Businesses to splash out over £6bn on Christmas advertising November 14, 2018 UK businesses will fork out £6.4bn on festive advertising this Christmas during the final quarter, according to the Advertising Association. The expenditure, which is up 5 per cent on last year’s record amount, shows the growing competition between companies as they vie to make the season’s most popular advert and achieve festive fame. Many of [...]
Brexit worries prompt nearly a third of consumers to cut spending November 14, 2018 Nearly a third of British consumers have cut their spending because of Brexit, scrimping on luxuries and postponing investments amid doubt over the future of the UK’s relationship with the EU bloc. A survey of 4,015 Brits, conducted by professional services firm KPMG, found 31 per cent had already cut their spending. James Stewart, KPMG [...]
Italy rejects EU calls to amend budget ahead of deadline November 13, 2018 Italy defied a European Commission deadline to submit a revised budget tonight, telling the EU it will not change its expansive fiscal plans. Ahead of a midnight deadline, the Italian government said it was sticking to its guns. In a statement released after a cabinet meeting, deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini said its deficit target [...]
Let’s embrace No Deal and get planning for life after Brexit November 13, 2018 There is an anecdote doing the rounds at the moment where an acquaintance of a civil servant jests “I suppose you’re doing your best to stop Brexit!”, to which the official, not knowing that his friend voted Leave and was pulling his leg, replies “You bet I am, and every one of us too”. True [...]
Theresa May forced to back down in row over Brexit legal advice November 13, 2018 Theresa May has been forced to publish the legal advice she receives on her Brexit deal after Labour, the DUP and eurosceptic Tories backed her into a corner. The government backed down in a row over whether the advice from the attorney general – which traditionally remains private – should be given to MPs before [...]
Red Bull caught by the horns in trademark row November 13, 2018 Fans of Red Bull may insist it reigns supreme, but the beverage-maker and sports-backer faces several challengers in the energy drinks market. One such challenger-brand is called Big Horn. In a blow to Red Bull, on Monday the High Court sided with Big Horn over a trademark dispute. Red Bull claims Big Horn has infringed [...]
John Lewis risks looking old hat as Iceland nails ad virality November 13, 2018 John Lewis’s Christmas adverts always provoke a huge reaction – generating the sort of headlines and cut-through that are the envy of marketers and company bosses everywhere. However, as we await this year’s effort, it is worth looking back to last year’s ‘Moz the Monster’ campaign. YouGov BrandIndex data from Christmas 2017 showed that while [...]
The six big ideas that could fix auditing November 13, 2018 With nearly all the major expected responses to the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) probe into the audit sector released or leaked, consensus on how to fix the scandal-hit sector is scattered – and there’s no silver bullet. Here are six suggestions the CMA has been sent by auditors, industry bodies, stakeholder groups and academics [...]
Fifty-year-old wedding dress chain Berketex Bride crashes into administration November 13, 2018 Wedding dress chain Berketex Bride announced today it had ceased trading and gone into administration. The chain, which had been trading for more than 50 years, said all of its stores had closed and will not re-open. Berketex had 11 branches in the UK, including one in the West End and one in Croydon, and [...]
Profits crash again as ‘frail’ McCarthy & Stone outlines plan to cut costs November 13, 2018 Profits collapsed at retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone today as it posted its full year results. Profit before tax fell 37 per cent year on year to £58.1m, down from £92.1m in 2017, as the housebuilder blamed a rise in building costs, rising operating costs, as well as extra marketing to promote its latest homes. [...]