In a bid to rectify a shortfall in donations to the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal, due to its decision to delist more than 10 Hovis lines, Tesco has pledged to donate "tens of thousands" to the cause.
As referred to in British Baker editor Sylvia Macdonald’s ’Viewpoint’ (pg 3, 22 October), Hovis is to donate 4p, to the appeal, from every Seed Sensations loaf sold until 16 November. Macdonald wrote: "It would be a shame if this worthy cause were to lose as much as a penny."
A spokesperson for Tesco said: "We are aware that some bread lines not sold at Tesco are raising funds for this great cause, so we are making a further direct donation to the Poppy Appeal to offset this and ensure the charity does not miss out."
The retailer would not confirm the exact amount, but the total donation is believed to be around £40k.
In a discussion regarding Premier Foods’ interim management statement, announced on 28 October, chief executive Robert Schofield confirmed the firm was in the process of trying to resolve the dispute with the retailer. "Tesco has delisted some of our smaller lines and we are talking to them to try to resolve that," he said. He also confirmed that, following discussions with all retailers of its products, Premier has now completed its repricing stategy, in both Grocery and Hovis "to recover the sharp rise in wheat prices".
In the financial statement for the three months to 30 September 2010, Premier’s Hovis division saw branded bakery sales up 1.2%, a rise of 1.1% in its bakery arm, and 3.9% within milling, compared to third-quarter figures in 2009. Non-branded sales were down 18.4% for the same period.
In conjunction with Hovis, Rank Hovis will be making a flat donation of £10,000 to the Poppy Appeal.
>>Supermarket giant Tesco delists Hovis bread lines
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