CMA bosses would have charged Asda more for failing to comply with fuel pricing probe July 19, 2023 The co-owner of Asda, Mohsin Issa, has said he thought it was ‘unfair’ for competition watchdog bosses to say they would have charged the grocer more if they could for failing to provide relevant info for its probe into fuel pricing. In June, Asda was fined £60,000 by competition watchdog for failing to co-operate properly [...]
Jamie Oliver looks to move on from chain collapse with new London restaurant July 19, 2023 Jamie Oliver has said he “hasn’t lost faith” in the restaurant industry as he pushes ahead with plans to open a new restaurant four years after the collapse of his eponymous high street chain. Speaking to The News Agents podcast on Wednesday the celebrity chef blamed a 40 per cent hike in business rates and [...]
Estee Lauder hit by cyberattack affecting some business operations July 19, 2023 Cosmetics maker Estee Lauder said a hacker had obtained some data from its systems, with the cyber incident causing, and expected to further cause, disruption to parts of the company’s business operations. The MAC Cosmetics owner was working to restore the affected systems and had implemented measures to secure its operations, including taking down some [...]
Wagamama owner TRG dines out on cost savings as closure programme continues July 19, 2023 Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group (TRG) has seen revenues rise despite the cost of living crisis, it confirmed this morning, with plans to reduce overheads with a raft of closures continuing apace. Like-for-like sales in its most popular chain, Wagamama grew 21 per cent in the two weeks to 16 July 2023, despite trading being [...]
Illegal London candy stores turned into rent free shops in Oxford Street clean-up July 19, 2023 Oxford Street is set for a major revamp as Westminster City Council launches a new £10m scheme to transform London’s iconic high street. The council will make shops vacated by illicit candy stores, which have blighted the leading retail destination, available to small business owners rent free and lower their business rates by 70 per [...]
Restaurateurs reeling as no shows cost sector £90 per missing head July 19, 2023 Restaurateurs are reeling as punters not showing up for dinner costs businesses £90 per head, a new study has shown, leading many to consider throwing in the towel for good. A rising number of diners cancelling at the last minute, or just not turning up, over the last year has led to almost a fifth [...]
Pret A Manger: Back to profit for first time since 2018 July 18, 2023 Pret A Manger has announced an annual profit for the first time since 2018 thanks to a successful international push and its revamped coffee subscription service. The high-street favourite recorded revenues of £429.9m, growing by 20.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2022 when it reported a loss of £226m. Its last profitable year [...]
Revolution Beauty chief exec and chair quit in Boohoo settlement as share price soars July 18, 2023 The row between Revolution Beauty and Boohoo may finally be nearing an end, with a settlement reached including the departure of the former’s chief exec and chair. Revolution’s boss Bob Holt and chair Derek Zissman will leave, but Holt will remain as interim boss until the end of August 2023. Following the news, Revolution Beauty’s [...]
Grocery inflation remains ‘incredibly high’ but falls for fourth straight month thanks to supermarket promotions July 18, 2023 Grocery price inflation has seen the biggest drop since its peak in March but remains “incredibly high”, figures show. Supermarket promotions helped the figure fall to 14.9 per cent in the four weeks to July 9, down from 16.5 per cent over the previous month, according to analysts Kantar. It is the fourth month in [...]
Ocado losses widen: Share price rises as retail arm shows signs of improvement July 18, 2023 Pre-tax losses at Ocado have widened to £289m in the first half of the year, as the grocery firm’s share price was up over 14 per cent this morning. The supermarket technology business said its retail arm – which is a joint venture with M&S – grew five per cent to £1.17bn as it returned [...]