Clarks cuts over 1,200 jobs as sales fall by almost £100m June 30, 2025 Clarks cut more than 1,200 jobs as its sales slumped by almost £100m during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. The Somerset-headquartered shoe retailer has reported a revenue of £901.3m for 2024, down from the £994.5m it achieved in 2023. New accounts filed with Companies House also show that Clarks’ headcount fell from [...]
Wimbledon: Strawberry merch drives sales increase at All England Club June 30, 2025 Wimbledon may be famous for its strawberries but it’s not the edible variety that is boosting profits at the All England Club as it prepares for the annual deluge of tennis fans over the coming fortnight. Championship chiefs have sought to capitalise on the seasonal red fruit’s place in the quintessential Wimbledon experience with a [...]
Disposable income per head slumps despite economic growth June 30, 2025 The Office for National Statistics left growth figures for the UK economy at 0.7 per cent in the first three months of the year unrevised on Monday. Official data from the ONS showed quarter one’s growth was led by a 1.3 per cent increase in the production sector. Services and construction jumped 0.7 per cent [...]
Streeting’s junk food crackdown labelled ‘nanny state mission’ June 29, 2025 Retail bosses have hit out at a government plan to stop supermarkets from selling junk food in favour of fruit and vegetables as a “nanny state” policy that would add to red tape faced by high street shops. Under new plans to tackle the NHS’s £11.4bn obesity bill, the government will set supermarkets a “healthy [...]
What happened to River Island? June 26, 2025 River Island is suffering from a common affliction. Declining sales and an inability to keep up with competition have led to a restructuring plan, with imminent store closures if the strategy goes ahead. High-street peers like Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins and Debenhams have already disappeared and become online-only – River Island is just the “latest [...]
Totally Wicked: Vapes giant sold to Chinese investor June 26, 2025 Family-owned vapes retailer Totally Wicked has been sold to a Chinese investor, it has been revealed. The Lancashire-headquartered company, which was founded in 2008 by Jason Cropper, has been acquired by Wittyace UK Holding. The business is controlled by Chinese national Ying Wang and is registered in Cambridge. It is ultimately owned by Wittyace Hk Holding [...]
What’s behind the post-pandemic tumble in Diageo and Pernod Ricard shares? June 25, 2025 Two of the world’s biggest drinks companies, Diageo and Pernod Ricard, have had a bruising time of it on the stock market in the last two years. Since mid-2023, shares in Pernod Ricard have dropped nearly 60 per cent, while market leader Diageo has seen its share price fall over 40 per cent. A lot [...]
Halfords to shut garages amid growing cost pressures June 25, 2025 Halfords is set to close some of its garages this year as it struggles with increased labour costs introduced by last year’s Autumn Budget. Shares fell nearly two per cent in early trades. The cycling and motoring specialist said the sites earmarked for disposal are not able to provide the “level of customer experience to [...]
Net zero levy cuts are just tinkering at the edges June 25, 2025 The Industrial Strategy contains bold ambitions for cutting energy prices. Yet, for all the glossy presentation, the underlying thinking remains the same: a conviction that Whitehall can shape markets more effectively than the market itself, says Emmanuel Igwe We have learned through history that real progress emerges not from the bureaucratic designs of government but [...]
Slim pickings: grocery sales down as Brits turn to weight-loss jabs June 24, 2025 The growing use of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic could be having an impact on supermarkets’ bottom lines as Brits shy away from more than just unhealthy food. Four per cent of households in the UK now have at least one member using GLP-1, the active ingredient in weight-loss drugs. The share of UK households with [...]