‘Packaging tax’ to force further price rises October 1, 2025 UK businesses will be forced to pass the vast majority of costs incurred by a new packaging tax onto consumers, in a move that will stoke already rampant food inflation and compound financial pressures on hard-pressed households. According to fresh figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), retailers plan to pass over 80 per cent [...]
Asahi cyberattack halts domestic operations amid ongoing investigation September 30, 2025 Japan’s largest brewer, Asahi Group Holdings, remains unable to resume production at its domestic factories following a cyberattack on Monday, with the firm unable to provide a timeline for when normal operations might resume. “Asahi Group Holdings is currently experiencing a system failure caused by a cyberattack, affecting operations in Japan,” it said in a [...]
Asos shares sink after sales fall behind expectations September 30, 2025 Shares in e-commerce fashion firm Asos have tumbled after the company reported sales short of expectations and vowed to extend its cost-cutting programme in a bid to secure “even stronger profitability foundations”. The London-based business said it “had planned to shift gears” from rebuilding its commercial model towards “re-engaging with customers.” “Instead, more opportunity to [...]
Will we mourn the loss of WH Smith from the high street? September 29, 2025 So long then, WH Smith, a firm which has graced our high streets for more than a century – even though it never intended to. Founded as a small newspaper kiosk in Mayfair in 1792, the business grew massively in the mid-19th century, spurred by the rapid expansion of the railways, which allowed consumers up [...]
Profit at Jamie Laing’s Candy Kittens slashed after major change September 29, 2025 Profit at Candy Kittens, the cat-shaped confectionary brand owned by Radio One DJ and Made in Chelsea star Jamie Laing, has been slashed after it made a major change in 2024. The business, which specialises in vegetarian and vegan sweets, decided to switch focus to distribute more to grocers in the UK at the end of 2023 and signed [...]
Harrods’ customer details stolen in IT breach September 27, 2025 Harrods has warned some customers that their personal data may have been taken in an IT systems breach. The luxury Knightsbridge department store said information, such as names and contact details, of its e-commerce customers was taken after one of its third-party provider systems was compromised. In a statement, Harrods said: “We have been notified [...]
London Fashion Week: A new chapter for British fashion under Laura Weir September 26, 2025 Last week’s London Fashion Week reignited the spark within the fashion industry, under the British Fashion Council’s (BFC) new chief executive, Laura Weir. Weir is proving herself to be the right person at the helm of BFC as she works on improving the industry and the LFW brand. She has achieved this by waiving the [...]
Adanola: Sales triple at Kendall Jenner favourite September 24, 2025 Sales at Adanola, the athleisure brand worn by the likes of Kendall Jenner, Molly-Mae Hague and Maya Jama, have tripled in the space of just two years. The Manchester-based label has reported a turnover of £84.5m for the 12 months to 31 March, 2025, new accounts filed with Companies House show. That total is up from [...]
Oliver Bonas: ‘Growth hard to come by’ with Reeves’ tax hikes September 23, 2025 Oliver Bonas has warned the outlook for the UK economy is “not easy” and that “growth hard to come by” because of the tax rises introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Autumn Budget last year. The retailer added that its pre-tax profit fell during 2024 because of rising costs while it pins its hopes [...]
Shares in B&Q owner Kingfisher unexpectedly spike after sales boost September 23, 2025 Kingfisher, the parent company of B&Q and Screwfix, saw its share price rise more than 17 per cent on Tuesday morning after posting a better-than-expected sales update. The FTSE 100 firm told markets that sales improved 0.9 per cent in the six months ended 31 July, 2025, to £6.8bn, driven by a 4.4 per cent [...]