Former Asda and M&S boss Lord Rose: WFH is ‘not doing proper work’ January 20, 2025 The increase in home work has created a generation who are “not doing proper work,” according to the former boss of Asda and Marks & Spencer. Speaking to BBC Panorama, Lord Rose said more working from home was a part of the UK economy’s “general decline” and that productivity was suffering as a result. “We [...]
Next: Lord Wolfson warns Budget will make it ‘harder’ to enter workforce January 17, 2025 The boss of retail giant Next has warned that tax rises announced in the Budget will make it “harder and harder for people to enter the workforce”. Lord Wolfson told the BBC that the government’s move to hike national insurance (NI) would disproportionately hit entry-level jobs. “The axe has fallen particularly hard on those entry-level, [...]
Tesco shares drop despite bumper Christmas trading January 9, 2025 Tesco shares dropped two per cent in early deals this morning despite the retailer reporting abumper festive trading period. Food sales rose by 4.7 per cent in the six weeks to January 4, with a “particularly strong contribution” from fresh food, the grocer said. That’s more than double the market average of 2.1 per cent. [...]
The Capitalist: WFH rows, Zuck’s new watch and the City’s Tesco habits revealed January 9, 2025 WFH causes a ruckus, Zuckerberg's eye-catching watch and the nation's favourite meal deal: catch up on the latest gossip in The Capitalist.
Grocery spending hit record high at Christmas as Brits favour food over gifts January 7, 2025 Grocery spending hit a record high this Christmas as Brits dined out on premium goods and fizz, in a marked contrast to the anaemic growth in retail spending. Overall take-home sales at the grocers rose by 2.1 per cent over the four weeks to 29 December compared with last year. Brits splashed out on premium [...]
Tesco and Sainsbury’s to shed light on Christmas sales performance January 5, 2025 The UK’s biggest supermarket groups will shed light next week on how they fared over the key Christmas period amid pressure on shoppers’ budgets. Tesco and Sainsbury’s will both provide third-quarter updates for investors and analysts, where they will reveal their sales for the weeks running up to Christmas. Both grocers are expected to reveal [...]
Retail in 2025: The year of personalisation, AI, wellness – and no more barcodes December 24, 2024 2024 has been a tough year for retail. From companies sounding the alarm on business rates in the first half of the year to low consumer confidence and footfall proving stickier than expected, the festive period has now been overshadowed by stark warnings about further cost rises next year. Restructuring partner at RSM UK, Gordon [...]
Warpaint London to acquire fellow beauty specialist Brand Architekts December 5, 2024 Cosmetics firm Warpaint London has announced the acquisition of fellow beauty brand specialist Brand Architekts. Warpaint London, the company behind makeup brands W7 and Technic, told markets today it has reached an acquisition agreement for the entirety of issued and to be issued share capital of the Brand Architekts. The company said under the terms of [...]
Tesco Clubcard and Sainbury’s Nectar schemes do help consumers, regulator says November 27, 2024 A year-long probe into UK supermarkets’ pricing practices has found “very little” evidence that shoppers are being treated unfairly with loyalty programmes such as the Tesco Clubcard scheme and Sainsbury’s Nectar points. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) probe, which has been ongoing since November last year, investigated whether supermarket loyalty schemes cause inflation by faking the [...]
Lidl boss warns retailers are ‘reeling’ after Budget tax raid November 20, 2024 The boss of budget supermarket Lidl has warned retailers are “reeling” following Labour’s tax raid in the Autumn Budget. The German supermarket’s UK boss Ryan McDonnell said the discount brand was staring down the barrel of “tens of millions of pounds” in extra costs. This comes after the Chancellor unveiled a £25.7bn tax-raising package, with [...]