Egg farmers: Supermarkets must raise prices by 40p to avert sector crisis March 31, 2022 Egg farmers have called on supermarkets to up the price of a dozen eggs by 40p as producers face cost pressures. Many free range egg farmers are bleeding cash on every egg laid by one of their hens, according to the British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA). Shoppers in the UK were unable to [...]
Walgreens: Profit hit after sales dip at US pharmacies while Boots enjoys sales rebound March 31, 2022 Walgreens Boots Alliance has taken a dent to its quarterly profit while its UK drugstores have enjoyed a sales bounce back. Drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA.O reported a 13.9 per cent drop in quarterly profit after a decline in sales at its AllianceRX Walgreens business. It said US pharmacy sales fell 3.3 per [...]
H&M reveals 240 store closures in ‘established markets’ March 31, 2022 H&M has announced 240 global store closures after posting a slowdown in sales after suspending activities in Russia. The Swedish retailer has said it will open some 95 new stores and shut around 240 stores this year, with a net decrease of 145 spaces. Closures will “mainly be in established markets,” the fashion company said, [...]
UK economy grew faster than anticipated after Covid spending at the end of 2021 March 31, 2022 The UK economy grew faster than anticipated in the last three months of 2021 as a frenzy of health sector activity masked inflation’s impact on household incomes. Gross domestic product (GDP) increased 1.3 per cent in the fourth quarter from the previous three-month period. The Office for National Statistics had previously provided an estimate of [...]
Hostelworld: Revenue recovers as travel restrictions scrapped as online agent posts €17.3m loss March 31, 2022 Hostelworld has marked a “challenging year” as the online travel agent has slowly seen bookings rebound with the easing of travel rules. Hostelworld marked a net revenue of €16.9m for the year to 31 December, an increase of 10 per cent year on year. The Dublin-based company said its full year net bookings totalled 1.5m, [...]
House price growth hits highest level since 2004 with record average of £265.3k March 31, 2022 Annual house price growth has increased to 14.3 per cent, from 12.6 per cent in February. According to Nationwide’s house price index, this was the strongest pace since November 2004. The price tag of the average home hit a new record of £265,312, an increase of more than £33,000 in the past year. Prices have [...]
BlackRock President: Entitled generation should prepare to sacrifice amid surging inflation March 30, 2022 BlackRock’s Rob Kapito said an entire generation should “put on seat belts” as the economy feels the impact of high inflation. “For the first time, this generation is going to go into a store and not be able to get what they want,” the president of the $10 trillion asset manager said of shortages, Bloomberg [...]
Gopuff: Hundreds of job cuts to come as delivery firm looks to slash costs $40m March 30, 2022 Rapid delivery firm Gopuff is readying to lay off hundreds of employees after a $15bn valuation last year. Some three per cent of the start-up’s workforce could be hit by job losses, according to The Information. Job cuts are included in a bid to slash annual costs by some $40m, the news website said, citing [...]
Oxford St still feeling side effects of Covid as footfall recovery lags behind March 30, 2022 Oxford St has struggled to return to its pre-pandemic glory with football down 46 per cent on pre-Covid levels. Overall, high street footfall levels were down 23 per cent in February, according to an RSM analysis of data from Datscha. International travel restrictions have dampened the numbers of shoppers in central London hubs. Northern shopping [...]
Ikea to close Tottenham store in £1bn plans to speed up home deliveries in London March 30, 2022 Ikea has revealed it will be shutting shop at its Tottenham store, with some 450 employees set to be impacted. However, Ikea said it has plans to retain as many individuals as possible. It is also planning to create some 600 vacancies in the capital before the store shuts. The North London store will remain open [...]