Relate survey: Money problems 'causing family strain'

 

 

BBC news - 27/12/2012

 

The UK's ongoing financial problems are putting an increasing strain on family relationships, a survey has suggested.

Of 2,742 people polled by the Relate charity, 59% were worried about their economic prospects for the new year.

 

Covering their own household bills remains the top concern for most, while 38% admitted financial worries had led to more family arguments and stress.

 

Relate said politicians should take into account the cost to the economy of families breaking up.

Living costs

The study was designed to assess the impact of current economic difficulties on relationships.

More than half of those asked were worried about prospects for themselves or their families, and most were more stressed about meeting day-to-day living costs than about illness or keeping their jobs.

Some 93% said that, in tough times, their family relationships were important to them.

The survey found that almost six out of 10 people shared their fears and concerns about financial or other worries with their partner, and four in 10 turned to other family members.

Women worried more about covering everyday costs - with 55% expressing this fear compared to 49% of men. Relate estimated that the cost of family breakdowns to the economy was £44bn a year, and said politicians should take families into account when formulating policy.

Relate chief executive Ruth Sutherland said: "The most striking thing about this survey is what it tells us about the value of our personal relationships.

"When times are tough and when all else fails, we turn to our nearest and dearest to get us through, and it's in our best interests to support people to make the best of their relationships at home."

The charity's chairman Andrew Ketteringham said the findings "send a strong message to politicians and public figures".

"Our personal relationships are even more important to us in the age of austerity as we turn to them for support," he said.

"Government should give equal weight to measuring the impact of policy on families and relationships as with economic considerations. Economic impact cannot continue to trump social wellbeing."

 

London, France's sixth biggest city

BBC news - May 2012 - Lucy Ash

 

More French people live in London than in Bordeaux, Nantes or Strasbourg and some now regard it as France's sixth biggest city in terms of population. What is attracting a new generation of young French professionals to the city?

On a wet Friday night in Hackney, a group of young professional women walk into a pub. Laughing about the British weather, they shake their umbrellas, peel off their raincoats and make their way to the bar.

Like many Londoners at the end of a busy working week, they have come to unwind over a few drinks.

But if you move a bit closer, you realise they are all speaking French. They are not tourists, exchange students or off-duty au pairs. They all work in creative industries, have lived in east London quite some time and consider it home.

The biggest French cities

• Paris - 2.3m
• Marseille - 859,000
• Lyon - 488,000
• Toulouse - 447,000
• Nice - 344,000

Source: Insee (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies)
The French Embassy in London says: "More or less 120,000 French are registered at the general consulates in London and Edinburgh, but we assess the real number of French living in the UK as being between 300,000 and 400,000, a huge majority of them living in London."

• Insee official populations (2009)

This fluidity makes employees less risk-averse too.

"I changed careers a year ago but I would have never done that if I was still in France. I'd have thought, 'I'm so lucky to have a job - I must hang on to it.'"

Nadege Alezine, a journalist from Bordeaux, says life in London is not for the faint hearted. She runs a website aimed at the French community called bealondoner.com

"If you want security and nice holidays you stay in France. If you crave adventure and want to get new skills, you come here," she says.

That is not to say she does not miss France. Sipping her drink, she sighs.

"Life in France was easy. You know, good food and wine. I lived near the sea and not far from the ski slopes. And sometimes when London's grey and rainy I think, 'What on earth am I doing here?'"

All the young women I met complained about London's overpriced property. London rents are twice those in Paris.

"In Brick Lane, we had bedbugs and rats," says Malika, "and for the same money I paid for one room, friends back home had their own flats."

Of course, many people living in London have it far worse, but by choosing the East End Malika and her friends are following in the footsteps of her compatriots centuries ago.


The French first came en masse to the East End in the 17th Century. These Huguenots, who had endured years of persecution in France because of their Protestant faith, were offered sanctuary here by King Charles II.

They called their flight Le Refuge - coining the word refugee.

Many settled east of the City of London, where food and housing were cheaper. There are many French street names around nearby Spitalfields Market such as Fournier Street, Fleur de Lys Street and Nantes Passage.

The Huguenots were skilled craftsmen but some feared that they were depriving Londoners of work. A protectionist priest, a certain Dr Welton, called them "the offal of the earth".

Today competition for jobs is intense, especially among the young, and cross-channel migrants are not always welcomed with open arms.

Recently the French consulate commissioned a report called The Forgotten People of St Pancras. It focuses on the young French who arrive in London on a one-way ticket and sometimes find themselves in desperate straits.

The Centre Charles Peguy, a French charity in Shoreditch, helps new arrivals to find work and a place to live.

Cedric Pretat, one of the advisers, says the numbers have shot up this summer.

"Many French people imagine that because of the Olympics, lots of new jobs have been created in London which is not true. But people arrive with this dream."

Retailers bring forward online sales promotions

 

The battle for the consumer has moved online with retailers bringing forward the start of sales after reports of lacklustre spending on the High Street.

Marks & Spencer and John Lewis are among major names to start discounting online in the hope that shoppers will be browsing sites over Christmas.

Sales online have traditionally begun on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.

Reports that millions of consumers will spend the holiday shopping online prompted a warning from Church leaders.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey said Christmas was a "special time" and should be spent with family and not logging-on. "We are now in danger of the gadgets taking over our lives and we are not in control of them," he said.

And Steve Jenkins, a spokesman for the Church of England, urged people to make time to go to church and "maybe spend a bit of time online spending their new Christmas vouchers".

But with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) warning that Christmas sales generally were likely to be "acceptable" rather than "exceptional", retailers are looking for every opportunity to maximise sales.

M&S began its sales online at midday on Monday, while department store John Lewis said it would cut online prices when its stores close at 1700 GMT.

Debenhams has already started its online sale. Online giant Amazon will start its sale on Christmas morning, a day earlier than usual.

"We suspect that people will likely be more careful in buying - or reluctant to buy - items that they don't really want or need in the sales”

End Quote Howard Archer IHS Global Insight

A report from Ofcom, the telecoms regulator, has estimated that shoppers spend an average £1,000 a year online each year. This is more than in any other country, including the US.

The popularity of online retailing contrasts with continued problems for the High Street.

The BRC forecast that £5bn would be spent in the shops on Saturday and Sunday combined, the last weekend before Christmas. But Richard Dodd, the BRC's head of Media and Campaigns, said that was nothing to get excited about, adding: "It's been a very busy weekend which will be crucial to delivering a Christmas that is acceptable, rather than exceptional."

Premier adds new ‘desserts’ to Mr Kipling (ambient)

Premier Foods has announced the expansion of its Mr Kipling Inspirations range with new ‘Dessert Classics’.

The bakery and food manufacturer has created two popular dessert favourites, including a Banoffee slice and Mississippi Mud Pies, which will land on shelves early in the new year.

 

The Banoffee slices will be available in new convenient snap-packs, which Premier Foods says has generated £29.2m in sales by tapping into consumer demand for on-the-go treats.

 

Anthony Reynolds, category strategy manager for bakery at Premier Foods, said: “Our new Dessert Classics range targets teatime, the biggest sector within the cake category worth £20.2m, and builds on the success of our inspirations range refresh programme, which has delivered £17.6m of sales since its launch in August 2009.”

 

He added that the Great British Puds range generated £5.7m in sales and is confident that the success can be replicated.

 

The January 2013 launch will be accompanied by bespoke packaging, social media and banner advertising, as well as store coupons to drive sales.

UB intends to grow through Cake and Biscuit innovation

Following the sale of its snacks business United Biscuits (UBUK) has unveiled its first-quarter activity in 2013 for its biscuit and cake brands.

 

The bakery manufacturer said there would be “significantly upweighted NPD” for the McVitie’s brand, with new products and campaigns planned.

 

More chocolate is being added to McVitie’s milk and dark chocolate digestive biscuit ranges and, in February, the brand will be extending the range to include McVitie’s Double Chocolate Digestives, a chocolate-flavoured biscuit containing chocolate chips and half-coated in milk chocolate.

McVitie’s Chocolate Digestives will also be making their first TV appearance since 2008, as part of a £2.2m marketing campaign.

 

The firm said its McVitie’s Medley range had achieved sales growth of 26% over the past year, with new products, including a new Rocky Road variant, to launch in the new year.

Other new products include McVitie’s Minis: Mini Pirate Crew and Mini Jungle Friends and Mini Gingerbread Men.

 

Meanwhile UBUK said McVitie’s Cake Company would aim to build on the success of slice sector, within the cake category, with the introduction of two new products – a McVitie’s Digestive Slice and a McVitie’s GingerNut Slice. Both products are designed to tap into the growing popularity of ‘biscuit slices’ – a new sub-sector to the traditional sponge slice market, according to the manufacturer.

 

New products will also be seen under UBUK’s go ahead! brand, including a new forest fruits variety.

Jon Eggleton, marketing director at UBUK, commented: “2013 will benefit from one of our biggest years yet in terms of NPD. We’ve invested heavily into new products, new advertising campaigns and category enhancing activity for the nation’s favourite biscuits brand, McVitie’s, and we’re confident our Q1 plans will drive fresh growth into the established biscuit category and in turn boost sales for retailers in 2013 and beyond.”

Food sales rise at Tesco - Bakeryinfo.co.uk

Tesco has reported a 1.2% growth in like-for-like (LFL) sales at its UK food business during the last three months.

The supermarket giant announced the news this morning (5 December), as part of its third-quarter interim management statement for the 13 weeks to 24 November.

The company revealed LFL UK sales fell 0.6% in the quarter, excluding VAT and petrol, while group sales increased by 2.9% excluding petrol at constant exchange rates. Within Europe, Tesco experienced a 3.6% drop in LFL sales, excluding petrol.

Philip Clarke, chief executive of Tesco, said: “I am pleased with the performance of our food business in the UK. Our six-part plan is about improving the shopping trip for customers for the long-term and this is a positive early sign. We’ve now refreshed nearly 300 stores, upgraded or introduced well over 3,000 products and added innovations, such as Delivery Saver, to our already successful online grocery business - and there is plenty more to come in 2013.

“We have seen a further weakening in consumer spending in central Europe, although the effects of this have been partly offset by a better quarter in Asia. I am looking forward to the important seasonal period ahead, and am confident in our plans to deliver further improvements in our shopping trip for customers.”

Tesco mentioned in its latest financial results that the company had rolled out new bakery departments in 850 of its stores this year.

Tesco said the outlook in the UK, ahead of the important seasonal period and with the progress made so far on its plans to improve the shopping trip for customers, remained unchanged as a whole for the year.

"Hovis and Kingsmill stuck in Bristish bread slugfest"

Deboo said Investec believed that Warburtons was the clear category leader in terms of product quality and production cost efficiencies, while Kingsmill (Allied Bakeries, Associated British Foods or ABF) and Hovis (Premier Foods) were involved in a “slugfest for the number two position”, with the latter disadvantaged due to ABF’s deeper pockets.

Deboo said of Hovis: “It’s a power brand for Premier, because I suspect it’s an acknowledgement of the fact that no-one else would buy it from them. In objective terms it’s very hard to see how they [Premier] can have a profitable future in bread.” According to the latest market intelligence from Mintel, pre-packed bread dominated the bakery sector with sales of £1.931bn (€2.32bn) in 2011, cornering around two thirds of the market, but the research firm said that slight value growth of only 0.2% was due to customers switching to alternative bakery goods.“Value sales of pre-packed bread were relatively flat over the period, but volumes continued to decline despite ongoing price promotions, which in turn offset the upward price pressure on prices from inflation to see stagnant growth in value sales,” Mintel said.

Sliding volume sales Pre-packed bread has suffered a year-on-year fall in UK volume sales, according to Mintel’s statistics, from 1.493bn tonnes in 2006 to 1.337bn tonnes (estimated) in 2011.“The three per cent decline in volume sales in 2011 against 2010 is likely to reflect the two percentage point fall in daily bread eaters in 2011, the company said.

Although white bread still dominates the sliced bread sector (£1.034bn sales: 2011) it suffered a 3% decline vis-à-vis 2010, Mintel noted, with consumers appearing to prioritise healthy variants (health-positioned loaves, dietary and half-and-half products) and other baked goods.Brown bread saw a modest increase in market share (up 2% to £323m in 2010) while half-and-half had a strong 2011 (up 7% to £204m).“That 53% of adults try to include plenty of fibre in their diet implies there is sizeable demand for healthier bread such as brown, with bits and half-and-half,” Mintel said.

Diet and weight-control bread was an emerging but niche market, the firm added, but it said the major brands had been striving to meet customer demand for healthier products: examples given included Warburton’s low-calorie wraps and flatbreads that hit the market in February 2011.

Healthier product demand.

In November 2011, Hovis also relaunched its low-calorie Nimble brand with new packaging and marketing support, while WeightWatchers (in tandem with Warburtons) relaunched its entire portfolio early last year.Elsewhere ‘morning goods’ increased their market share (2011: £447m, up 6%) thanks to strong growth in doughnuts (+40%) while the success of indulgent breakfast items such as brioches suggested that consumers were searching for more indulgent treats, Mintel said.Within the fast-growing specialty breads sector bagels stood out with 48% growth in 2011, the company added, fuelled by the relaunch of the New York Bagel Company’s portfolio and wider interest in alternatives to bread.But despite consumer preference for freshly baked bread over wrapped products, in-store bakery (ISB) sales rose by just over 2% to reach £510m, Mintel said, although this low growth was offset by morning good, “reported to be faring well”.
Positive consumer responses to ISB bread suggested unfulfilled potential in the category. To quote Mintel: “It appears the level of innovation among breads produced in ISBs is lacking the pace of the wrapped bread market where health is a driving force in NPD, so more dieter-targeted loaves could be produced on site.”


http://www.bakeryandsnacks.com/Markets/Hovis-and-Kingsmill-stuck-in-British-bread-slugfest-analyst

Mintel "Brits start the day the French way as sales of French pastries rise"

Brits start the day the French way as sales of French pastries rise

As the most important meal of the day, it’s petit dejeuner not breakfast for Brits, as pastries, such as Brioche and Pain au Chocolat rise in the hearts of the nation - growing at a faster pace than traditional British baked goods. Indeed, according to latest research from Mintel, Brioche sales rose a sweet 25% in 2011 - from £31 million in 2010 to a tasty £38 million in 2011. And sales of Pain au Chocolat increased a mouth-watering 14% over the same two years up from £22 million in 2010 to £25 million in 2011.

Today, French pastries are consumed by almost a quarter (23%) of all Brits, which compares to 24% of those who eat more traditional bread and baked goods. While a good old slice of toast remains the nation’s favourite breakfast, eaten by as many as 81% of Brits for breakfast, many of the more traditional bread and baked goods have posted slower growth. Hot cross buns, for example, have seen modest growth of 7% over the past two years – from £30 million in 2010 to £33 million in 2011. And it appears other baked items are losing their appeal amongst Brits. Indeed, the market for English Muffins has declined by 3% from £25 million in 2010 to £24 million in 2011. The only exception to this trend is the “cream tea favourite” - Scones - valued at £33 million in 2011, rising a positive 19% from £28 million in 2010.

Alex Beckett, Senior Food Analyst at Mintel, said:

“French baked goods such as Brioche have recorded impressive value growth, suggesting Brits are developing a stronger taste for sweet bakery goods. The fact that these goods can be eaten at breakfast could suggest that this growth is to the detriment of sliced bread. Bread brands can capitalise on this cosmopolitan trend by introducing a wider variety of sweet baked goods to their portfolios.”

Freshness is the number one priority for the nation’s bread eaters. Despite the tough economic climate, when it comes to choosing a bread product, more than eight in 10 (84%) look for freshness, while price is a priority for 67% of consumers. And as the nation’s waistline expands and obesity levels rise, just 29% consumers prioritise a healthy bread product.

Just as there has been a huge boost in demand for French pastries, Bagels have registered an outstanding performance in the UK morning goods market too - with a spectacular 48% growth in just two years, up from £33 million in 2010 to £49 million in 2011. Overall, sales of speciality bread (including Wraps, Naans, Bagels, Pittas, Baguettes, Chapattis and Paninis) have increased by as much as 8% between 2010 and 2011.

While morning goods have increased their share of the market - thanks in part to the overall market growth of certain sectors such as indulgent breakfast items and Bagels - the total market for bread and morning goods in the UK registered a slow annual growth rate of just 2% between 2010 and 2011, from £2.9 billion in 2010 to £3 billion in 2011. However, bread still holds its status as household essential as it was eaten by 97% of Brits in 2011, with the core segment the wrapped sliced bread - which was worth £1.9 billion in 2011.

“Bread is a quintessential household staple food, eaten by the overwhelming majority of British consumers in the UK last year. However, annual sales partly reflect a slight decline in the share of adults who eat bread daily. Consumers are livening up their food regimes and giving themselves an affordable treat by switching to more diverse types of baked goods. It seems Brits are beginning to show an appreciation of Bagels that New Yorkers would be proud of!” Alex concludes.