John Lewis’ staff bonus has fallen again after a weak performance in 2017 March 8, 2018 The company which owns John Lewis and Waitrose has cut its staff bonus to five per cent of salary this year, after a disappointing performance in 2017. The bonus, which is given out to all staff of the John Lewis Partnership under its employee-owned model, was six per cent last year, down from 10 per [...]
BrewDog mocks sexist advertising with sexist advertising March 6, 2018 The ever-so-edgy brewers at pugnacious craft beer company BrewDog have come up with yet another attention-grabbing campaign. Repackaging its flagship Punk IPA with a pink label, BrewDog has said its "Pink IPA" is a "send-up of the lazy marketing efforts targeting the female market". But the campaign has already attracted criticism from BrewDog fans, with [...]
Done deal: Tesco completes £3.7bn acquisition of Booker Group March 5, 2018 Tesco today completed its acquisition of Booker Group, creating the leading food group in the UK. The £3.7bn deal was given court approval on Friday after shareholders voted it through last week. Booker Group's shares have been de-listed from the London Stock Exchange. Each share has been exchanged for 42.5p in cash, and 0.861 new [...]
Trouble in store for House of Fraser as credit insurer pulls cover March 4, 2018 A credit insurer has pulled cover on House of Fraser, underscoring the difficulties faced by the department store following a disappointing set of Christmas figures. A spokesperson for House of Fraser said 20 of the business' 650 suppliers were affected by the credit insurer's decision. Those suppliers will now have to find new insurance, or [...]
Full list of towns and cities where Prezzo restaurants are for the chop March 3, 2018 Italian chain Prezzo confirmed this week that it is closing 94 restaurants. The company has launched a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) which states that it will close branches which would not be profitable even with a rent reduction. Landlords for another portion of the estate will be asked to consider a reduced rent. Update: Prezzo [...]
Retail job losses could number 15,000 as industry strains under cost pressures March 1, 2018 At least 15,000 retail sector jobs have either been slashed this year or are now at risk as household names sink into administration, according to calculations by City A.M. Toys R Us and Maplin went into administration yesterday, putting more than 5,500 jobs in doubt. The double-whammy for the industry comes after fashion chain East [...]
It’s official: Tesco and Booker will merge to form UK’s largest food group February 28, 2018 Booker Group's shareholders have backed Tesco's £3.7bn bid for the wholesaler today, giving Tesco boss Dave Lewis the green light to create to UK's largest food group. Reuters reported that 83.4 per cent of Booker investors approved the deal; Booker needed the backing of 75 per cent of votes for the merger to go ahead. [...]
Tesco reports gender pay gap of 8.7 per cent saying male workers take more shifts that offer premiums February 21, 2018 Tesco has reported a gender pay gap of 8.7 per cent across its UK retail business after crunching the pay data of more than 225,000 members of staff. It becomes the first of the big supermarkets to report the figures required by government ahead of an April deadline. All firms with more than 250 employees [...]
London Fashion Week 2018: Why do brands still hold catwalk shows in a digital age? February 19, 2018 You might be hard-pressed to identify anyone sat on the front row at Mulberry’s spring/summer fashion show last Friday. Once the reserve of top buyers and the fashion press elite, the front row has undergone a revolution in the past decade. Actresses and models sat shoulder to shoulder with a new breed of fashion VIP: [...]
Tesco UK chief Matt Davies to become N Brown’s chairman February 18, 2018 Tesco's UK chief Matt Davies is leaving the retailer to become the chairman of N Brown. N Brown, which owns JD Williams, Simply Be and Jacamo, has been seeking a replacement for its current chairman Andy Higginson for a number of months. Davies will take the reins from Higginson after Tesco's £3.7bn takeover of Booker [...]