T.M. Lewin faces legal battle after workers win £439,000 employment lawsuit against collapsed firm April 19, 2022 Clothing retailer T.M. Lewin faces a lengthy legal battle over claims it was required to consult employees before firing them, after an employment tribunal told it to pay out a total of £439,000 to more than 100 of its former staff, lawyers have said. The comments come after an employment tribunal ruled that T.M. Lewin [...]
WPP snaps up delivery tech firm Satalia in AI push August 23, 2021 WPP has snapped up a London-based tech firm specialising in home delivery services in a move that will boost the ad giant’s artificial intelligence offering. The FTSE media group today said it had acquired Satalia, which is one of the UK’s fastest-growing tech companies and serves major clients such as BT, Tesco and Unilever. Following [...]
High street decline May 5, 2021 With high streets in turmoil and recovery slow, high street graveyards are becoming a common sight across the UK. The past 12 months have not been easy for the vast majority of companies, in particular for those without an online platform. However, the struggle of the high street is not a new problem. Rewind a few years [...]
Covid was the final lever for the creative destruction of the high street: it’s not gone, just changing March 8, 2021 If you believe some of the gloomier predictions, the high street is on life support and will breathe its last when the government eventually pulls the plug on the comprehensive Covid relief package that has kept it alive. Last week’s budget offers another lifeline but is, in effect, a stay of execution in a process [...]
Scrapping the VAT refund for tourists would be catastrophic for the UK economy October 30, 2020 Retail, hospitality and tourism are three of the sectors that have been hardest hit by Covid-19 and the ongoing lockdown restrictions. Employing close to six million people, job losses in these sectors are expected to be devastating. The government should be doing all it can to support these businesses at this critical time. Instead, it [...]
Covid-19 ‘doughnut effect’ creates retail opportunities in outer London, experts say October 28, 2020 Outer London boroughs have recovered faster from the coronavirus restrictions than the city centre, creating a “doughnut effect”, which could provide new opportunities for retailers and landlords, experts have said. Research by estate agent Savills showed that in the six weeks to 23 October footfall in the City and Westminster was down 72 per cent [...]
Woolworths may not be making a return, but our love of retail is October 28, 2020 Admit it, you did it, I did it, we all did it at least once — pinching from the pick n mix at your local Woolworths. And sadly, all that came to an end in December 2008, when all remaining Woolworths stores were shuttered for good. As a nation we mourned. We mourned the loss [...]
Has an unverified Woolworths twitter account pranked Britain? Probably. October 27, 2020 An unverified Twitter account claiming to belong to Woolworths emerged this morning, sparking a media frenzy and a social media storm
Why M&S’ relegation from the FTSE 100 doesn’t mean the death of the High Street September 20, 2019 Marks and Spencer (M&S) is set to be relegated from the FTSE 100 after the close of business today. This will be the first time that the company has lost its blue chip status. The UK retailer was a founder member of the FTSE 100 and a stalwart of the UK High Street. But its [...]
Kodak shows how to compete with startups if you’re a heritage brand March 25, 2019 The digitalisation of our world has given with one hand and taken away with the other. It has created opportunities for new companies, and made household names such as Amstrad computers and Woolworths entirely redundant. Technological advancements have facilitated the emergence of startups that thrive on disrupting traditional business models. However, the decline of established [...]