Tag: Horsemeat

Tesco leaves horse and gobbles up Giraffe

Posted on March 13, 2013 by - News

GiraffeTesco is still seemingly trying to use every trick in the profit book to boost its customer base and raise its profits.

The supermarket giant, which earlier this week announced it had launched a price promise voucher scheme, is rumoured to be sticking its neck out and gobbling up eatery Giraffe for £50 million.

It is thought that the deal could see the kid’s eatery being opened up within the supermarket’s stores, letting  it target a different type of customer and attract more footfall into its stores and helping it combat the profit warning it announced last year.

The move is just one of many which the supermarket hopes will improve its figures. Over the past months its restructured its stores to make them seem less clinical, while its also tried to make more of a presence in the tech space.

Last month it announced it was introducing a  Netflix rival – a free TV streaming service called Clubcard TV.

The beta trial is only available to Tesco staff for the time being, but when it officially launches it will be available to card-carrying Clubcard members.

Review: Kyocera ceramic chef and paring knives

Posted on March 11, 2013 by - Fun Stuff, Products

KyoceraCutting veg, fruit and meat can be trying at the best of times.

Although there are several ranges of knives on the market, some just don’t cut the mustard, meaning carrots take on uneven lines and meat ends up different sizes.

For that rustic look, this may work, but if you’re looking for presentation worthy of Masterchef recognition then those serrated metal knives may just not cut it.

Kyocera’s ceramic knives are however, a cut above the rest. We looked at the Kyocera FK-2PC-WH3 – White Blades: 5.5″ Santoku and 3″ Paring Knife Set in our review.

The company, better known for its document products in the UK, offers a range of knives that literally cut through anything, leaving the clean tidy look reflective of their Japanese heritage.

To the naked eye these knives aren’t much to look at with a white blade so thin it almost looks plastic. There are no serrated edges and to those know almost nothing about knives, may wonder what the expensive price tag is all about.

However, remove them from their careful, prestige packaging and begin chopping and you’ll see they are well worth the pennies.

What looks like a flimsy plastic blade is sharper than most mother in law’s tongues, easily slicing through even the thickest of vegetables and toughest of meats – although we didn’t manage to try it out on horse.

The blades, which must be hand washed, are also totally impervious to acids, juices, oils, salts and other elements and unlike their metallic rivals will never rust.

The thin ceramic also means the knives weigh less than a normal one, making them easier to hold and use, as well reducing fatigue during repetitive cutting. In our opinion they are the best knives on the market, and with a lifetime guarantee and free sharpening are well worth the money.

Tesco throws down price war gauntlet to the competition

Posted on March 11, 2013 by - News

tescoTesco is vying to get customers galloping back through its doors following the horse meat scandal.

The giant is also throwing down the gauntlet to its supermarket competitors, offering its customers automatic price comparison coupons.

From today the retailer will compare its prices on branded and own-label goods with those at Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s. It said its customers would receive their coupons after every buy if its prices were found to be higher than its competitors. Online customers will receive their vouchers via email.

The scheme, which is similar to Sainsbury’s Brand Match scheme, will offer customers a maximum of £10 in coupons per visit.

The company will also be going head-to-head with Asda’s “Price Guarantee” that offers to refund customers the difference, via a voucher, if an online price-comparison website does not show that their shopping is at least 10 percent cheaper than it would be.

However Tesco has stipulated that customers must buy more than 10 different products to be eligible to receive money off in its scheme.

Chris Bush, Tesco’s new UK boss, said the company was working hard to build a better Tesco and the ‘price promise’ was an important part of that.

Highstreet sales for Feb hit three year high

Posted on March 5, 2013 by - News

highstreet South endFebruary brought with it a breath of fresh air for the high street, with figures showing sales grew at their fastest rates in years.

In its latest report, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said dry weather last month encouraged people to venture out, with figures rising by 2.7 percent on the previous year and marking the fastest growing rate in three years.

Electrical goods were said to fuel the figures with the BRC describing these as the growth engine of the high street, with “big ticket goods and items for the home recovering particularly well”.

Despite the horse meat scandal, food grew by one percent, although frozen burger sales fell in favour of ingredients to make products from scratch.

The organisation pushed once again for changes in the upcoming Budget to ensure the high street continued to dig its way out of despair, claiming that the government had to realise that retail is central to generating growth and jobs critical to the UK’s economic recovery.

However, it pointed out that weak consumer confidence was the real and present obstacle, and as a result the Chancellor had to create a Budget that left people with “more money in their pockets and the confidence to spend it and retailers with the means to invest”.

It also reiterated that if the proposed rise in business rates went ahead then retailers would be placed under “inexorable pressure”.

The BRC figures contrasted with a recent CBI survey which reported that food stores suffered their worst performance for five years in February.

Although the BRC painted a rosier-than-usual picture, high street staple Debenhams recently issued a profit warning, claiming the bad weather in January could dent its margins.

It said that earnings would miss expectations and that underlying revenues were 10 percent lower in the affected fortnight, compared with a five percent rise over the festive period.

Revised profits for the six months to 2 March will now stand at around £120 million, against £128.5 million a year earlier and City forecasts in the £131 million area.