the 18th. For tickets go to www. peletour2016.co.uk stores says the HSBC report, adding that “some companies could fail i n such an aggressive environment”. US- owned Asda is the UK’s most profitable retailer with an operating margin of about 5 per cent, compared to Tesco’s 1.2 per cent, the report reveals. It adds: “If Asda decided to invest half its margin into price, a competitor reaction could wipe out almost all industry profitability and would force an industry restructure.
“We believe that it would create a loser in the industry, a struggling retailer that the rest of the sector can feed on.”
Morrisons slashed the cost of more than 1,000 items by an average 18 per cent last month. Asda is expected to follow suit,unleashing even deeper price cuts.