Peugeot’s return to the US market
So PSA Group announced at its results that it is going to be returning to the North American market via its Peugeot brand after abandoning the country back in 1991.
This is all part of a broader plan by the group that owns Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel and Vauxhall to increase sales outside Europe by 50% by 2021 as sales are slowing on the Continent and in China.
I think that this sounds like an admirable goal, but the company has to back it up by providing the right offering otherwise it will just return to Europe with its tail between its legs.
At the moment, it seems like the American consumer is upgrading from saloon cars to SUVs, so you’d hope that Peugeot will be able to ride that wave to at least get things going in the short term.
Marks and Spencer in talks with Ocado to form joint venture
The other thing I wanted to talk about today was the confirmation that Marks and Spencer is in talks with Ocado to form a major joint venture that would give M&S a proper food delivery service – at last – and Ocado the chance to focus on its tech and solutions business.
This will be a kick in the teeth for Waitrose, with whom Ocado has come to be associated, and some are concerned about the effect this new deal will have as Waitrose’s online offering is seen by many as being limited and clunky in comparison.
There will be more details to come, but at this stage the companies have just confirmed that they are in talks following recent rumours that flagged ongoing negotiations.
