Millions of Brits spend holidays at work on Christmas and Boxing Day – with Londoners most likely to have their feet up December 26, 2016 Millions of Brits are spending Christmas and Boxing Day at work, in a growing trend – although Londoners are most likely to have their feet up. Almost six per cent of UK employees work on Boxing Day, while 3.3 per cent work on Christmas Day itself, according to the Office for National Statistics. However, employees [...]
Christmas Day online shopping will peak at this surprisingly late time for the post-millennial “Generation Z” December 25, 2016 Most people will be aiming to put their feet up after Christmas lunch today and zone out in front of the TV – but there's one group of people who will be driving a late-night shopping boom this evening. Not content with their new stash of presents, "Generation Z", the post-millennial cohort who were born in [...]
Brits are set to spend £3.85bn on Boxing Day sales this year, 96 per cent more than on Black Friday December 22, 2016 Boxing Day sales are expected to blow Black Friday spending out of the water as Brits prepare to splash out 96 per cent more on the day after Christmas. Nineteen million consumers will spend £3.85bn on Boxing Day sales this year, three per cent more than in 2015, a study by the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) found. [...]
British-made craft gin and English sparkling wine are now top sellers in M&S December 22, 2016 British-made craft spirits and wine are finally having their moment this year. Marks & Spencer declared British gin the spirit of Christmas 2016 after reporting more than a quarter of a million bottles of its eight new gins made in the UK have been sold following their release this autumn. Gin sales increased 150 per cent [...]
Shell offloads Malaysian refining business for £53.6m in latest string of disposals December 22, 2016 Shell has completed the sale of its Malaysian oil refining company to Malaysia Hengyuan International Limited (MHIL) for $66.3m (£53.6m). The blue-chip oil and gas group had a 51 per cent stake in Shell Refining Company. The business includes a 125,000 barrels per day refinery in Port Dickson, south of Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia remains "an important [...]
Big win for Wincanton as it inks four-year warehouse deal with Ikea December 21, 2016 Supply chain solutions group Wincanton has won the contract for Ikea's warehouses in London, the group announced today. Shares in Wincanton rose 2.34 per cent at the open. The agreement, which will run for four years, will see Wincanton lease and fit-out the warehouses on behalf of the Swedish furniture giant. Ikea's London warehouses occupy a combined [...]
Heavy Black Friday discounting drove the basket value of online electrical purchases to its lowest value ever December 20, 2016 Black Friday discounting slashed the average value of online purchases in the electrical sector by 22.7 per cent year on year, a new report suggests. Discounts on electronics were key for attracting bargain-hunting Black Friday shoppers, but new figures show the price cuts brought the average basket value down to £119 in November, its lowest value [...]
John Lewis hits out at Labour MP over Christmas jingle December 20, 2016 The John Lewis Partnership has hit out at a campaigning Labour MP after she produced a Christmas jingle criticising the retailer for how it treats its staff. Labour MPs, led by Siobhain McDonagh, recently recorded a song – titled "National Living Rage" – to highlight how retailers are cutting staff benefits in response to the national living wage. Read more: [...]
The Southern rail strike saga has cost the economy £300m already, says university study December 20, 2016 The Southern rail strikes are costing the UK economy hundreds of millions of pounds, according to new research from the University of Chichester. A study, led by Dave Cooper, professor of management and economic development, has put the cost of the strike saga to the country's GDP at as much as £300m. The industrial action, carried [...]
Britons have lost their taste for these favourites of Christmas past December 20, 2016 Christmas 2016 may have been marked by the rise of craft beer and gin advent calendars (yes, really), and a season when we cracked open £2bn worth of bubbly, but spare a thought for the traditional tipples we're leaving behind. Despite being a Christmas staple, Britons have lost their taste for the fortified wines of port, sherry and vermouth, as [...]