Client Newswrap: M&S’s boob, Beckham’s gaffe and Morrison’s boost

Retailers

Marks & Spencer has revealed that it boosted bra sales by more than a third during a sale last month. During the two-week promotion, in which discounts of 25% were on offer, the chain sold around two bras every second. News of the sales surge comes after M&S apologised to shoppers for charging an extra £2 for larger bra sizes, with a campaign saying: “We boobed”.

Furniture giant Ikea has upped its CSR with a promise to give solar-powered lamps to children in Pakistani refugee camps. The Swedish group has teamed up with children’s charity Unicef for the promotion, in which it will donate a Sunnan solar lamp for every one it sells.

Greenpeace has claimed that the UK’s biggest supermarkets are profiting from deforestation. A report from the environmental charity says that multiples including Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and M&S are profiting from meat grown by farms responsible for deforestation. The supermarkets deny that they are selling beef from the Amazon.

Almost a third of all supermarket sales in April this year were of discounted goods, according to a study. Market research firm Nielsen found that 32% of sales in the four weeks to the start of May were for items on promotion, compared to a typical figure of 28% for this time of year. Overall, sales at grocery retailers was up 5.1% in the 12 weeks to 16 May.

Meanwhile, figures from market research firm TNS show that Morrisons clocked up the highest growth in the three months to 17 May. The chain posted 7.9% growth in sales, pushing its market share to 11.6%, up 0.2% on the same period last year. Sainsbury’s sales grew 7.8%, while Asda posted a 7.2% rise. Tesco lagged behind with 4.7% expansion, while Waitrose posted just 4%.

McDonald’s is planning to up the ante in its battle with Starbucks by opening a hundreds of new McCafés in Europe, according to the Financial Times. The paper claimed that fast food chain has set itself a target of overtaking Starbucks as the continent’s biggest coffee seller. There are currently around 700 McCafés across Europe in countries such as Ireland, Germany, Russia and Italy.

Brands

Food manufacturer General Mills is to give away some 600,000 Nature Valley granola bars in a new marketing push. The campaign will run for 10 weeks from tomorrow (2 June).

David Beckham got caught red-handed last week when he was spotted using an Apple iPhone. The AC Milan footballer was photographed with the phone by paparazzi. However, Beckham fronts publicity for rival mobile phone maker Motorola and last month appeared in ads for the company’s £1,400 Aura handset.

Italian beer brand Peroni Nastro Azzuro has called on the talents of designer Antonio Berardi to create a collection of fashion items and a window display at London department store Harrods. One of the items created by Berardi is a jewel bottle opener.

Water brand Highland Spring is to launch an on-pack promotion offering the chance to win a tennis training session with world number three Andy Murray.

Millie’s Cookies has revamped its brand to strengthen its appeal to its core customer base of 16- to 25-year-old women. The new design features colours described by the firm as “bright, fresh and feminine” and will be rolled out to stores, uniforms and packaging.

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