Small business confidence at an eight-year low December 30, 2019 Confidence among small businesses reached an eight-year low this month, according to a new survey. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Small Business Index (SBI) was negative for a sixth straight quarter, reaching its lowest point since the last recession. Read more: UK business confidence slumps to seven-year low The confidence index now stands at [...]
Boxing Day shopping slump as retailers suffer sharp decline in footfall December 28, 2019 Boxing Day shopping footfall fell at its steepest rate in nine years due to rain and Black Friday deals. In the period up until noon on 26 December, footfall was down by 10.6 per cent on the same period as a year ago, according to data company Springboard. It was the biggest decline since 2010, [...]
Domino’s Pizza finance chief David Bauernfeind dies in accident December 27, 2019 Domino’s Pizza’s finance boss, David Bauernfeind, has died in an accident while on holiday, according to the company. In a brief statement, the firm said: “Our chief financial officer, David Bauernfeind, died in a tragic accident on Thursday, 26th December whilst on holiday with his family.” It is believed he was on a snorkelling holiday [...]
Amazon’s Deliveroo investment could cause higher prices, says CMA December 27, 2019 Amazon and Deliveroo are the subject of an in-depth probe by competition authorities into the e-commerce giant’s investment in the food delivery firm. Neither company offered undertakings in response to concerns aired by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Read more: CMA puts brakes on Amazon’s Deliveroo investment The CMA said earlier this month that [...]
Boxing Day spending set to fall after Brits cash out on bumper Black Friday December 26, 2019 UK shoppers are set to tighten the purse strings in the Boxing Day sales this year after retailers bagged a record performance over the Black Friday weekend. Brits are expected to spend £3.7bn in post-Christmas sales this year, £200m less than in 2018, according to new figures from Barclaycard. Read more: Super Saturday fails to [...]
China denies forced labour accusations after Tesco Christmas card discovery December 23, 2019 China has denied accusations of forced labour at a prison in Shanghai after a Christmas card sold at Tesco was reportedly found containing a message from an inmate. Six-year-old Florence Widdicombe in London discovered a note in charity card sold at the supermarket saying “We are foreign prisoners in Shanghai Qingpu Prison China”. Read more: [...]
‘Super Saturday’ fails to deliver retail footfall spike December 23, 2019 So-called Super Saturday failed to deliver for high street retailers this year after footfall dropped more than seven per cent. According to the latest figures for the week to 21 December, footfall on the last Saturday before Christmas fell 7.6 per cent year on year and rose just 2.3 per cent compared to the rest [...]
All the big high street retailers that collapsed in 2019 December 23, 2019 It has been another turbulent year for the UK high street, which has struggled to adapt to changing consumer behaviour while battling rising overhead costs. Household names such as Debenhams, Mothercare and Clintons hit the news after they were forced to launch restructuring plans, close stores or simply stop operations. Read more: Why high street [...]
Tesco withdraws Christmas cards from sale over forced labour claims December 22, 2019 Tesco has suspended a Chinese Christmas card supplier following reports a customer found a message written inside a card saying it had been packed by foreign prisoners who were victims of forced labour. “We abhor the use of prison labour and would never allow it in our supply chain,” a Tesco spokesperson said on Sunday. Read more: Tesco [...]
Just Eat board rejects Prosus offer in favour of Takeaway.com merger December 20, 2019 The board of Just Eat has backed a final offer from Takeaway.com and rejected a rival cash bid from Prosus, as the battle for the British fast food giant nears its end. The food fight for Just Eat heated up once again yesterday after both Takeaway and Prosus increased their bids for the company. Read [...]