Retail sales: Shoppers feeling the love in lead up to Valentine’s Day not enough to protect sector from ‘volatile trading conditions’ March 7, 2023 Shoppers scrambling for gifts in the lead up to Valentine’s Day helped boost retail sales in February, however the sector has warned that it’s still facing “volatile trading conditions”. According to figures published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), UK total retail sales increased by 5.2 per cent in February as consumers showed they were [...]
Starbucks faces pressure from German giant Allianz to overhaul approach to unions March 6, 2023 Starbucks today faced mounting pressure over its approach towards unions after German financial services giant Allianz vowed to back a push to force the coffee seller to overhaul its labour policies. Allianz GI today vowed to support an investor resolution calling on Starbucks to overhaul its approach to workers’ unions, following concerns about the coffee [...]
Starbucks puts UK sale rumours on ice with £30m 100-store expansion and refurb plans March 6, 2023 Starbucks has crushed rumours it was considering the sale of its UK business with plans for a 100 more stores across the UK. The US coffee chain said it was also planning to inject £30m into refurbishing its 1,066-strong current store offering and opening a range of new cafes. Last summer, the frappuccino maker was [...]
Costa Coffee hikes staff pay as cost of living crisis prompts chain to raise wages for third time in 12 months March 6, 2023 Costa Coffee became the latest coffee chain to give its staff a pay rise, as employers seek to retain employees who are battling a cost of living crisis. Beginning in April, some 16,000 baristas at the high street coffee chain will see wages increase from £10 per hour to £10.70 per hour. The rise is [...]
Lloyds Pharmacy puts all 1,300 sites under threat of closure in another blow for post-Covid UK high street March 3, 2023 Lloyds Pharmacy has put all of its 1,300 sites at risk of closure in another major blow for the highstreet. According to reports in The Sun, the private equity owner of the embattled chemist has launched a “strategic review of its entire UK store base”. It’s understood that process could lead to a sale of [...]
Flutter shares tumble after World Cup wins knock profit March 2, 2023 The gambling business behind Paddy Power and Betfair saw its shares tumble almost five per cent, after the company missed 2022 earning estimates due to customers winning bets during the Fifa World Cup. Flutter Entertainment, which also owns Sky Betting and Gaming, was predicted earlier this year by Bloomberg analysts to gain EBITDA of £1.7bn [...]
Flutter: US bet pays off as gambling firm revenues rack up to £7.6bn March 2, 2023 The gambling business behind Paddy Power and Betfair saw its sales soar this year as the group gained huge momentum in the US. Flutter Entertainment said it was continuing to go from “strength to strength” in the US market as it saw revenues reach £2.6bn in the year ending 2022. The London-listed group which operates [...]
Selfridges plays down £1.7bn debt concerns saying it is ‘very confident’ about year ahead March 1, 2023 The owners of Selfridges have said they are “very confident” about the outlook for this year as it sought to play down reported concerns that its debt pile, worth over £1.7bn, could cause problems for the luxury department store. The Telegraph reported that the Thai and Austrian owners of Selfridges have laden the firm with [...]
Food shortage: Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Lidl and Morrisons warn salad will not be on the menu for ‘a few weeks’ March 1, 2023 Brits are being advised to avoid salads for the next “few weeks” as supermarkets have kept restrictions in place on tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and lettuce. Reports of adverse weather conditions in the Mediterranean has forced Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons and Lidl into restricting the sale of produce. This comes after social media users took to [...]
Food inflation reaches 14.5 per cent and looks set to remain high, new data reveals March 1, 2023 Food inflation reached a staggering new high of 14.5 per cent in February, according to new data, with retail groups predicting that prices will continue to rise over the coming months. While inflation more broadly has started to come down, food inflation soared to 14.5 per cent in February, up from 13.8 per cent the [...]