Tesco has completed its Tesco Bank migration process from a Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) system to its own platforms.
The final phase of the migration involved moving millions of credit card accounts.
“We are pleased to confirm that the final phase of migration for Tesco Bank – transitioning all credit card accounts onto our own systems infrastructure – has been successfully completed.
“All 2.8 million accounts were migrated in May, with the increased planning, resource and focus given to the project through this important period paying off with minimal disruption to customers,” Tesco said in its Q1 interim management statement today.
Tesco Bank has been focused on a complex infrastructure and systems build for the last three years. As well as the credit card accounts, it migrated motor and household insurance, savings accounts and loans from the RBS system.
The migration has not been easy, however. The bank, which is fully run by the supermarket giant but was until 2008 a joint venture with the RBS, locked out online customers for three days in June 2011 as it experienced serious problems moving RBS data onto its own systems.
The issues forced the bank to extend its migration deadline, which resulted in higher costs, the company said earlier this year, as the bank had to absorb double running costs during the period.
“The extended migration slowed down the progress of Tesco Bank and has contributed to overall revenues being slightly down compared to last year, exacerbated by a more competitive car insurance market,” Tesco said today.
Tesco Bank saw a 3.7 percent fall in sales during Q1, which was the period of 13 weeks ended 26 May 2012.
Source: www.cio.co.uk
Tesco slumps despite Jubilee boost - The Guardian
The UK's biggest retailer suffered a 1.5% fall in underlying sales in the 13 weeks to May 26, although this did not include the period around the Queen's Diamond Jubilee when it enjoyed its biggest ever week outside Christmas.
Despite its latest quarterly sales decline, Tesco said its £1 billion turnaround, which has seen it revamp 100 stores and recruit 4,300 extra staff, is beginning to gain traction as it competes more convincingly with rivals.
Although investors were spared another profits warning, shares dropped amid fears it is giving out more money-off vouchers to bolster its performance.
Chief executive Philip Clarke said: "Our customers are seeing the evidence of the changes we're making and they're telling us they like what they see."
Tesco kept its profits outlook for the year ahead unchanged, reassuring investors after the chain's first profits warning in 20 years in January.
Clive Black, an analyst at Shore Capital, said: "We see Tesco UK as toughing it out a little more effectively than it was."
But he added that it will take at least two years for the turnaround to be completed.
The retailer is struggling in a competitive market, as it battles it out with buoyant rivals Sainsbury's, Asda and discounters Aldi and Lidl at a time when shoppers are cutting back.
However, Freddie George, an analyst at Seymour Pierce, said: "We continue to believe that Tesco is still a strong business with an unassailable market leading position in the UK, that has temporarily come off the rails."
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2012, All Rights Reserved.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Essex rapist Jon Molt jailed after being traced by DNA - BBC News
A rapist has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years after being convicted of attacking a 15-year-old girl in an Essex woodland almost 15 years ago.
Jon Molt, 34, was traced after his father provided a DNA sample as part of the police inquiry into the rape in Ten Metre Wood, Harlow, in December 1997.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard the sample provided a "familial match". Molt, from Rushes Mead, Harlow, had denied rape.
His victim said she was "extremely grateful" to police for catching him.
Prosecutor Carolyn Gardiner said the girl had attended a Christmas concert at her school and became concerned that her boyfriend, who played in the band, was not there and decided to walk to his house.
'Brutal attack'As she passed through a secluded area of the wood she became aware of somebody running behind her, the court heard.
Ms Gardiner said as the attacker tried to remove the girl's school uniform, she said: "Please don't hurt me, I'm only 15."
The prosecutor said: "She screamed and he struck her and said 'If you scream again I'm going to kill you and I'm going to kill you bad'."
“Start Quote
End Quote Rape victimI would like to thank them not only on my behalf, but for any future victims of this man who will now never have to go through the ordeal that I have had to endure”
Despite a major investigation and a Crimewatch appeal, Molt was not traced until a DNA match was found almost 15 years later.
The court heard that, at the time of the attack, Molt worked in a Blockbuster store near the woodland.
Senior investigating officer, Det Ch Insp Rob Vinson, said: "Jon Molt believed for over 14 years that he had got away with this brutal and shocking attack on a young girl who had just left a school carol concert.
"He hadn't and he will now be going to prison for a long time."
The case is the first time familial DNA has been used by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate to track down an offender.
The victim, who is now married and living in London, said: "It is difficult to describe the sense of relief that I feel now that this man has been caught.
"Fourteen years is a long time and I was beginning to believe that he would never be caught.
"I am extremely grateful that Essex Police continued to investigate the crime and I would like to thank them not only on my behalf, but for any future victims of this man who will now never have to go through the ordeal that I have had to endure."
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
ALDI Holds Job Fair at Hilton Garden Inn - WIFR
ROCKFORD (WIFR) -- A business that's been in the Stateline for years, ALDI grocery store, is hiring nearly a dozen new positions to the payroll.
ALDI on East State Street is adding up to nine people. There will be a job fair at the Hilton Garden Inn on Monday to interview for the positions; the company is looking for cashiers and possibly managers. Pay ranges from $11.30 to $22 an hour, depending on the position.
The event will go from 6am to 2pm with a short break and will start up again at 4:00pm and last until 8pm. Applicants must be at least 18 or older, have a high school diploma or GED, and must be available to work between 6am and 10pm.
Source: www.wifr.com
Corby council sold Tesco land 'too cheaply' - BBC News
Corby council has been accused of acting unlawfully and missing out on millions of pounds by selling land too cheaply.
A site at St James, Corby, now being developed by Tesco, was sold by the Labour-led borough council for £82,000.
The BBC has seen a council email which states the land was worth £8m a year later, in 2011. A Tory councillor claims the sale was unlawful.
The council said the Audit Commission was investigating.
Councillor Rob McKellar said he believed that the sale contravened the Local Government Act of 1972.
Under the legislation, local authorities are obliged to achieve the best price they can for property, and anything sold for more than £2m under its value must be referred to the secretary of state.
'Official advice'The council's One Corby Policy Committee also ruled in 2008 that this type of under-value sale must be referred to committee.
Mr McKellar claims this did not happen with the St James land, which was sold to Mulberry Developments in 2010.
Head of housing Steve Redfern, in an email to Mr McKellar, said the land was valued at £8m by Savills in 2011, with the benefit of the retail consent granted to Tesco.
Mr Redfern added even with a discount for it not having planning permission, it would still be worth about £4m.
He also added that anything sold for more than £2m under value must be referred to the secretary of state, and that the 2010 sale had been authorised by the then chief executive, Chris Mallender.
Mr McKellar said he had been alerted to the issue by an open report on under value rents.
"It indicated that not all under value land sales had followed policy, so I asked questions based on that.
"I was completely shocked when I got an email back to say that not only had the transaction not followed policy, they had not followed the law."
'Aware of concerns'Acting chief executive of the council Norman Stronach said the land had a "long and complicated history" and its sale had been reported to appropriate council committees.
He said the site had been subject to a number of valuations since 2000.
"The council is aware of concerns over this and have asked the Audit Commission to look into this whilst also looking at the Cube history," he added.
Earlier this year a leaked confidential report revealed the £47m Corby Cube - which houses the council offices - was more than £10m over budget and built with "dangerous" design flaws which had to be corrected.
An Audit Commission report is expected in August or September, Mr Stronach said.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
UK: Tesco Q1 "solid" despite weak domestic sales - Just-style.com
Tesco, the UK's largest retailer, today (11 June) described its first quarter performance as "solid," despite seeing a drop in domestic like-for-like sales and subdued consumer confidence across Europe weighing on the performance of its clothing lines.
The supermarket giant, which issued a shock profit warning in January, reported a 1.5% decline sales at UK stores open at least a year, excluding VAT and fuel, for the 13 weeks to 26 May. Total UK sales were up 2.0%.
But it said the results were in line with expectations, and improved relative to the market as a whole. Indeed, data from Kantar shows market growth fell 1.3% to 2.4% in the first quarter, whereas Tesco's total sales growth was down just 0.3% to 2.0%.
Group sales rose 2.2% in the quarter, thanks to a "robust" international performance driven largely by Asia where all makers improved their like-for-like sales, with the exception of China.
In Europe, like-for-like sales increased by 0.4%, helped by improved performances in Poland, Slovakia and the Republic of Ireland.
But continued uncertainty over the future of the Eurozone was reflected in reduced discretionary spending on general merchandise and clothing.
"Tesco has performed robustly in the first quarter despite subdued consumer confidence in all our markets," chief executive Philip Clarke said.
Analysts, however, are not so sure. Neil Saunders, managing director of Conlumino, comments: "From these results one message comes through loud and clear: there is no quick fix solution to the issues with Tesco's UK business and a tremendous amount of work still remains."
The UK supermarket group in April unveiled plans to invest GBP1bn (US$1.59bn) in revitalising its domestic business - including efforts to boost its clothing sales.
However, it "will take time to drive changes in consumer behaviour," Saunders notes. "Moreover, a great deal more change is still required across other aspects of the proposition, including store refurbishments, customer service initiatives, and brand and product refreshes across other parts of the range. In essence, Tesco continues to play a game of catch-up in bringing its retail standards up to scratch."
He also points out that on the international front, "there are some worrying signs that, as a whole, performance is also slowing...especially in Europe."
"Against this backdrop Tesco will need to sharpen its offer, especially on the general merchandise front, in order to stimulate sales. Our concern is that along with the UK and the US operation, which although improving remains a challenge, Tesco appears to be fighting battles on a number of fronts."
Jon Copestake, retail analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), adds: "Rome wasn't built in a day and it is premature to expect great things from the recent turnaround plan already. The continuing fall back in the UK comes in difficult trading conditions where factors as diverse as the weather, domestic austerity and the Eurozone crisis all seem to play a part.
"The problem is that other big retailers are making the best of things where Tesco is continuing to slide. The next two quarters will be important for Tesco. The impact of Jubilee spending as well as Euro 2012 and the Olympics will receive close attention, especially as Clarke's proposed measures begin to take hold."
Source: www.just-style.com
Tesco sales slump again as Philip Clarke’s masterplan fails - scotsman.com
TESCO posted a further fall in sales yesterday as a £1 billion turnaround plan unveiled by chief executive Philip Clarke in April struggles to gain traction amid continuing consumer headwinds.
Britain’s largest supermarket group’s like-for-like sales slid 1.5 per cent in the 13 weeks to 26 May. That was slightly better than the 1.6 per cent sales decline in the final quarter of its last financial year, which followed a bombshell profits warning from Tesco in January after poor Christmas trading.
Clarke, who took over from Sir Terry Leahy at Tesco’s helm in early 2011, said: “Confidence isn’t getting any worse but it isn’t getting any better. The great hope would be that fuel prices are going to come down. A tank of petrol is still £70 now and it was £45 two years ago, an amazing dent in household budgets.”
Clarke’s plan for revival involves store revamps, thousands of extra shopfloor staff and an online sales drive. He said extra staff were now in 700 stores and 145,000 employees had been given specialist training.
“Our customers are seeing the evidence of the changes we’re making and they like what they see,” he added.
However, the Tesco boss declined to forecast how long a significant turnaround in like-for-like sales would take.
Richard Cathcart, food retailing analyst at Espirito Santo investment bank, said: “We are not yet seeing the concrete signs of improvement that would drive a re-rating of the shares.
“As the year progresses, management will have to show hard evidence that consumers’ perception of the Tesco offer are improving.”
Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown stockbrokers, said: “Realistically, this is a marathon and not a sprint for Tesco.
“The amendments it is making to its business model will take time to implement and wash through. However, investors are quite impatient and have been searching for opportunities elsewhere, as evidenced by the 24 per cent drop in the share price over the last six months, as compared to a 2 per cent fall for the wider FTSE 100 index.”
The company’s shares closed flat yesterday at 302.8p.
Clarke said the sector was still highly competitive in the first quarter “with a significant amount of couponing activity”.
He said Tesco’s extensive international business – from central Europe to Asia and the United States – had performed resiliently. But he confirmed City concerns about South Korea where like-for-like sales were down 1.1 per cent. Tesco said that the country was growing at its slowest rate for three years.
“The recently-introduced legislation allowing local governments to enforce closures on two days per month and restrict opening hours had an impact in the last three weeks of the quarter as it was more widely implemented across the country”, the company said.
Like-for-like sales in Europe edged up 0.4 per cent, including the Republic of Ireland delivering its first quarter of growth since 2010.
However, Tesco warned: “Continued uncertainty over the future of the eurozone and the potential impact of any further disruption has resulted in very low consumer confidence, particularly in central Europe.”
The loss-making Fresh & Easy subsidiary in the US saw sales growth of 3.6 per cent.
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Tesco Upbeat In Spite Of Sales Drop - huffingtonpost.co.uk
Under-pressure grocer Tesco posted another UK sales decline on Monday but said its performance has been robust as it battles to revive its fortunes.
The UK's biggest retailer, which operates 2,800 stores, said like-for-like sales fell 1.5% in the 13 weeks to May 26, slightly better than the 1.6% decline in the previous quarter.
But the group said it gained share from its rivals in a declining grocery market, helped by the addition of 4,300 extra staff and the overhaul of 100 stores, the Press Association reported.
Tesco also enjoyed its best ever week outside of Christmas amid the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, with more than £1 billion of sales, but this was not included in the new figures.
Chief executive Philip Clarke said: "Our customers are seeing the evidence of the changes we're making and they're telling us they like what they see."
Tesco kept its profits outlook for the year ahead unchanged, reassuring investors after the chain's first profits warning in 20 years in January.
Shares opened nearly 2% higher following the update.
Clive Black, a leading retail analyst at Shore Capital, said: "We see this as a steady statement suggesting stabilisation is coming through in the UK."
Mr Clarke launched his turnaround plan this year after admitting Tesco needed to sharpen up its pricing and customer service and that stores had become jaded and tired.
It has already given 145,000 staff specialist training, improved the offers through its Clubcard scheme and relaunched its Value range as Everyday Value with more colourful packaging.
Mr Clarke added: "We are rapidly implementing our six-point UK plan and I'm particularly proud of the relaunch of our Everyday Value range and the fact we have now put extra staff into 700 of our stores - in 500 of them within the last three weeks alone."
He said the group's sales overseas proved resilient, despite battling slowing economic growth in China and the eurozone debt crisis.
Source: www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
Aldi Süd and Affiliates Enter into MPEG-2 Licenses with MPEG LA - PR Inside
MPEG LA announced today that Aldi Süd and affiliates (“Aldi Süd”) have entered into MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio Licenses with MPEG LA. Under the Licenses, Aldi Süd is responsible for paying royalties on its own branded MPEG-2 products.
As a result of this agreement, several companies that license their essential MPEG-2 patents through MPEG LA have settled their patent enforcement actions against Aldi Süd before the District Court Düsseldorf, Germany.
MPEG LA, LLC
MPEG LA is the world leader in alternative technology licenses, enabling users to acquire worldwide patent rights necessary for a technology standard or platform from multiple patent owners in a single transaction as an alternative to negotiating individual licenses. Wherever an independently administered one-stop patent license would provide a convenient
marketplace alternative to assist users with implementation of their technology choices, the licensing model pioneered and employed by MPEG LA may provide a solution. By balancing patent users’ interest in reasonable access with patent owners’ interest in reasonable return, MPEG LA creates the opportunity for adoption of new technologies and fuels innovation. MPEG LA’s initial licensing program for MPEG-2 digital video compression helped produce the most widely employed standard in consumer electronics history, and the MPEG LA ® Licensing Model has become the template for addressing other technologies. Today MPEG LA manages licensing programs consisting of 6000 patents in 74 countries with 159 licensors and some 5000 licensees. For more information, please refer to www.mpegla.com : cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww .. . " title="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=bwnews&sty=20120611005890r1&sid=16929&distro=ftp\"/>" target="_blank">cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=bwnews&sty=20120611005890r1&am ..
MPEG LA, LLCTom O’ReillyTel: 303-200-1710Fax:
301-986-8575 toreilly@mpegla.com : mailto:toreilly@mpegla.com
Source: www.pr-inside.com
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