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On this episode of Talking Shop I’m joined by Alain Bejjani—former Group CEO of Middle East retail giant Majid Al Futtaim, and author of the definitive new book, NEXT: Leading Through the New Realities. Drawing on his childhood in war-torn Beirut, and his experience steering a $9.5bn dollar retail and lifestyle empire through a global pandemic, Alain brings an unmatched perspective on leadership under pressure. Today, we break down his crisis survival playbook for retailers operating in distress. We discuss why resilience must always outpace efficiency, the four assets a brand must protect at all costs, and how to turn macro-turmoil into a long-term direction that scales.

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Discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl have both experienced record-breaking Christmas periods.

Aldi posted sales over £1.5bn in the four weeks to 24 December, an 8% increase year-on-year, while Lidl sales jumped 12% year-on-year.

Aldi reported that Friday 22 December was its busiest trading day with over 2.5 million customers visiting its stores.

Lidl saw an increase in the sale of its premium own brand line Deluxe, contributing to its sales increase.

Furthermore, the return of its Advent promotion on its rewards app saw engagement and redemption triple compared with last year.

Ryan McDonnell, Lidl GB chief executive, said: “I’m incredibly proud of our performance this Christmas in what was the busiest trading period in our history. Deluxe proved to be a standout winner this Christmas with record-breaking sales as we saw customers not only start their festive celebrations early but trade up to premium lines across all categories.

“As we look ahead into 2024 and even higher footfall, we remain relentlessly focused on continuing to do what we do best – which is always offering the highest quality on the market for unbeatable value.”

Giles Hurley, Aldi chief executive UK and Ireland, also said: “We’re really grateful that so many customers chose Aldi for their main Christmas shop this year. As the UK’s cheapest supermarket, we were able to help customers enjoy the Christmas they deserve and provide them with high quality products at the most affordable prices.

“As we look ahead to 2024, our promise to customers is that they will always make significant savings on every shop with Aldi because we have the lowest grocery prices in Britain.”

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