Jobs melting away: Hundreds of jobs may be lost as Cadbury Fingers could be made outside the UK December 29, 2016 The government has been urged to take action to safeguard hundreds of jobs at one of Britain's best-known chocolatiers. Cadbury's parent company, Mondelez, bought back the licence from fellow confectionery company Burton's Biscuits to produce some of the UK's best-loved snacks. Previously, Cadbury Fingers were produced under a licence by Burton's at its factory in Edinburgh alongside other lines made by [...]
Co-op focuses on London and South East expansion as it sets its sights on 100 new store openings next year December 28, 2016 The Co-operative Group is planning to spend £70m to open 100 new stores across the UK in 2017, creating around 1,500 new jobs. The supermarket has said the new Co-op convenience outlets will be predominantly based in London and the South East, with other stores in Yorkshire, Scotland and Wales. Read more: Co-operative Group profit [...]
No tears for Boohoo as it nears $20m acquisition of US firm Nasty Gal’s assets December 28, 2016 Boohoo's share price rose this morning after the online fashion retailer announced it has initially agreed to snap up several assets from US group Nasty Gal for a cool $20m (£16.2m). Joint chief executives Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane said the purchase agreement, which is Boohoo's second acquisition announced this month, is an "ideal next step" [...]
Sports Direct sells Dunlop brand to Japanese buyer for £112m as it refocuses on becoming “Selfridges of sports” December 27, 2016 Sports Direct is selling the Dunlop brand for $137.5m (£112.3m) to Japan's Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) as part of its bid to become "the Selfridges of sports retail". The high street chain is re-focusing on developing its relationship with third party brands and its core UK business and has agreed to sell Dunlop's sporting goods and licensing businesses [...]
Philip Green says BHS successor Dominic Chappell must pay part of pension fund black hole December 26, 2016 Sir Philip Green, the former owner of BHS, wants regulators to force his successor to contribute towards plugging the black hole in the collapsed company’s pension fund, according to reports. A payment by Dominic Chappell, who infamously bought the retailer from Green for £1, is one of the conditions of the billionaire Green making his [...]
Boxing Day footfall slump points to domination of the online retailers December 26, 2016 Boxing Day high street retail sales have fallen sharply year on year as UK shoppers stay at home and push online sales to record heights, according to early data. Half day footfall fell by six per cent compared to Boxing Day last year, according to data from retail monitors Springboard. A decline of 16.6 per [...]
Christmas Day online shopping will peak at this surprisingly late time for the post-millennial “Generation Z” December 25, 2016 Most people will be aiming to put their feet up after Christmas lunch today and zone out in front of the TV – but there's one group of people who will be driving a late-night shopping boom this evening. Not content with their new stash of presents, "Generation Z", the post-millennial cohort who were born in [...]
Last minute shopping on Christmas Eve? You’re one of 5m people attacking the aisles December 24, 2016 Making a last-gasp dash to the shops this Christmas Eve? Still panicked you haven't got the presents your family wanted? Don't beat yourself up, but do expect a bit of a squeeze in the shops, as there's nearly 5m others doing exactly the same, according to new research from TSX-listed loyalty marketing analytics company Aimia. They found [...]
Restaurants stand to gain £70m as more Brits than ever ditch Christmas turkey December 24, 2016 More Brits will ditch the kitchen and eat out this Christmas than ever before, new research suggests. Pubs, restaurants and bars across the country are set to gain upwards of £70m on Christmas day spending, research from Worldpay found. Pubs, which alone stand to make £7m on the 25th, will be 30 per cent busier than average across [...]
These are the four commodities that will go up in price in 2017 December 22, 2016 Since the pound plummeted after the Brexit vote, consumers have been faced with warnings of coming food price hikes – most notably Unilever's Marmite, Birds Eye and PepsiCo. “There’s absolutely no chance prices will stay the same. They’ll go up for sure, it’s just a question of how much," a food supplier told research firm Nielsen. New [...]