Today, we take a closer look at Morrison's plans to increase their standard staff pay to 310 per hour, what the Christmas period looked like for Lidl and how China has seen a solid growth in its FMCG Industry in recent times. Enjoy.
Morrison now paying £10 an hour as standard to staff
Morrisons is claiming to have become the first major supermarket group to guarantee pay of at least £10 an hour for store workers. The company said the new remuneration deal starting in April 2021 will mean a 9% wage increase for most of its 96,000-store staff. Three-quarters of the costs will be met by direct payroll investment and a quarter by changing the supermarket's discretionary annual staff bonus scheme. After consulting with staff, Morrisons said the majority stated that they would prefer to have a guaranteed amount in their hourly rate and receive it more regularly. This means the retailer's annual budget for the discretionary bonus scheme is being rolled into the hourly rate, which is paid every four weeks. The move comes amid praise for supermarket workers for playing a key role in feeding the nation during the pandemic. Unlike Sainsburys, where staff average pay is £8.50 per hour and Tesco where staff are receiving a standard £9 per hour, it seems Morrisons are showing a bit more initiative in alleviating many of the financial worries their staff would have been having during the UK's first COVID Christmas.
Christmas sales boost for Lidl
Lidl has revealed that its total UK sales jumped 17.9% over the four weeks to the 27th of December, confirming recent industry data that suggested it was amongst the top-performing supermarket chains during the festive period. As with its main rival Aldi, Lidl still doesn't provide like-for-like sales figures, with some of the growth being driven by new store openings during the year. Last week, Aldi revealed its total sales rose 10.6% year-on-year in the four weeks to Christmas eve. Boosted by a voucher offer during the period, which encouraged shoppers to spend more than £40, Lidl saw its basket size value rise by 24.8% year-on-year. The discounter said popular items included pink prosecco, panettone, mulled wine and its luxury mince pies. With recent industry data and figures from other chains suggesting consumers treated themselves even more than usual over Christmas, sales of Lidl's premium Deluxe range jumped 22%.
Many FMCG firms find solid growth in China
The top FMCG companies in China attracted 82 million more urban consumers in 2020, though the strategies they used to achieve this vary significantly, according to data from Kantar World panel. Dairy player Yili has tapped into growing consumer demand for health and immunity products, having overtaken P&G to become the largest FMCG company. Additional research shows that 83% of Chinese consumers expect products and services to enhance their health and wellbeing, the highest share across 22 markets. Brands inside and out the FMCG category have reacted to this trend, as 57% of marketers in APAC say health and hygiene will have a significant impact on their 2021 strategy. Low-calorie meals offering high-quality nutrition are expected to be one area of growth in China.
