Tesco to shed 1,000 members of staff from distribution business in streamlining move January 9, 2017 Tesco is set to lay off 1,000 members of staff from its distribution network as part of a wider streamlining programme. The proposed changes will reduce the number of its distribution centres in the UK from 25 to 23 and will result in 1,000 redundancies. However, the move will also create 500 new jobs, leaving a net [...]
Solid fare expected from the UK’s listed supermarkets this week, including Tesco and Morrison’s, as a raft of retailers reveal their seasonal sales results January 8, 2017 The UK's three major listed supermarkets are expected to report solid Christmas trading this week, although investor focus will be on the outlook given this year's expected squeeze on consumer spending. On 10 January, Morrison's is expected to report underlying sales growth of 1.1 per cent for the nine weeks to 1 January according to [...]
Here are five of the best alcohol-free and low alcohol beers to drink during Dry January January 5, 2017 Although you might have imagined yourself spending Dry January at the gym, cooking up healthy meals in your kitchen or proudly mastering the art of the homemade mocktail, chances are you'll find yourself in a pub at some point. Before you give in and order your standard pint, try one of the many surprisingly flavourful low or zero or [...]
Shop prices continued to fall over Christmas – but inflationary pressures are pushing up clothing prices January 4, 2017 The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has called the start of a likely rise in inflation as it reported overall shop prices fell by 1.4 per cent in December, a deceleration from the 1.7 per cent fall in the previous two months. The sharp fall in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote has not [...]
Retail cold snap: New Year footfall plummets at Britain’s shopping centres January 2, 2017 The UK high street experienced a sales cold snap at the weekend as new figures showed footfall fell nearly 13 per cent nationwide while in shopping centres it slumped by a massive 50 per cent. Poor weather, an early December spending spree and bank holiday trading hours deterred shoppers from venturing outdoors on New Year’s Day, [...]
From Southern rail’s backfiring poster to Google’s April Fool prank gone wrong: Six of the most memorable business blunders of 2016 January 1, 2017 2016 has been an interesting year to say the least. There has of course been a plethora of notable political events over the past 12 months, but there’s also been plenty going on in the business world. With that in mind, here are some of the most memorable company clangers from over the year – from [...]
John Lewis hits out at Labour MP over Christmas jingle December 20, 2016 The John Lewis Partnership has hit out at a campaigning Labour MP after she produced a Christmas jingle criticising the retailer for how it treats its staff. Labour MPs, led by Siobhain McDonagh, recently recorded a song – titled "National Living Rage" – to highlight how retailers are cutting staff benefits in response to the national living wage. Read more: [...]
Tyrie calls for national cyber centre to ensure finance is “high priority “ December 19, 2016 An influential MP has called on the government's intelligence agencies to ensure cyber security within the financial services industry is a top priority in the wake of several high profile banking data breaches and failing legacy IT systems. Andrew Tyrie, the chair of the Treasury Select Committee, has written to the chief executive of the National Cyber Security [...]
Payments regulator sets out vision for industry-wide approach to protect consumers December 16, 2016 Financial regulators have promised to stamp out payment scams which have cost Britons hundreds of millions of pounds. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), a special branch of the Financial Conduct Authority that focuses on banking payments, said today the financial services sector needs to do more to protect consumers. "In a short space of time [...]
BAE Systems to boost top UK cyber security talent as a third of graduates recruits to train in countering digital threats December 15, 2016 Almost a third of the 235 graduates joining BAE Systems next year will be hired to work in the firm's cyber security arm as digital threats to government and businesses soar. The blue-chip defence giant said the new emphasis in its graduate programme was prompted by an online survey it conducted with business heads, in [...]