Wetherspoon boss: ‘Not up to Burnham’ to choose who is on the high street Hospitality Britain’s pubs have few more committed defenders than Sir Tim Martin. The Norwich-born businessman founded JD Wetherspoon in 1979 when he bought his first pub in Muswell Hill, initially named Martin’s Free House. Since rebranding the pub to Wetherspoon – named after a former teacher of Martin’s who could not control his class – it [...]
New Circularity Data: Nine Out of Ten Returned Items Lose Value for Retailers Business Wire New research finds 86% of retailers have established circularity practices, yet only 9% resell more than half of returned products at full price
Primark sales slip as owner dresses up retailer for demerger Retail Primark has seen its sales slip due to heatwaves and “weak” consumer spending, despite efforts by its owner to revamp the discount clothes seller as it prepares to be spun off. Associated British Foods (ABF), the FTSE 100 consumer goods giant which owns Primark, said it is working “at pace” to improve the retailer ahead [...]
John Lewis posts £120m loss as Labour tax raid pushes up costs September 10, 2026 The owner of John Lewis fell to a loss of more than £120m in the first half of its trading year as the retail giant hit out at Labour tax raids for “the increased costs of doing business”. The John Lewis Partnership, which also owns Waitrose, posted a pre-tax loss of £124m, 41 per cent [...]
Selling to Corporate Giants – Tessa Clarke on taking 3.5 years to land Tesco September 9, 2026 Tessa Clarke spent three and a half years trying to sign Tesco. Another large retailer took her six years and a third is still at the pilot stage after eight. In a fireside chat at SCALE Summit in London, Tessa talked to HelloFresh co-founder Hamish Shephard about the reality of selling into large corporates. It’s [...]
Itsu blames inflation and Labour tax hikes as rising costs bite September 9, 2026 Itsu has posted its third consecutive annual loss as the Asian food-to-to chain blamed surging inflation and Labour hikes to employment taxes for its rising costs. The edamame eatery, founded by the grab-and-go tycoon behind Pret a Manger, said the UK’s fast food industry is suffering from fragile consumer confidence and a rising tax burden. [...]
Gym Group upgrades outlook as Gen-Z shrugs off heatwave and World Cup September 9, 2026 Gym Group has upgraded its outlook after tempting Gen-Zers into its gyms throughout the summer, despite the distractions of the World Cup and multiple heatwaves. Will Orr, chief executive of the no-frills gym provider, said the group is still on course to deliver three per cent sales growth despite a “noisy macro [environment], some hot [...]
Black market cigarette trade ‘accelerating high street decline’, Co-op tells Burnham September 9, 2026 Criminal gangs selling illicit cigarettes in shops across the UK are “accelerating” the decline of Britain’s high streets and must be stopped, the Co-op has warned Andy Burnham. The black market trade of tobacco is undermining the Prime Minister’s push to rejuvenate UK high streets, eroding public safety and weakening community cohesion, the cigarettes-to-funerals seller [...]
Leblon Delienne Joins LEXON at BOW to Expand Its Global Reach September 8, 2026 The French sculpture atelier extends the group’s expertise from everyday design to collectible art
Dunelm shares crater as hot weather undermines growth plan September 8, 2026 Shares in Dunelm plummeted after its new boss warned that record summer temperatures had posed an early hurdle to her plans to kick off growth at the furniture and homeware seller. Clo Moriarty, who joined the group from Sainsbury’s in October last year, said progress towards her new strategy has so far been delayed by [...]