Report comment

It’s perfectly clear that the rise of the German discounters Aldi & Lidl have created huge problems, not only for the mults but also the convenience sector and the only way we in sector can compete is scale. Consolidation has to happen and for me I very much welcome the Booker/Tesco merger. It will not only raise the bar on quality with Fresh & Chill but also force the sector to up its game. It would be delusional if any symbol group or its members thinks they can get the glory days of the past and offer more with less.

The convenience sector has always evolved and will continue to evolve with new demands made customers with changing life style choices and emphasis on food to go playing a major role in our business. We know that the ambient grocery has been in decline for some time and injecting new categories can only be achieved through scale and scale only cost-effectively if we were to compete in the market place.

Arjan Mehr Londis Bracknell