Calls to break up Amazon as company allegedly copied products and manipulated search results October 15, 2021 Massachusetts Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren cited a Reuters investigation that Amazon intentionally copied local business products and manipulated search results to prioritize its own brands, supporting calls to break up the e-commerce giant. Watch the full report.
Flutter, Betfred and Ladbrokes owner pile into safer gambling campaign October 15, 2021 The UK’s biggest names in the betting space have piled into a fresh campaign for safer gambling. The ‘Take Time to Think’ campaign, launched by the Betting and Gaming Council (BCG), encourages customers to use safer gambling tools – like deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion – offered by its members. Director of corporate affairs at [...]
Marshall Motor buys rival Motorline for £64.5m October 14, 2021 Marshall Motor has bought rival Motorline for £64.5m, signalling new partnerships with car brands. The automotive retail group said it had also separately acquired a related freehold property for £2.9m and has the option to acquire two additional strategic freehold properties for £24.9m. The net assets on acquisition of Motortline – which represents ten brands [...]
Government ‘considering change of heart on temporary visas for butchers’ October 14, 2021 Ministers are reportedly considering backtracking and extending temporary visas to overseas butchers, as abattoirs were forced to cull livestock after shortages. Pig farmers have been forced to kill healthy livestock because of a lack of butchers in abattoirs, seemingly forcing ministers to change their stance on intervention. The National Pig Association told The Guardian that [...]
Dunelm boss pay quadruples despite refusal to repay business rates holiday savings October 14, 2021 Even though homewares chain Dunelm continuing to insist it should not repay savings made from the business rates holiday, the company revealed today its boss’ pay package has more than quadrupled to over £4m. The retailer has repeatedly claimed it was right to enjoy the £22m in tax savings, as its stores were forced to [...]
Poundland faced with staggering tenfold rise in shipping costs October 14, 2021 Discount retail giant Pound has seen shipping costs rise tenfold due to global supply chain issues. Andy Bond, chief executive of PepCo, which also runs Dealz stores across Europe, said the retailer has enough stock to keep shelves full although he admitted price pressures are being felt. He did not expect the pressures to ease [...]
Salary slaves: 2021’s best and worst paid industries and the UK’s fastest-growing sectors October 14, 2021 Earlier this week, City A.M. revealed private equity firms are prepared to pay junior staff with less than two years experience an average salary of more than £152,000, a jump of 52 per cent compared to two years ago. For those with two to four years of experience, an salary of around £181,000 has become [...]
Dunelm notches up sales growth on top of last year’s lockdown boost October 14, 2021 Homewares chain Dunelm has said it notched up sales growth in its first quarter on top of last year’s post-lockdown boost, but flagged ongoing challenges with supply chain issues. The group reported an 8.3 per cent increase in sales in the 13 weeks to September 25 compared to the same period a year ago, when [...]
Sunak tells Brits not to worry: There will be a ‘good amount’ of Christmas presents October 14, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has told Brits not to worry about their Christmas presents this year, saying there will be a “good amount of presents available” even though supply chain issues continue to persist. Sunak was speaking after meeting with finance ministers from the G7 group of leading world economies to talk about the problem, with [...]
Businesses facing all-time difficult battle to recruit staff October 14, 2021 Nine out of ten hotel and catering firms struggled to recruit in the third quarter, as hospitality bosses have called for government intervention. Pub bosses are struggling to find chefs while nightclubs have found it hard to recruit door staff. There have been calls in the hospitality sector for a Covid Recovery Visa to help [...]