Top hire for British luxury watch brand Christopher Ward September 9, 2024 Luxury watch brand Christopher Ward has appointed an advertising and marketing veteran as its new chief operating officer. Sarah Baumann will join the Maidenhead-headquartered brand on 23 September, having most recently been managing director of social media and influencer agency, The Wild by Jungle from February 2023 to March this year. Prior to that, she [...]
Asda: Huge equal pay court case starts amid demonstrations September 9, 2024 A court case over equal pay involving more than 60,000 Asda workers has started amid demonstrations being staged in Brighton and Manchester. The GMB union, which has said the case is the biggest ever in the private sector, is arguing that the predominantly female retail workforce is paid up to £3.74 an hour less than [...]
Halfords: Shareholders voice displeasure in political donations vote September 9, 2024 Shareholders in Halfords have voiced their displeasure in a vote to authorise the retailer to make political donations. More than one in ten voted against the proposal at the Redditch-headquartered group’s annual general meeting, according to a document filed with the London Stock Exchange. The 11.91 per cent in the against column comes after 4.01 [...]
Heinz: Price increases help sales near £1bn as inflation battle continues September 9, 2024 Sales at the UK arm of Heinz jumped towards £1bn in 2023 despite volumes decreasing after raising its prices to combat inflation in its costs, new figures have revealed. The London-headquartered division of the US giant has reported a revenue of £967.1m for the 12 months, up from the £899.7m it achieved in 2022, according [...]
Aldi hails record sales as profit surges by almost £400m but loses market share September 9, 2024 Aldi has lost market share despite achieving record sales during its latest financial year as its profit surged by almost £400m, new figures have revealed. The Warwickshire-headquartered UK arm of the German supermarket giant lost 0.2 per cent to report a market share of 10 per cent in 2023. That’s despite Aldi posting record sales [...]
Retailers fret over human rights abuses in supply chains September 9, 2024 Concern among retail leaders comes amid controversy over Shein’s planned blockbuster listing on the London Stock Exchange.
Asos rejected £215m Topshop offer from Shein in favour of lower bid September 8, 2024 Online clothing retailer Asos had declined a much higher bid for Topshop and Topman from fast fashion giant Shein in favour of its new joint venture with Heartland.
Bargain hunting shoppers hit jeans brand Levi Strauss as it targets the ‘young and cool’ September 6, 2024 Levi Strauss has said bargain hunting shoppers are impacting its UK sales as it bids to target “young and cool” consumers. The Northampton-headquartered UK arm of the jeans brand added that it is starting to expand its retail partnerships in the country as “department stores continue to struggle and lose footprint”. The division made the [...]
Profit slashed in half at Swiss watch brand Swatch September 6, 2024 Profit at Swiss watch brand Swatch was cut by more than half during its latest financial year despite its sales increasing further past the £200m mark. The London-headquartered division has reported a pre-tax profit of £11.1m for 2023, down from the £23.6m it posted for 2022. According to newly-filed accounts with Companies House, Swatch has [...]
John Lewis brings back ‘never knowingly undersold’ pledge in major U-turn September 5, 2024 Department store chain John Lewis is to bring back its famous ‘never knowingly undersold’ price pledge in a major U-turn. The national retailer has made the move after ditching the commitment over concerns it what less relevant to shoppers two years ago. The price promise, which was first introduced in 1925, will come back into [...]