Kraft Foods Inc (NYSE:KFT) said on Friday the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had given its consent to the tax-free spin-off of its North American grocery business to shareholders.

After the separation, announced last August, the North American grocery business will operate as an independent, publicly traded firm under the name Kraft Foods Group Inc.

Dave Brearton, Kraft’s CFO and executive vice president, welcomed the IRS ruling saying the group is on track to launch the two new companies before the end of this year.

The remaining global snacks business, which makes the other publicly traded company, generates annual revenues of some USD32bn (EUR25.2bn), while the North American grocery unit has sales of around USD16bn, Kraft has said, adding that the break-up would allow each of the businesses to pursue their growth freely.

The group views the planned split as the next logical step in its development, expected to enhance performance and generate increased long-term shareholder value, Kraft Foods said in August 2011.

The spin-off is still subject to a number of conditions, including the execution of related inter-company agreements and the final approval from the board of Kraft Foods Inc, the company said today.

With a portfolio of snacks including biscuits, confectionery, beverages, cheese, grocery products and convenient meals, sold in around 170 countries globally, Kraft Foods Inc made revenues of USD54.4bn last year.

Consumers around the world are becoming increasingly comfortable with online shopping but they are also doing significantly more research on brands and reading up on product and services information.

The latest evidence of this comes courtesy of a multi-market study carried out by enterprise software giant Oracle and online market research firm MarketTools.

The duo polled 3,111 adult consumers from 15 countries, among them the UK, the US, Germany, China, Brazil and India. The results showed that 80% of the sample researched goods and services online or browsed relevant information on a weekly basis, while a similar study from 2009 had the proportion standing at 62%.

In the new poll, 49% of participants said they undertook this activity on a daily basis as opposed to 26% in the earlier analysis. When it comes to researching or reading done monthly, the respective figures were 90% and 78%.

Oracle and MarketTools established that 20% of the people surveyed engaged in online transactions every week and 35% bought something online every month. Chinese consumers showed great fondness for e-commerce, with 57% saying they shopped online every week and 10% doing it on a daily basis.

The two companies also wanted to know what consumers regarded as the most important characteristics of relevant websites. For 77% of respondents, one such quality was easy browsing and searching, while 59% pointed to hassle-free access to their accounts.

A customer service tool offering “live help” was cited as important by 57% and 44% went with user reviews. Optimised mobile apps and personalised promotions scored 32% and a social sharing function garnered 31%.

Source: M2 Bespoke News

Mobile shopping activity in the UK has increased by 10% year-on-year, according to consumer survey conducted by Stibo Systems. The report detailing the study findings contains the latest warning to those retailers that are still failing to recognise the critical role of mobile in the overall consumer shopping experience: the lack of an effective, multichannel strategy will result in lost business opportunities and mobile is becoming essential to capturing them, meaning that retailers need to pay particular attention to integrating the platform into their overall marketing effort.

When Stibo Systems carried out another similar survey a year ago, it found that 30% of the poll participants had used their smartphones or tablets to shop online. The figure jumped to 40% in the 2012 survey, reflecting the rapid adoption rate for mobile devices.

The new research has also confirmed that product information plays a key part in the online shopping process. Both annual surveys had 67% of consumers declaring product information “very important” in the case of transactions involving high-value merchandise. Another consistent finding in both surveys was the negative impact on sales of inaccurate or low-quality product information, with 16% of respondents pointing to this as a deal-breaker.

Laptops remain the favoured platform for making online purchases with a score of 60%. However, smartphones and tablets are becoming increasingly utilised for that purpose and the number of consumers doing so has leaped over the course of one year, surging from 8% in 2011 to 20% in 2012. In addition, 78% of the sample do their pre-shopping product investigation on mobile devices.

Source: M2 Bespoke News

UK retailer J Sainsbury plc (LSE:SBRY) reported today a 6.8% increase in total sales for 2011 to GBP24.5bn and said that it outperformed the market and increased its market share.

Profit before tax fell 3.4% to GBP799m, but the company said that its underlying profit before tax showed an increase of 7.1% to GBP712m.

Over the course of the year Sainsbury’s saw its market share rise to 16.6%, which it said was the highest for nearly a decade.

Chief executive Justin King claimed that the company’s price perception on branded groceries is improving, driven by the introduction of Brand Match which reassures customers that they are paying either the same or less at Sainsbury’s for branded goods.

In addition to this, Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference and Basics brands are both performing well and the company reported that these products appear side-by-side in many shopping baskets, showing that customers are saving on some items while treating themselves on others.

The other side of the supermarket business, general merchandise and clothing, is continuing to grow faster than the food business and is gaining market share. The retailer is developing its store estate, expanding its ability to offer non-food ranges, and now has 161 stores selling its larger non-food offering, 22 more than last year.

Sainsbury’s is also opening more smaller stores and during 2011 the company met its target of opening new convenience stores at a rate of one to two a week, with 73 to new stores taking the total to 440.

Many consumers are continuing to do more of their shopping from home and online grocery orders now exceed 165,000 a week, with an annual turnover of around GBP800m which places Sainsbury’s second in the market.

Beyond the company’s core operations, the pharmacy business is being expanded and Sainsbury’s Bank had a good year, recording a 40% increase in pre-tax operating profit.

The board of directors has proposed a final dividend of GBP0.116 to make a full-year dividend of GBP0.161, up 6.6% from last year’s dividend of GBP0.151.

French luxury goods giant LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (EPA:MC) said it had bought premium leather products manufacturer Les Tanneries Roux SAS without providing information on financial terms.

Jean-Claude Ricomard will retain his position as chairman and work to ensure that Les Tanneries Roux continues to follow its successful growth strategy in the years ahead.

The acquisition provides the latest evidence of LVMH’s drive to expand its expertise in the leather goods segment. In 2009, the company established Les Tanneries de la Comete SA in a joint venture partnership with Tannerie Masure. Last October, LVMH bought a 51% stake in Singapore-based Heng Long International Ltd, one of the leading global suppliers of crocodile skins.

Les Tanneries Roux was set up in 1803 in Romans-sur-Isere. The French group is considered the pioneer in the use of calf skins, whose smooth and supple quality makes them very suitable for high-end leather products. In the past two decades, Les Tanneries Roux has counted among its partners the likes of Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Loewe, Celine and Moynat.

Present-day LVMH was created in 1987 through the merger of Moet Hennessy and Louis Vuitton. The French conglomerate owns a vast portfolio of luxury brands, among them Christian Dior, Givenchy, Dom Perignon, Dona Karan and Kenzo.

UK-based Home Retail Group plc (HRG) (LSE:HOME), which owns Argos and Homebase, revealed today that its pre-tax profit for the year to 25 February 2012 fell to GBP90.2m, down more than 60% from GBP265.2m in the previous year.

Chief executive Terry Duddy said that spending in the group’s markets declined further than initial expectations, with many customers having less disposable income available for the purchase of discretionary items.

Operating profit at Argos dropped to GBP94.2m, 57% lower than last year’s GBP219.0m, with good sales of laptops, tablets and homewares more than offset by weakness in other product categories, particularly consumer electronics. At Homebase operating profit for the year was GBP22.8m, down 52% compared with GBP47.6m a year earlier, but the busin?ess still managed to achieve its third consecutive year of market share gains.

As consumers increasingly choose to shop online or via mobile device, multi-channel sales penetration at Argos has grown to GBP1.9bn or 48% of total sales in the business, with online Check & Reserve the fastest growing channel.

According to HRG more than 430 million visits were made to Argos.co.uk during the year, maintaining the site’s position as the second largest Internet retailer in the UK, and mobile shopping has grown threefold to represent 6% of total sales by the end of the year.

Multi-channel sales are much smaller at Homebase but nevertheless continued to grow last year, increasing to 4% of its total sales.

Overall, sales for the group declined 6% over the course of the year to GBP5.49bn and the company said that prospects for the 2012/13 financial year remain uncertain because of the impact of inflation on consumers’ disposable income, as well as generally low levels of consumer confidence.

Around 300 store lease renewals or break clauses are due over the next five years, representing nearly 30% of the store portfolio, and HRG indicated that it may choose to close some stores.

The retail group has decided not to pay a final dividend for the year, so its full-year dividend is GBP0.047.

Food producer Premier Foods plc (LSE:PFD) reported today that its sales for the first three months of 2012 increased by 1.3% to GBP427m.

In particular the company’s sales growth was driven by its eight “Power Brands” of Hovis, Ambrosia, Mr. Kipling, Sharwood’s, Loyd Grossman, Bisto, Oxo and Batchelors. Power Brand sales increased by 3.7% compared to the same period last year and Premier Foods said that it was continuing its marketing investment in these key brands.

The increased sales also drove market share gains in the Power Brand categories, Premier Foods noted.

Certain other businesses are planned to be divested in order to sharpen the focus on the Power Brands. At the same time the company is undertaking a cost reduction programme, which is on track to deliver over GBP40m of overhead cost savings by 2013.

Looking at specific sectors within the business, branded sales in the Grocery division increased by 1.8% in the first quarter and sales in the Bread business grew 3.1% in a continued competitive environment.

Chief executive Michael Clarke said that the consumer environment is still “very challenging” and the first quarter results were in line with the company’s expectations.

Over the rest of 2012 Premier Foods is planning to focus on stabilising operational performance while investing in its recovery and increasing its focus through selected disposals. The company believes that the consumer environment will remain challenging, with continued high levels of promotional activity and ongoing cost inflation. Expectations for the full year remain unchanged.

Associated British Foods plc (LSE:ABF), a diversified food, ingredients and retail group, reported a 3% rise in pre-tax profit to GBP329m for the first half of its financial year.

Operating profit for the 24 weeks ended 3 March 2012 grew 6% to GBP378m. The growth in profit was attributed to strong performance from the group’s sugar company AB Sugar and clothing retailer Primark.

All business segments delivered revenue growth and overall group revenue for the half-year amounted to GBP5.8bn, an 11% increase compared to the same period last year.

The company, whose food brands include Jordans, Ryvita, Silver Spoon and Twinings, said that in particular its sugar businesses achieved substantially higher profit compared to the first half a year ago. Revenue and profit in the sugar division rose by 17% and 59% respectively, with much stronger regional sugar prices and a good campaign in the UK.

Commenting on the proposed ending of European Union sugar quotas in 2015, chairman Charles Sinclair said the company believes that this is premature and is likely to jeopardise further investment in the European sugar industry. He added that AB Sugar is discussing with policymakers possible alternative options for reform in the industry.

Trading was mixed in the group’s grocery division, with Twinings Ovaltine and the UK businesses performing well but a disappointing first half for the meat business in George Weston Foods. In the ingredients division there was lower operating profit in the yeast business due to continued input cost pressures and increased competition, combined with a rationalisation charge.

Discount fashion chain Primark saw its revenue rise 15% and the company is continuing to expand the business, with ten new store openings across Western Europe in the first half and six more planned for the second half of the year.

Looking ahead, the company expects that strong profit growth in its sugar businesses and Primark over the full year will more than offset lower profit in the grocery and ingredients divisions.

UK-based department store retailer Debenhams plc (LSE:DEB) announced today an increase in its first-half pre-tax profit to GBP127.1m, up 1.4% compared with the same period last year and ahead of market expectations.

Like-for-like sales for the 26 weeks to 3 March 2012 increased by 1.4% including VAT and by 0.3% excluding VAT.

The company said that it was pleased with its financial performance in the half-year, bearing in mind the difficult economic environment. Trading was also impacted by unseasonably warm weather in the autumn, which affected sales of key product categories such as outerwear.

During the six-month period Debenhams established a four-part strategy with the aim of creating a leading international, multi-channel brand. The company intends to focus primarily on UK retail; deliver a compelling customer proposition; increase availability and choice through multi-channel; and expand the brand internationally.

Debenhams has confirmed that the UK store base will continue to be its largest single sales channel for the foreseeable future. At the end of the first half the company had 164 stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland, of which 142 are full department stores and 22 are small format stores of 25,000 sq ft or less.

Further afield, Debenhams also owns the Magasin du Nord chain in Denmark and the company is planning to expand its international operations through franchise stores, owned international assets and international online delivery. The company has an online sales target of GBP500m and some 20% of this is anticipated to be generated from overseas.

The retailer concluded by saying that it remains comfortable with the market’s current outlook for the full year, adding that a variety of factors could affect its performance in the second half, including the impact of the wider economic situation on consumer behaviour; the major one-off events taking place in the UK during the summer; and potential disruption from the store modernisation programme.

UK-based supermarket retailer Tesco plc (LSE:TSCO) announced today an increase in group profit for the year to 25 February 2012 but a decrease in profit generated in its home market.

Pre-tax profit for the 12-month period rose 5.3% to GBP3.8bn. In the UK Tesco’s profit fell 1.0% to GBP2.5bn, while its international operations recorded profit of GBP1.1bn, up 17.7% compared with the previous year.

Tesco has been working on plans to revive its fortunes in the UK grocery sector and the company announced today that it has committed GBP1bn to improve the shopping trip for customers. This investment will be targeted at recruiting more store staff, speeding up store updates to bring a warmer look and feel, offering better prices and promotions, re-launching the Tesco brands and offering better ranges, providing clearer and more relevant communication with customers and rolling out its Click & Collect online ordering service.

The company said that it will take on more than 8,000 new staff in existing stores and will create a total of 20,000 net new jobs over a period of two years.

Commenting on the year’s results, chief executive Philip Clarke said, “Whilst our International business is delivering excellent growth, contributing GBP1.1bn of profit to the group, we fully recognise that we need to raise our game in the UK.”

Tesco’s group sales for the year increased by 7.4% to GBP72.0bn, or a 5.9% increase excluding petrol.