An F-Shaped recovery – How Freelancers are powering Britain’s brilliant bounce-back July 7, 2020 This wasn’t just any ordinary crisis – the financial hit the UK has taken from COVID-19 has been shorter, sharper, and deeper than any we’ve seen before. According to the Resolution Foundation, the mere seven working days of lockdown in the first three months of 2020 gave the UK it’s biggest quarterly economic contraction since [...]
Halfords reports cycling sales surge during UK coronavirus lockdown July 7, 2020 Halfords reported a jump in cycling sales during the UK coronavirus lockdown as Brits avoided public transport, however the boost was offset by a sharp drop in motoring sales, the retailer said this morning. Halfords, which was classed as an essential retailer and was allowed to remain open during the lockdown, said overall group sales [...]
Lessons from lockdown: Advertising’s future is distributed July 6, 2020 Sometimes an earthquake’s aftershocks are so severe, the main quake is re-designated a foreshock. From a commercial standpoint, we look ahead to lockdown’s aftershocks with apprehension, but look ahead we must. As the dust settles, business leaders are surveying a new landscape and asking, what’s changed? Speaking for my own business, the recent crisis is [...]
Pret A Manger to close 30 stores after lockdown, putting 1,000 jobs at risk July 6, 2020 At least 1,000 jobs are understood to be at risk at Pret A Manger as it prepares to close 30 of its shops following a brutal lockdown. Pret has said it has suffered “significant operating losses” during the UK-wide shutdown of non-essential shops since late March. And while it has reopened 339 of its 410 [...]
UK car sales sink 35 per cent in June despite post-lockdown restart July 6, 2020 UK new car sales plunged a third in June despite the easing of lockdown measures, new data showed today, after worse falls in April and May. New car registrations sank 34.9 per cent in June year on year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). But that marked what the body called [...]
Land Securities collects majority of rent as dividends set to resume July 3, 2020 Land Securities provided investors with a sigh of relief this morning, as it said it intends to begin paying dividends again later this year after a positive uptick in revenue. The property developer said 60 per cent of the net rent due on 24 June was paid to it within five working days, compared to [...]
Coty hires former L’Oreal boss as its third chief executive this year July 2, 2020 Beauty firm Coty has hired former L’Oreal boss Sue Nabi to become its third chief executive in just six months, sending shares up almost four per cent in pre-market trading. Nabi will take over the reins from Peter Harf, who was appointed chief executive of Coty just last month. Harf will step down front the [...]
Boohoo defends workplace practices after report of sick staff in Leicester July 2, 2020 Boohoo has been forced to issue a statement in defence of its supply chain practices, after a labour group alleged the firm was forcing staff sick with coronavirus to turn up to work. Labour Behind the Label, a campaign group for workers’ rights, said it had received reports of “workers being forced to come into [...]
DS Smith profit strengthened by e-commerce demand during lockdown July 2, 2020 Packaging supplier DS Smith has said a strong demand in ecommerce, as well as a growing environmental awareness, helped full year-profit inch up five per cent. The figures DS Smith reported full-year revenues of £6.04bn, down from £6.17bn in the year before. The coronavirus crisis has dented revenues by approximately £15m in the final two [...]
Hospitality venues raise the bar as pubs’ re-opening app-roaches July 1, 2020 ‘Two pints of lager and a packet of crisps’: no longer (for the time being, at least) a request delivered while waiting at the bar. Instead, a request delivered electronically by smartphone app from a safe, social distance. Technology’s reach knows no bounds as Britain’s public houses – stereotypically bastions of resistance to digital accoutrements [...]