Tesco creates 16,000 new permanent roles after online shopping boom August 24, 2020 Tesco will create 16,000 new permanent roles as it grows its online business to keep up with the surge in demand for home deliveries. The supermarket said this morning that most of the roles will be filled by temporary workers taken on during the coronavirus lockdown. The roles will include 10,000 pickers to assemble customer [...]
Travel industry ‘desperately’ calls for help as jobs crisis looms August 24, 2020 The UK travel industry “desperately” needs more government help, with 39,000 jobs already lost or at risk due to the coronavirus pandemic, trade body ABTA has warned. The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) said that without “tailored support” 83 per cent of firms will be at “critical or serious” risk. Travel has been one [...]
Bouncers to enforce mask-wearing in nightclubs under sector’s reopening proposals August 24, 2020 Bouncers could patrol nightclub dance floors to ensure punters are wearing masks under new proposals drawn up by the industry as it desperately seeks to reopen. The sector has called on the government to provide a date for reopening to prevent the permanent closure of venues and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs. [...]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group buys DW Sports out of administration for £37m August 24, 2020 Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, formally known as Sports Direct, has bought the assets of DW Sports for £37m after the gym chain collapsed into administration earlier this month. Frasers said this morning that it had acquired “certain of the assets relating to DW’s gym and fitness business, including certain stock”. The deal excludes the DW [...]
JD Wetherspoon expects sales to fall once Eat Out to Help Out scheme ends August 24, 2020 Pub chain JD Wetherspoon today said it expects its sales to fall once the government subsidised Eat Out to Help Out scheme finishes. The scheme gives diners 50 per cent off up to £10 a head on meals bought at participating outlets on every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday throughout August. The business owners must then [...]
Exclusive: Consumer goods firm Ultimate Products to repay furlough scheme wages August 24, 2020 Consumer goods firm Ultimate Products will repay all the money that it has claimed through the government’s job retention furlough scheme after outperforming expectations despite the coronavirus pandemic. City A.M. can reveal that the London-listed firm is set to give back the £465,237 it was given to keep staff on over the lockdown period, and [...]
Retailer AO to create 650 new jobs due to ‘sustained’ surge in online shopping August 21, 2020 Online electricals store AO will create 650 new UK jobs as it ramps up growth plans following a sustained surge in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. The firm said it is preparing for “significant growth” after it saw an influx of customers shopping online during the Covid-19 crisis. The new roles will bolster AO’s [...]
Retail bosses square up in £6.5bn bidding war for Asda August 21, 2020 Two veteran UK retail bosses are set to go head-to-head in a dramatic £6.5bn private equity bidding war for supermarket chain Asda. Former Debenhams chief executive Rob Templeman is said to be working with Apollo Global Management, while Paul Mason, who served as Asda boss 20 years ago, has teamed up with Lone Star Funds. [...]
UK retail sales climb above pre-pandemic levels in July August 21, 2020 UK retail sales climbed 3.6 per cent higher in July compared to June, to beat their pre-pandemic levels, official data showed today. The climb came despite a seven per cent fall in online shopping after digital retail comprised a record 33.3 per cent of all retail sales in May. A sharp 11.9 per cent jump [...]
Inside Missguided: Welcome to a world of celebrities, swearing, and knock-off fast fashion August 21, 2020 What is it about Manchester for producing creativity? The Hollies, The Bee Gees, Simply Red, The Verve – I could fill a whole page with the successful bands that have come out of Manchester. Then there’s Manchester-based brands and retailers: the Co-op, Kellogg’s, Warburtons, Betfred, AO.com. And then of course, there’s fashion. The Very Group, [...]