Ted Baker steams ahead with UK expansion despite Omicron dent to sales February 23, 2022 Ted Baker is set to steam ahead with its UK expansion plans – with hopes of a least three new stores each year over the next three years – despite the Omicron-induced dent to sales. The retailer saw sales plunge 42 per cent during the Omicron surge, in comparison with the final quarter of 2019. [...]
Millions of Brits go bargain hunting as they are forced to tighten their belts in cost of living crisis February 23, 2022 As energy prices soar and inflation hits a 30 year high, millions of British households have embarked on a hunt for bargains and discounts. In fact, 41 per cent of shoppers stated that they would actively look for bargains as they prepare to tighten their belts; with a further 35 per cent of shoppers saying [...]
Advertising watchdog dubs Innocent ads misleading on environmental claims February 23, 2022 Adverts from smoothie brand Innocent have been banned for exaggerating the environmental benefit of their drinks. The advertising watchdog concluding adverts, shown on TV, YouTube and video on demand, were misleading. The adverts showed animated characters singing the lyrics: “We’re messing up the planet. We’re messing up real good,” in front of buildings and cars [...]
Storm Eunice dampens retailers’ hopes for half term footfall boost February 22, 2022 Bad weather dampened high streets’ recovery last week with retail footfall dropping 3.8 per cent across the country. Retailers were hoping for a booming half term, however all three types of retail destinations – high streets, retail parks and shopping centres – marked a footfall drop. According to retail experts Springboard, Storm Eunice resulted in [...]
Caffè Nero sales almost hitting pre-Covid levels despite Omicron dent February 22, 2022 Coffee chain Caffè Nero has said its sales have returned to more than 90 per cent of pre-Covid levels. The firm reported trading for its half-year to November 2021, as well as annual results for the financial year ended May 2021. While the mergence of the Omicron Covid variant saw office workers working from home, [...]
UK customers of Monzo hit by SMS-based phishing attack February 22, 2022 UK customers of all-digital bank Monzo are being targeted with an SMS-based phishing campaign, aiming to steal sensitive information from their accounts, according to various reports this morning, including Computing magazine. One of the most important aspects of creating a Monzo account is verifying a customer’s device, normally done through a ‘golden link’ sent to [...]
Farmers sound alarm as more than 40,000 pigs are culled and meat thrown away due to Brexit and pandemic February 22, 2022 An estimated 200,000 pigs are backed up on farms because of a lack of skilled butchers to process them, while 40,000 animals have already been culled and their meat thrown away, farmers said this morning. Farming needs “certainty, commitment and consistency” from the Government to avoid more crises like the one engulfing the pig industry, [...]
Coca-Cola bottler reports surge in profits with plans to hike dividend this year February 22, 2022 Coca-Cola bottling firm Coca-Cola HBC has reported a surge in profits today as it capped off a strong recovery following a pandemic slowdown in 2020.
ASOS to debut on main market of London Stock Exchange February 21, 2022 Online fashion retailer ASOS will make its debut on the main market of the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday morning. In a confirmatory note yesterday, the retailer said its ordinary shares would be admitted to trading on the main market of the LSE. Monday was the retailer’s last day of trading on AIM, with shares [...]
Exclusive: Experian heavyweight on why most UK companies fail to capitalise on valuable data February 21, 2022 Quality data proves critical to business performance but most business are not able to capitalise on data, an executive at consumer crediting reporting giant Experian has told City A.M. City-based Andrew Abraham, global managing director for data quality at Experian, said that “the last year has tested every industry, with a new requirement for business [...]