CIA Medianetwork wins Labbatt

Sainsbury’s has had to follow Asda in reversing its discounts on vitamins and minerals across 70 per cent of the brands which it put on offer last week. Last Tuesday manufacturers Seven Seas and Roche were granted an injunction against Asda to prevent the retailer breaching the resale price maintenance regulations (MW last week). Asda […]

Direct pressure from its banks to clear debts of 130m is forcing Cordiant to launch a rights issue, designed to raise at least 120m from existing shareholders. The terms of the issue will be unveiled within the next week, once the Cordiant board has met to finalise the details. The group has always denied that […]

BSkyB is launching Sky Visa this month through a tie-up with Beneficial Bank. There is no annual fee and an introductory rate of 13.9 per cent APR for Sky subscribers who take up the card. It is the latest special offer extended by Sky to its 3.25 million direct-to-home subscribers. Others include insurance cover with […]

Having read “Sainsbury’s bites again” (MW October 27) regarding the retailer’s new brand TOPS, or Total Oral Protection System, I thought you might be interested to see the identity we created last year for our client TOPS, or Total Outdoor Protection System. Could this be where Sainsbury’s gets its inspiration? Emma Paterson Horseman Cooke London […]

UK Charity Lotteries is considering launching its own TV show to take on the National Lottery and push sales of its Lukcy Lotto scratchcards. UKCL sales and marketing director Andrew Slamin says the company is considering the move to help boost its share of the scratchcard market from four to ten per cent. Slamin adds: […]

Rocked by its pensions fiasco, the Prudential is looking to other sources of revenue – taking on the high-street banks. George Pitcher is joint managing director of media consultancy Luther Pendragon

Amid the financial services takeover fever, there is mounting speculation that one of the big four high street banks is planning to make a bid for the Royal Bank of Scotland. Sean Brierley finds out what the attraction is

Sainsbury’s is moving into tele-vision sponsorship for the first time by backing a twice-weekly cookery slot on GMTV, starring celebrity cook Jane Asher. The first of the programmes, entitled “The 12 days of Christmas”, went on air this week as part of a six-week series which will end just before Christmas. “It’s a standard sponsorship […]

Sainsbury’s The Magazine has claimed its first victim with the closure of Living magazine by IPC, which was first published in 1967. The monthly women’s “practical” or checkout title will be merged with IPC’s older women’s monthly magazine Woman & Home from the February 1996 issue. Living has suffered successive falls in circulation since the […]

John Smith’s Bitter has knocked Tetley Bitter from the number-one spot for the first time to become the UK’s most popular bitter, according to bi-monthly figures from research company Stats MR. Total sales of John Smith’s in the take-home trade and through pubs and bars overtook those of Tetley early in the summer. Added to […]

I write with reference to the article “Redeeming Features” (MW October 20), in which it was stated incorrectly that Dixons is part of the Kingfisher group. I wish to remind you that Dixons Group plc is a retailing group which specialises in the sale of high-technology consumer electronics, personal computers, domestic appliances, photographic equipment, communication […]

Club 18-30 is launching a new holiday brand, targeting 25 to 40-year-olds. Priority Holidays is being launched in the run-up to Christ- mas with an aggressive marketing campaign, centred on the message: “Put yourself first for a change.

Tesco’s Clubcard has helped it to knock Sainsbury’s off the top spot. So what can Sainsbury’s do to regain its supremacy? Superpanel is a division of Taylor Nelson AGB. For further information, please contact Judith Passingham, director Superp

Amstrad has been forced to drop the Ultima brand name for its DIY facelift kit after legal action from cosmetics company Revlon, which uses the same name for its skincare range. Amstrad used the Ultima brand name for the national launch of its facial toning machine last month (MW September 29). The name appeared in […]