Small businesses battered by Covid restrictions see return to pre-pandemic sales June 24, 2021 Small businesses are seeing their sales slowly creep back toward pre-Covid levels, but sectors such as hospitality and arts and recreation still have a way to go. An analysis of the records of hundreds of thousands of companies shows that the health of small businesses has remained steady. However, despite the easing of lockdown restrictions [...]
eBay to sell majority stake in South Korean branch to E-Mart for $3bn June 24, 2021 Online marketplace giant eBay is set to sell a majority stake in its South Korean branch to retailer E-Mart for $3bn. The deal forms part of a string of asset sales, with the UK’s competition watchdog clearing eBay’s $9.2bn sale of its classified ads business to Norwegian rival Adevinta earlier this month. South Korean E-Mart, part [...]
Poundland owner Pepco increases earnings as store openings outpace pandemic June 24, 2021 Pepco Group, owner of discount retailer Poundland, has reported a 16.8 per cent increase in core earnings in the six months to 31 March, as revenue growth from new store openings offset the impact of pandemic restrictions. The group, which is listed in Poland and also owns the PEPCO and Dealz brands in Europe, trades from more than [...]
Some 300 million extra square feet of warehouse space needed in Europe to support e-commerce boom June 22, 2021 Nearly 300 million square feet’s worth of warehouse space in Europe will need to be found to cope with the e-commerce boom expected in the coming years. E-commerce sales across Europe are expected to increase by $298bn from 2020 to 2025, requiring thousands more industrial warehouses and distribution spaces to meet the growing demand, according [...]
E-commerce grocery sales plateau boosts Aldi’s market share to peak levels June 22, 2021 The growth of e-commerce sales in the grocery market has plateaued, giving the likes of Aldi an opportunity to grow its market share after not making use of online sales in the past year. The percentage of e-commerce sales in the grocery market remained flat at 13.4 per cent in the four weeks to 13 [...]
Private equity interest: Why is Morrisons such an attractive takeover target? June 21, 2021 Morrisons has rejected a £5.5bn takeover approach from a US private equity firm amid speculation that more UK supermarkets could be snapped up. Shares in Morrisons jumped earlier this morning following confirmation of the rejection at the weekend, as the chain said potential bidder Clayton, Dubilier & Rice “significantly undervalued” the grocer with its 230p-per-share [...]
Amazon retains crown as world’s most valuable brand June 21, 2021 Amazon has retained its place as the world’s most valuable brand, growing 64 per cent this year to $684bn – equivalent to the GDP of Poland. Amazon’s value grew by $268bn in the last year, according to data from Kantar, as a locked down world turned to the retailer for their online shopping. After Amazon, [...]
John Lewis faces backlash over plan to hike fees for brands June 20, 2021 John Lewis is facing a backlash from brands over how much they are being charged to stock products with the retail giant. Brands already pay John Lewis up to 50 per cent of each sale in commissions and fees, however the company’s chair Dame Sharon White has enlisted Alix Partners to renegotiate this higher. For [...]
Tesco bags over £10bn in sales as customers still favour home cooking June 18, 2021 Supermarket giant Tesco has taken in over £10bn in UK sales over the last quarter, with customers still in the habit of home cooking over restaurant dining as restrictions gradually lift. The UK, the chain’s main market, brought in a slight 0.5 per cent lift to sales in the 13 weeks to 29 May, in [...]
Euros tied with summer sun sees booze sales soar across the UK June 18, 2021 Alcohol sales in the UK have skyrocketed during the Euros, as sunny weather spurred fans to splash the cash on booze, according to data from PayPoint. Sales data from PayPoint’s network of 28,000 retailers found that over the weekend the Three Lions played their first fixture against Croatia, alcohol sales climbed 11 per cent in [...]