Used car prices continue to grow but record trend expected to stabilise March 3, 2022 The average price of a second hand car in the UK has continued to grow, reaching in February a record 31.9 per cent year-on-year and like-for-like increase. Even though it marks the 23rd consecutive record month of growth, the 0.6 per cent raise is the lowest increase registered since April 2021. According to Auto Trader’s [...]
Fashion retailers Boohoo and ASOS suspend sales to Russia in solidarity with Ukraine as M&S suspends shipments March 3, 2022 Fast fashion retailer Boohoo has become the latest firm to announce it has suspended sales of clothes to Russia. The Manchester-based e-commerce business joins brands such as Asos and Next, as well as designer names such as Burberry, in making a stand. In a update published on the London Stock Exchange, Boohoo said it was [...]
Council says it wants to rid central London of ‘candy and tat shops’ March 3, 2022 Westminster City Council has outlined its intention to rid central London’s Oxford Street of “questionable candy and tat shops” as a part of a £150m rejuvenation. Rachael Robathan, leader of the council, tonight said “Oxford Street is Europe’s hardest hit street” by Covid and that the decline will continue without a serious intervention. Footfall on [...]
Vertu Motors upgrades trading performance following automotive tailwinds March 2, 2022 UK automotive retailer Vertu Motors has upgraded its trading performance for the year ended 28 February, as it continues to benefit from used and new cars’ gross margins. In a trading update published today, the group said it expected the adjusted profit before tax to be “not less than £75m,” after it delivered a significant [...]
Shop price inflation hits highest rate in more than a decade March 2, 2022 Shop price annual inflation surged to the highest rate since November 2011 last month, as households’ concerns about the cost of living increases. The rate hit 1.8 per cent in February, an increase from 1.5 per cent in January, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NielsenIQ. Non-food inflation surged to 1.3 per cent [...]
Discount retailers benefit from cost of living crunch as shoppers head to Aldi and Lidl March 1, 2022 Grocery price inflation hit a new high of 4.3 per cent last month, with budget supermarkets luring shoppers in as the cost of living intensifies. Fresh data from Kantar reveals the fastest rate of inflation since September 2013, with the exception of the start of the pandemic when households panic bought essentials. Aldi and Lidl [...]
Exclusive: Ultimate Products’ airfryer maker brand receives €1m order from German retailer March 1, 2022 Homeware giant Ultimate Product has said its newly snapped-up kitchen electrical brand has inked a €1m order from a leading German hypermarket retailer. Ultimate Products, which owns legacy homeware brands including Salter and Beldray, told CityA.M. exclusively its German brand Petra had received its first substantial order from an unnamed retailer. The order is for [...]
ABF and Primark sales to surpass pre-Covid levels as consumers eye luggage and swimwear February 28, 2022 Associated British Foods (ABF), which also owns budget retail chain Primark, has said it is on track to surpass pre-Covid levels of sales and operating profit. The food manufacturer has been battling against inflation, alongside the rising costs of energy, but anticipates grocery revenue to inch two per cent higher than 2021. While Primark sales [...]
Petrol prices hit £1.51 per litre as cost of living crisis deepens February 28, 2022 UK petrol prices have broken records yet again following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has further driven fears of supply shortages and seen oil prices spike to over $100 per barrel for the first time since 2014. The latest fuel watch figures from motoring group RAC reveal that unleaded petrol hit a peak on Sunday, [...]
Distribution giant Bunzl reports slip in profits despite boost in revenues February 28, 2022 Distribution giant Bunzl reported a slip in profits today despite revenues rising 1.7 per cent, as its food and retail divisions rebounded from a pandemic slow down.