Britain’s trade bodies must confront challenges of their own January 31, 2019 What does the future hold for Britain's trade bodies? We hear a great deal about the disruption that poses huge challenges to their members but what of the disruption facing membership groups themselves? Many are struggling with declining membership rates, or the competing interests of the members who do remain. Take the British Retail Consortium [...]
Investors get green light to inspect SFO documents in legal action against Tesco January 29, 2019 A group of investors pursuing legal action against Tesco over its 2014 accounting scandal have been given the green light to inspect documents compiled by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). Last Friday a High Court judge ruled that the documents, now in Tesco’s possession, would be of “considerable litigious advantage” to the claimants. Judge Hildyard [...]
Tesco reveals 9,000 jobs set to be hit in major restructuring amid ‘challenging’ market January 28, 2019 Tesco has revealed plans to axe up to 9,000 jobs as part of a cost-cutting move that will involve the grocer trimming its head office and closing tens of fresh food counters. Britain's largest retailer said today that 90 counters will be closed and 9,000 jobs will be impacted by the latest twist in Dave [...]
Ocado and Marks & Spencer see shares rise on reports of food delivery partnership January 28, 2019 Shares in Marks & Spencer and Ocado were up this morning following reports the firms are in talks over a possible food delivery partnership. Ocado and Marks & Spencer saw their shares rise five per cent and one per cent respectively in early trading after it emerged the retailer could sign a deal to use [...]
Tesco set to ‘axe up to 15,000 jobs’ January 27, 2019 Fears that Tesco will axe 15,000 jobs emerged over the weekend, amid reports that Britain’s largest grocer is planning to overhaul some of its store operations as part of a £1.5bn cost-cutting plan. Reports in the Mail on Sunday said today that thousands of employees in Tesco’s meat, fish and delicatessen counters face the firing [...]
Unilever boss looks to mend fences with the City in upcoming results January 27, 2019 The City will be turning its gaze towards Unilever later this week, with the consumer goods giant looking to reassure investors after a turbulent year which ended with the departure of long-reigning boss Paul Polman. The blue-chip firm behind Marmite and Persil is set to post its full-year results on Thursday under the leadership of Alan [...]
Cleared Tesco executive launches legal action against supermarket following £250m accounting scandal January 25, 2019 A former Tesco executive recently cleared over the retail giant’s £250m accounting scandal is suing the supermarket following the collapse of the Serious Fraud Office's (SFO) case against him last year. Chris Bush, one of Tesco’s most senior employees who joined the supermarket chain upon leaving school, was acquitted of charges of fraud and false [...]
Here’s how retailers can enhance the customer experience in-store in 2019 January 24, 2019 The pressure on Britain’s high street is intensifying with shopkeepers preparing themselves for yet another year of declining footfall, driven by low consumer confidence and the growth of online competitors. Against this backdrop, we’re seeing a number of high street retailers revamping their customer experience in-store and trialling new creative strategies to encourage shoppers back [...]
Tesco and Carrefour to trial refillable container scheme in bid to cut waste January 24, 2019 Supermarket giants Tesco and Carrefour are set to trial a refillable container scheme in a bid to cut waste created by excess packaging and single-use containers. The French and British retailers have teamed up with a coalition of major consumer product companies to pilot a new service to provide online shoppers with refillable containers. Read [...]
SFO publishes terms of deferred prosecution agreement with Tesco after reporting restrictions lifted January 23, 2019 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has published the full terms of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) it agreed with Tesco following the 2014 accounting scandal. Reporting restrictions around the DPA – a voluntary agreement which allows companies to forego prosecution by fulfilling certain requirements – were lifted when former Tesco director Carl Rogberg was acquitted today. [...]