Sainsbury’s, Fevertree, ASOS, Tesla: your commercial news round-up
updated on 23 January 2020
We’ll keep it short this week as many of you are completing vacation scheme or pupillage applications. Commercial awareness is a key attribute that you must demonstrate in your applications as recruiters want to see that you have a knowledge of what is going on in the business industry, and how key issues might affect the law and the businesses that operate within it. Here is our round-up of a few news stories from this week:
- Sainsbury’s has been named the cheapest supermarket in the UK by consumer watchdog Which? with a basket of branded items costing on average £107.01 at the supermarket. Asda came in at second place, with Morrisons third, but critics have pointed out that the comparison did not include Lidl and Aldi which would have definitely come in even cheaper.
- Shares of luxury tonic maker Fevertree have fallen over 20% after its Christmas results were less than expected. The fizzy drinks company, which became a household name during the gin boom, said that its mixers have “not been immune from the consumer belt tightening”.
- Meanwhile ASOS’s record Black Friday sales have boosted the online retailer’s fortunes. Overall sales at the firm grew 20% in the four months at the end of last year, beating predictions and in stark comparison to Black Friday two years ago when ASOS was forced to issue a profit warning. Chief executive Nick Beighton explained that the retailer had improved product choice, stock availability, presentation and social media engagement in order to boost sales.
- Tesla has overtaken Volkswagen to become the world’s second-most valuable carmaker after its market value reached $100 billion this week. Share prices of the electric carmaker have more than doubled over the last three months as Tesla opened its first Gigafactory in China at the end of last year. Competitor Toyota remains at the top of the charts with a market valuation of $200 billion.
Be sure to check the News every Thursday for this weekly commercial news round-up. Follow @LawCareersNetUK on Twitter and like us on Facebook for instant business news updates.
