Boots posts uplifted sales as owner Walgreens shelves plans for £5.5bn auction June 30, 2022 Boots has posted buoyant quarterly retail sales after its parent company abandoned plans to sell the chemist this week. In third quarter results, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) stated profit was down on last year but had surpassed Wall Street expectations. The retail pharmacy giant posted adjusted earnings of $0.83bn or $0.96 per share for the [...]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group snares stake in Australian fashion marketplace as retail swoop continues June 30, 2022 Mike Ashley’s retail empire has nabbed a 29 per cent stake in Australia’s fashion platform MySale. Frasers Group has snared a 28.7 per cent holding in MySale, in its latest retail swoop, it announced on Thursday morning. My Sale puts global buyers in touch with sellers to Australian and New Zealand e-commerce sites. London-listed Frasers [...]
‘The sex toy bubble has burst’: Brits spend less on self-pleasure as food and energy bills swallow their budgets June 30, 2022 Brits are spending less on self-pleasure as they are forced to focus on paying for food and utilities instead. Research compiled by The Open University shows that the impact of the current cost of living crisis is hitting UK consumers hard, with 83 per cent of adults are reporting a rise in the cost of living, with 51 per cent having to spend [...]
BNPL firm Zilch bags $50m as boss predicts looming crisis for ‘checkout button’ rivals June 30, 2022 The boss of buy-now pay-later firm Zilch criticised the business model of ‘checkout button’ rivals today and said they would be rocked by an economic slowdown this year, as the London fintech revealed a $50m funding injection to fuel its expansion.
Small businesses lambast government’s price cut plan for being a “slap in the face” June 29, 2022 Asking small businesses to cut product prices as a way for the government to help Brits with the cost-of-living crisis was deemed as a “slap in the face” by trade bodies. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) argued that forcing small firms to “soak up additional costs just isn’t realistic,” as business owners are no [...]
Fuel retailers hit back at detractors, blaming volatile market for pump price increase June 29, 2022 Fuel retailers have hit back after motoring bodies have accused them of “inexplicably” rising fuel prices at UK pumps. Gordon Balmer, director at the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), has told journalists that operators are currently operating at a loss due to wholesale prices rising because of the volatile oil market. “Independent fuel retailers need to [...]
H&M warns more price increases could be on the way for shoppers as ‘many challenges’ continue June 29, 2022 The second largest global fashion firm H&M has warned it plans to hike prices even further this year. The Stockholm-based retailer posted pre-tax profit of 4.78bn Swedish crowns ($471m) on Wednesday, surpassing analysts’ expectations. Profit boosted by 33 per cent compared to the same period last year. The buoyant half-year results came after the fashion [...]
Sales at Morrisons drop as supermarket boss cites ‘very fragile’ trading environment June 29, 2022 Supermarket Morrisons has seen sales drop by 6.4 per cent in the second quarter of the year, blaming a “very fragile and difficult consumer environment.” In a trading update for the 13 weeks ending 1 May, the grocer said it had experienced a “very challenging” trading environment with cash-strapped Brits tightening their belts as inflation [...]
Are we heading for a global recession? June 29, 2022 Keith Wade, Chief Economist, discusses what central bankers’ next move might be, what markets are pricing in and what the probability of a recession is. People are worrying about a global recession and with good reason. But what if the factors driving rising prices are beyond the limits of policymakers’ control? The squeeze on living [...]
B&M quarterly sales dip after retailer warns shoppers could cut back amid high inflation June 29, 2022 Discount retailer B&M has seen sales plummet in its first quarter, against strong lockdown comparatives, as cash-strapped Brits cut back on discretionary spending. In a trading update for the 13 weeks from 27 March to 25 June, the London-listed business said group revenue had dropped 2.2 per cent on a constant currency basis. Across the [...]