Breakfast briefing: Retail news on John Lewis, SuperGroup, Tesco, BodyShop, Asda, House of Fraser and Morrisons

John Lewis to trial a new product-labelling scheme

John Lewis has launched a new product labelling trial that will give consumers the lifetime electricity running costs on white goods such as washing machines and tumble dryers, according to The Guardian.

The scheme, which is backed by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, is designed to help consumers better understand how energy efficient products can help them cut their household bills.

The six month pilot involves displaying the average lifetime electricity running costs in a number of John Lewis product categories.

SuperGroup appoints Nicole Smith as head of merchandising

SuperGroup has appointed Monsoon Accessorize director Nicole Smith as head of merchandising with immediate effect.

Smith, who reports into chief operating officer Susanne Given, was merchandising and franchise development director at Monsoon Accessorize since 2009. Prior to joining Monsoon, she worked at Body Shop International, BHS and Debenhams.

Tesco and BodyShop to use Apple’s mobile wallet service

Tesco and BodyShop are to start using Apple’s mobile wallet Passbook to market to their customers. Apple’s Passbook allows consumers to store digital tickets, store cards and coupons in a single app on their phone.

Seatwave and eFlorist are other two retailers to trial the use of Passbook as an affiliate marketing channel, letting users store vouchers for use later, according to Marketing Week.

Meanwhile, Google’s mobile wallet is expected to launch in the UK in the fourth quarter and Samsung revealed plans for its own service at Mobile World Congress earlier this year.

Asda drops Vodafone as its MVNO partner and selects EE

Supermarket chain Asda is dropping Vodafone as Asda Mobile’s network operator and will switch to EE from the end of next month.

The move is expected to signal the expansion of Asda Mobile to offer contracts beyond Pay As You Go.

Asda, which is striving to grab a bigger share of the UK mobile market, launched directly managed Asda Phone Shops this year. If the trial is successful, the retailer plans to roll the Phone Shops out across its 500 plus stores.

House of Fraser launches menswear brand Army & Navy

House of Fraser has introduced a new menswear outdoor and lifestyle brand Army & Navy, which takes its name from the Army & Navy chain of department stores founded in 1871 and bought by House of Fraser in 1976.

The collection features a range of “performance outerwear” including waterproof jackets with sealed seams, concealed pockets and detachable hoods available in forest green, navy and black, inspired by traditional Army & Navy camouflage.

Army & Navy will be stocked in 24 House of Fraser stores nationwide and online at www.houseoffraser.co.uk from October 27.

Morrisons expects profit dip

Morrisons is expected to post an 8% drop in profits to £410m for the half year to 4 August on total revenues of £9bn.

On Thursday, chief executive Dalton Philips will update the market on the retailer’s performance, its roll out of smaller convenience stores and the recent £170m tie-up with Ocado which will see Morrisons launch into online food and home deliveries early next year.

Like-for-like sales dropped by 1.8% in its first quarter but JP Morgan Cazenove has forecast a decline of 0.2% in the second quarter, The Independent reported.

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