Aldi announces pay rise and recruitment drive January 21, 2020 Aldi has announced it will increase the hourly rate paid to in-store staff members and hire more than 3,800 employees this year as it pushes ahead with its UK expansion plans. The budget supermarket said all employees will earn a minimum hourly rate of £9.40, a 30p per hour increase from the previous minimum wage [...]
B&M share price tumbles on slow Christmas sales growth January 10, 2020 Discount chain B&M’s share price has fallen by more than eight per cent this morning after a trading update reported a challenging Christmas period. The company said like-for-like sales for the 12 weeks leading up to 28 December had increased by 0.3 per cent. Read more: Selfridges’ Christmas sales boosted byt vegan food and toys [...]
Lidl sales grow 11 per cent over Christmas period January 10, 2020 Lidl UK saw an 11 per cent increase in sales over the Christmas period, outshining bigger supermarket rivals, its latest trading update revealed today. The German discount supermarket group said it was the fastest growing bricks and mortar supermarket over the four weeks ending 29 December. Read more: Lidl sales help it hit record stake [...]
Christmas supermarket sales growth slows to four-year low January 7, 2020 Supermarket sales growth over the Christmas period slowed to the lowest rate in four years as shoppers watched their budgets over the festive period. Retailers reported sales of £29.3bn, up £50m on last year, however growth slumped to the lowest rate since 2015. Read more: Morrisons sales fall in ‘unusually challenging Christmas period’ Year-on-year supermarket [...]
Morrisons sales fall in ‘unusually challenging’ Christmas period January 7, 2020 Supermarket giant Morrisons has announced a drop in sales for the Christmas period amid “unusually challenging” trading conditions and “sustained” customer uncertainty. Group like-for-like sales excluding fuel fell 1.7 per cent for the 22 weeks to 5 January. Including fuel, the drop was 2.8 per cent. Total sales excluding fuel were down 1.3 per cent, [...]
Where Co-op will open 30 new stores before Christmas December 10, 2019 Co-op is aiming to open 30 new stores in the run-up to Christmas, as it invests £25m in sites at transport hubs, residential blocks and key city locations. The new stores are expected to create up to 500 jobs, bringing some festive cheer to the UK retail industry following a challenging year for the high [...]
Lidl sales help it hit record stake in UK supermarket sector December 10, 2019 The biggest supermarkets shed yet more market share to discounters Aldi and Lidl in the three months to the start of December, new data out today reveals. The big four grocers saw their collective market share drop by over one per cent to 67.7 per cent as people delayed their Christmas shopping and Black Friday [...]
Top City investors urge UK firms to pay living wage November 28, 2019 Some of the City’s biggest investors have written to the chief executives of companies including Just Eat, British Airways, and Royal Mail urging them to pay the so-called real living wage. The letter, published today, outlines a growing business case for the living wage, arguing that it can boost productivity, reduce staff turnover and improve [...]
Tesco chief resigns after turning the brand around November 27, 2019 Tesco’s chief executive Dave Lewis will leave the Big 4 retailer next summer, an announcement that sent shock waves across the industry. Tesco is currently the highest-ranking retailer in the FTSE 100 thanks to Lewis’ turnaround plan implemented shortly after his arrival in 2014. At the time Tesco was facing a crisis following the million-pound [...]
Why banning after-work emails is a bad idea November 25, 2019 From “Massage Mondays” to “Drinks Trolley Fridays”, many organisations have started putting wellbeing initiatives in place to combat burnout. Even airports are thinking about the wellbeing of their customers by bringing puppies and pigs into their lounges to calm passengers facing delayed flights. But how effective are these initiatives in actually reducing stress? Double-edged sword [...]