Asda sales growth slows but grocer forecasts bumper online Christmas November 17, 2020 Asda’s sales growth slowed in the third quarter as lockdown restrictions lifted and hospitality businesses reopened, the supermarket announced this morning as it said customers are already stocking up for a “very different” Christmas this year. The grocer’s like-for-like sales excluding fuel were up 2.7 per cent in the three months ended 30 September, compared [...]
Tesco, M&S and Sainsbury’s face allegations of worker exploitation in India November 17, 2020 UK retailers including Marks & Spencer (M&S), Tesco and Sainsbury’s are facing calls to apologise following allegations of worker exploitation in their supply chains. Supermarket supplier workers in India reportedly said they do not get toilet breaks or sufficient breaks to drink water or eat lunch. One member of staff told the BBC they were [...]
Swissport axes 3,000 jobs after ‘refusing’ to access furlough scheme November 17, 2020 Baggage handler Swissport is making 3,000 employees redundant after refusing to put them on furlough, according to a leading union. There was a wave of redundancies ahead of the 31 December deadline for the furlough scheme, which sees the government pay 80 per cent of employees’ wages. The Chancellor Rishi Sunak belatedly extended the scheme [...]
UK retail footfall ‘more resilient’ in second lockdown November 16, 2020 Retail footfall has been more resilient during the second coronavirus lockdown compared to the first closure of non-essential stores in March, the latest analysis showed. Between Thursday and Saturday footfall in retail destinations rose by an average of 13.2 per cent from the same three days in the week before, when the lockdown began. Shoppers [...]
Business interruption case heads to the Supreme Court November 16, 2020 A landmark legal battle between the City regulator and leading insurers over business interruption payouts heads to the Supreme Court today. Hundreds of thousands businesses that were forced to close or faced significant losses amid the pandemic made claims on their business interruption insurance. But leading insurers disputed the claims arguing their policies did not [...]
Janssen begins stage three Covid vaccine trial in UK November 16, 2020 Janssen has today begun stage three trials of its coronavirus vaccine, the third such company to do so in the UK. 6,000 volunteers across the country will take part in the tests of the vaccine, which has been developed in partnership with US giant Johnson & Johnson. The trials come after Pfizer last week announced [...]
Arcadia taking ‘appropriate steps’ amid second lockdown but denies administration November 16, 2020 Sir Philip Green’s retail empire Arcadia has said it is taking “all appropriate steps” to mitigate the impact of a second lockdown and hit back at claims it is about to enter into administration. The second lockdown in England comes at a precarious time as retailers prepared for the Christmas period hoping to salvage the [...]
Weekly outlook, 16-20 November: will FTSE rally continue? November 15, 2020 After the best week for the FTSE 100 since April, investors will be keen to see if markets can keep the rally going, with a slew of heavyweights set to report. Last Monday Pfizer’s announcement that its vaccine was 90 per cent effective in treating the coronavirus disease sent stocks soaring. Traders cheered the news, [...]
Bookshop.org: How a ‘scrappy’ online bookseller is trying to take on Amazon November 15, 2020 While the tech revolution has worked its way into all parts of daily life, few industries have experienced as extreme an overhaul as publishing. US bookstore sales have dropped from highs of more than $17bn (£12.9bn) to less than $10bn, while Amazon’s market share has grown to over 50 per cent. But now there’s a [...]
France are my favourites for the Autumn Nations Cup, a Six Nations with extra spice November 13, 2020 I’m a glass-half-full person, so I can’t help but be excited that the Autumn Nations Cup is happening. Given everything, fans and players just have to be grateful we’ve got some international rugby with silverware to play for. OK, we haven’t got New Zealand, South Africa or Australia coming over as usual. But we to [...]