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Retail Intelligence

Weekly Round-Up… 2 April, 2019

By Publications Checkout
Weekly Round-Up… 2 April, 2019

After 13 years in development, ruby chocolate has finally arrived, and Aldi is seizing the latest trend for its Easter offering. Aldi has created the Specially Selected Exquisite Ruby Heist, a handcrafted shimmering ruby chocolate gem that is surrounded by a pyramid of 24 luxury truffles. It comes in a variety of flavours, such as Milk Chocolate with Kir Royale, Pecan Praline and Black Tea Gianduja, Dark Chocolate and Maldon Salted Caramel, Orange and Pomelo and White Chocolate with Raspberry Puree.

IFA President Joe Healy said there was a concerted effort by the meat factories to drive down the price of cattle. He said, “This is naked opportunism by the factories on the back of beef farmers”. “There has been a huge national focus on the threat posed by Brexit to beef and the national economy. A cut to cattle prices would be an irresponsible act of sabotage by the meat factories at a time when the focus needs to be on Brexit,” he said.

A team of colleagues from international spirits company, Quintessential Brands, is set to embark on a 340-mile bike ride next month, traversing the hills and valleys of England, Wales and Ireland over five days in aid of St. Rocco’s Hospice in Warrington, the home town of the company’s renowned distillery, G&J Distillers. Dubbed The Road to Dublin Bike Ride, the riders will start their journey at G&J Distillers in Warrington on Friday 26th April, cycling down to Wales through Snowdonia before taking a ferry across the Irish Sea. The ride will end on Tuesday 30th April at the Dublin Liberties Distillery, which the company opened earlier this year.

Diageo has co-founded the Africa Plastics Recycling Alliance to collaborate and support plastics recycling in Sub Saharan Africa generating investment and jobs. The Africa Plastics Recycling Alliance aims to drive collective action between some of the biggest consumer goods businesses operating in Africa to address plastics waste whilst seizing the economic opportunity recycling and reprocessing infrastructure represents.

The Irish investor buying Patisserie Valerie in the UK is on the hunt for more deals, saying it has €2.5m-€10m available for individual transactions. Causeway Capital, an Irish private equity firm, has also invested in the 'BB's' bakery and coffee shop chain, and software firm Bizimply. It said it wants to invest in Irish or UK companies with sales in the region of €2m-€50m and ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of at least €500,000.

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A move by Mike Ashley's Sports Direct to pursue a possible offer for Debenhams got a cool reception from the ailing British department store group on Tuesday which warned it would not address its immediate funding needs. Sports Direct has a near 30% stake in Debenhams and has been trying to wrestle control of it for months. In an announcement after the stock market had closed on Monday, Sports Direct said it was considering buying the whole of Debenhams to prevent a restructuring that could wipe out all shareholders.

© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.

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