Itsu takes a bite out of its losses despite heavy growth investment September 30, 2018 The founder of fast food chain Itsu has claimed “food is the new fashion”, after the company saw its end-of-year losses fall despite investments in overseas expansion. Itsu, which is known for its Asian-influenced food, particularly sushi and rice dishes, saw raw sales growth of 10 per cent last year, with pre-tax losses dropping to £8.9m, [...]
Retail sales beat expectations as shoppers continue spending spree September 20, 2018 Retail sales volumes beat expectations and rose 0.3 per cent in August as British shoppers continued to spend. The Office for National Statistics data showed sales jumped 3.3 per cent on August last year. There were increases across all sectors except food, clothing and petrol. Read more: Retail industry fears 'tipping point' amid looming business [...]
Retail sales beat expectations as shoppers continue spending spree September 20, 2018 Retail sales volumes beat expectations and rose 0.3 per cent in August as British shoppers continued to spend. The Office for National Statistics data showed sales jumped 3.3 per cent on August last year. There were increases across all sectors except food, clothing and petrol. Read more: Retail industry fears 'tipping point' amid looming business [...]
Retail footfall figures dropped in August due to heatwave and inflation September 10, 2018 The summer heatwave and food price inflation halted three months of retail footfall growth on the high street in August. Overall retail footfall dropped by 1.6 per cent on the previous year, with the sharper decline due to rising food inflation, which left shoppers with less money for non-essential items, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed [...]
Sweet relief: Primark boosts revenue to alleviate owner ABF’s sugar woes September 10, 2018 Despite a gloomy outlook for retailers, Primark expects to increase revenue by 1.5 per cent to boost profits this financial year, offsetting a fall in sugar prices in Europe for owner Associated British Foods (ABF). Strong first and second half sales are expected to help the budget clothes brand to post the increase, with UK [...]
Greene King gets a World Cup boost as it presses ahead with pub sales September 7, 2018 Pub group Greene King sold 3.7m pints of beer during the World Cup, helping it to post solid growth figures ahead of its AGM today. But the company is to press ahead with cost-saving measures and making its estate smaller through the disposal of around 100 pubs this year. The figures In the 18 weeks to 3 [...]
Hot weather and high fuel prices drive consumer spending up in August September 4, 2018 Consumers spent an extra 4.5 per cent year-on-year in August, driven by hot weather and high food and fuel prices. Spending on petrol climbed to 10.9 per cent, while there was a five per cent increase in supermarket spending. Brits also flocked to pubs to enjoy the last of summer, spending 11.9 per cent more [...]
Turkey’s central bank vows to act as inflation hits 18 per cent September 3, 2018 Turkey's central bank has pledged to take action as it was revealed that inflation hit almost 18 per cent last month amid a deepening financial crisis. The Consumer Price Index was up to 17.9 per cent in August compared to the same month last year, the Turkish Statistical Institute said. Inflation figures for July were [...]
Eurozone inflation slows in August but misses European Central Bank target August 31, 2018 Inflation in the Eurozone area slowed to two per cent this month, narrowly missing the European Central Bank (ECB) target. The drop of 0.1 per cent from 2.1 per cent in July this year has kept inflation above the ECB goal of just under two per cent. Energy is expected to have the highest annual rate this month at [...]
Venezuela sinks ever lower as the state tightens its grip August 29, 2018 Life in Venezuela is now unimaginably hard. In recent years, we have watched as this once prosperous country descended into poverty, chaos and political turmoil. The United Nations estimates that more than two million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2015, with thousands more attempting to pour over the boarders of neighbouring countries every day. [...]