Square Mile and Me: James Uffindell on building Bright Network August 29, 2024 Each week we ask a City figure to take a trip down memory lane. Today, James Uffindell, CEO of Bright Network, takes us through his career.
Next ruling heralds employment law headache August 28, 2024 The Employment Tribunal accepted that the difference in pay rates between Next’s shop floor staff and their warehouse-based colleagues was not down to “direct discrimination” or the “conscious or subconscious influence of gender” on pay decisions. Why, then, did the retailer lose the claim brought by store staff? The answer concerns the much thornier issue [...]
Go Ape continues climb down from Covid-19 pandemic high August 27, 2024 The financial performance of Go Ape continued its post-pandemic climb down following the “exceptional demand” it experienced as the UK came out of the Covid-19 lockdowns. The employee-owned adventure group, which is headquartered in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, has reported a fall in its revenue by eight per cent in 2023 to £27.5m. The decrease [...]
Ted Baker seller in the red as jobs cut and stores closed amid focus switch to Suit Direct August 23, 2024 A group which sells Ted Baker clothes across the UK slumped into the red as it significantly restructured itself to focus on its Suit Direct brand. As part of the move, Baird Group disposed of its license to sell Ben Sherman clothes, closed unprofitable stores, cut more than 100 jobs and appointed a new chief [...]
John Lewis redundancies: What does the law say about department store job cuts? August 14, 2024 More UK retail jobs are set to be lost after John Lewis revealed plans to cut its headcount by more than 150 in the coming months. The move means the department store giant becomes the latest household name to reduce its staffing numbers so far this year. John Lewis has said it hopes to achieve [...]
John Lewis: How all the major changes will impact staff and shoppers August 14, 2024 John Lewis is poised to make a series of major changes that will affect all of its stores across the country and its partners. The organisation announced a restructuring plan yesterday that it described as a “multimillion pound” investment in technology and what it has described as ‘simplification’ would help “improve our customer service and make [...]
Carpetright owed almost £350m when it collapsed into administration August 14, 2024 Carpetright owed almost £350m when it collapsed into administration with the loss of more than 1,500 jobs before being rescued, it has been revealed. The Essex-headquartered carpet and tiling retailer was acquired by rival Tapi in July in a move that saved the jobs of more than 300 people and 54 stores. At the time [...]
John Lewis to make redundancies as major store changes announced August 13, 2024 Department store giant John Lewis is to cut more than 150 jobs as it unveiled a major restructuring plan to its partners. The company is to reduce its headcount by 153 roles, about one per cent of its current workforce, which it hopes to achieve by natural attrition and voluntary redundancies. The news was first [...]
Inmotion Ventures: Jaguar Land Rover’s investment arm slips to loss after busy year August 12, 2024 Inmotion Ventures, the investment arm of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), made a loss during its latest financial year after backing six new companies. The Coventry-headquartered business has posted a pre-tax loss of £2.6m for the year to March 31, 2024, newly-filed accounts with Companies House have revealed. The loss comes after Inmotion Ventures made a [...]
Whittard of Chelsea: UK popularity grows but international sales falter August 12, 2024 Whittard of Chelsea’s UK sales increased during its latest financial year but its international performance suffered in 2023, it has been revealed. The Oxfordshire-headquartered company has posted a turnover of £45.6m for 2023, up from £42.3m, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House. The business also reported a pretax profit of £903,991, down from the [...]