IGD has today launched a major new event for the UK grocery industry. IGD Live will take place on the 6th and 7th November 2019 at London’s Tobacco Dock, offering delegates the opportunity to learn, connect and grow.

For two days, IGD Live will focus on the commercial issues affecting the industry today and in the future, to help attendees unlock growth for their organisation. Responding to the industry’s desire for choice and variety, the event brings together IGD’s existing Category Management, Convenience, Digital Commerce and Food-to-Go channel events under one roof. Delegates will have the opportunity to attend an individual Insight Stream, or create their own personalised programme by combining elements of each.

Designed to reflect the evolving nature of the UK grocery market, IGD Live will help delegates to grow both within and across multiple channels, with ground-breaking keynote presentations from industry leaders. Confirmed keynote speakers so far include;

• Fiona Dawson, Global President, Food, Drinks and Multisales at Mars Foods
• Jason Tarry, CEO UK & ROI at Tesco
• Jo Whitfield, Retail Chief Executive at Co-op
• Paul Mills-Hicks, Food Commercial Director at Sainsbury’s. 

Additional speakers will be announced in due course.

Susan Barratt, CEO of IGD, said: “I’m truly excited to be joining IGD at a time when our industry is undergoing such dynamic evolution. Our determination to be aligned to this, and to offer agile and relevant solutions to help our customers unlock growth, has led to the creation of IGD Live. I look forward to seeing you all there.”

Ben Miller, Global Insight Director at IGD, said: “Growth opportunities exist both within, and across, grocery channels. By combining the very best of IGD’s established channel events with a fantastic line up of keynote speakers for everyone, we’ll help equip our delegates with practical insights to find that growth. We work in one of the most vibrant, diverse and exciting industries in the world, and I look forward to celebrating this at Tobacco Dock in November”.

IGD Live will swiftly be followed by the IGD Awards, which will take place on the evening of Thursday 7th November. 

For ticket information and to apply for a media pass visit www.IGDLive.com. 

IGD Live 2019

6-7 November, London

Super early bird offer! IGD Live combines our channel events under one roof, giving delegates the opportunity to attend a channel specific area, or to create their own bespoke programme.

Find out more »

The UK's second largest grocer has reported slight declines in like-for-like and total retail sales in its third quarter trading statement, which it attributed to less involvement in Black Friday activity and trading down by shoppers.

Lower inflation impacts growth

In the 15 weeks to January 5th, like-for-like sales fell by 1.1%, ending eight quarters of positive figures. The result compares with +1.1% for the same quarter a year ago. Total retail sales also declined by 0.4%.

Solid grocery sales

Grocery sales increased by 0.4%, reflecting strong service and availability and an improved pricing position relative to competitors. Volume performance was broadly similar to H1 in a slower market and most of the change in headline growth was a reflection of lower inflation. This fell to its lowest rate for two years, with Sainsbury's also running fewer promotions than a year ago. Sainsbury's noted a slight trading down by customers which impacted average selling prices though grocery volume growth improved over the period particularly in core grocery categories. New lines proved popular, particularly vegan and Free From products, however Taste the Difference sales grew more slowly than in previous quarters. Online grocery grew by 6% and convenience by 3%, only slightly slower than in H1.

General merchandise declines by 2.3%

Argos performed well in the key Christmas weeks but sales declined earlier in the quarter due to less involvement in Black Friday as Sainsbury's chose not to run unprofitable promotions and underlying demand was weak. Argos was also impacted by an unexpected double digit decline in the toys market one of its most important categories. Argos stores in Sainsbury's performed well: the 138 stores in their second year of trading delivered an average sales increase of over 10%. Margins however were reduced by the mix impact of growth in lower margin categories such as consumer electronics. 

Clothing growth was slightly negative at 0.2% but ahead of the market with double digit growth in full price sales.

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