Alibaba’s record-breaking Singles Day sales hit $10bn in first hour November 11, 2018 Online retail giant Alibaba today smashed records for the largest shopping day on the planet, making sales of over $1bn (£770.5m) in just 85 seconds. The sales came during Singles Day, the world’s largest online retail festival. Alibaba’s total sales hit $10bn after one hour and had reached over $24bn after 16 hours. The festival's sales eclipse the estimated [...]
Netflix boss Reed Hastings excited by new rivals Disney Plus as they continue expansion November 10, 2018 Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings has claimed he is looking forward to the challenge prosed by Disney, who are launching their own online streaming service. The new service, Disney Plus, will go head to head with Netflix and Amazon Prime when it launches late next year. Hastings has admitted that Disney are a "formidable" company in the [...]
Essex fizz could give French winemakers a run for their money November 10, 2018 Wine from Essex could rival the Champagne region of France, scientists have found. A study from the University of East Anglia showed that some of the UK’s best land for wine production was in areas like Essex and Suffolk. The researchers found nearly 35,000 hectares of prime land for cultivating grapes across England and Wales, [...]
Golden quarter could bring Christmas cheer to struggling British retailers November 9, 2018 Retailers might find seasonal cheer in an early Christmas present as experts predict a strong final quarter to the year. Sales in the sector are expected to tick up by two per cent year-on-year, according to analytics company Global Data. The increase will be driven by food and groceries, which are expected to grow 2.5 [...]
Kerching: Supermarkets win court ruling over £300m cash machine case November 9, 2018 Supermarket giants including Sainsbury’s and Tesco have won a £300m court dispute over business rates for cash machines outside shops. Today’s ruling from The Court of Appeal decided in favour of the retail giants, who are set to be refunded hundreds of millions of pounds from the government and local authorities. For eight years retailers [...]
Creditors give green light to Gourmet Burger Kitchen closures November 9, 2018 Gourmet Burger Kitchen’s plan to close 17 of its restaurants was given the go-ahead by creditors today, as the firm looks to abandon its underperforming restaurants as part of a major restructuring plan. Some 250 jobs could be axed as a result of the closures, which have been triggered through a controversial insolvency plan used [...]
Iceland’s palm oil Christmas ad banned for being ‘too political’ November 9, 2018 Iceland has had to pull its eagerly-anticipated Christmas advert from the nation’s TV screens for breaching political advertising rules. The festive clip, which tells the story of deforestation caused by palm oil production through an animated short film about an orangutan, was made in a deal that Iceland struck with campaign group Greenpeace. However, the [...]
Next settles copying claims with fashion brand Scamp & Dude November 9, 2018 British clothing group Next settled a law suit over with fashion brand Scamp & Dude this morning, agreeing to pay the profits from any sales of a contested design to the label after claims that it copied the smaller firm's designs. Scamp & Dude, which said that it will use the profits for charitable purposes, [...]
Bacon producer Finnebrogue urges Liam Fox to fry export regulations on ‘bonfire of red tape’ November 9, 2018 The head of one of Britain’s main sausage and bacon makers has called on the government to boost exports by cutting back cumbersome regulations. Denis Lynn said he is still waiting for approval to export Finnebrogue’s new nitrate-free bacon, six months after applying to the Food Standards Agency. He said a “bonfire of red tape” would [...]
Fastjet stays airborne after trading boost but warns over its future survival November 9, 2018 Embattled budget airline Fastjet will remain airborne at least for now after improved trading as discussions continued over its future. The African airline had warned in October that it needed urgent cash to survive. But it said improved trading and cash generation had secured its short term future while discussions with shareholders and creditors continued. [...]