WH Smith’s decline: A cautionary tale of bad branding March 31, 2025 As WH Smith disappears from the high street, Will Bosanko looks at why the brand failed, and asks whether there is a future for TG Jones.
WPP wins Heineken marketing deal amid AI push March 31, 2025 Beer giant Heineken has selected WPP as its global marketing and commerce partner, as it looks to leverage AI to enhance its retail and customer experiences. Under the new agreement, the ad giant will use its AI-powered operating system, WPP Open. Together, both companies will collaborate to optimise in-store activations, retail strategies and various e-commerce [...]
What’s next for Primark after shock CEO resignation? March 31, 2025 The surprise resignation of Primark’s boss, Paul Marchant, due to poor social conduct has caused shockwaves across the retail industry. Marchant’s departure was promoted by an investigation by Primark’s owner ABF into the CEO’s behaviour towards a female individual, which Marchant called an ‘error of judgement’. Chief executive of ABF, George Weston, said he was [...]
Primark boss resigns after investigation into social conduct March 31, 2025 Primark boss Paul Marchant has resigned after an investigation into his behaviour by Primark’s parent company ABF. ABF’s share price fell nearly four per cent after the announcement. ABF Finance Director Eoin Tonge will act as Primark chief executive on an interim basis, while ABF Group Financial Controller Joana Edwards will act as interim ABF [...]
‘It’s tragic that Britain hasn’t made Greg Jackson a national hero’ March 31, 2025 The billionaire founder of Octopus Energy, Greg Jackson, should be recognised more for his achievements in business and made a national hero, according to marketing veteran Rory Sutherland. The vice chairman of Ogilvy added it’s “tragic” that the UK doesn’t “make more heroes of our really innovative business successes” in the way the USA does. [...]
Peloton: Eye-watering UK losses continue as more jobs cut March 31, 2025 The UK arm of Peloton has reported another eye-watering loss as it continued to significantly cut jobs, it has been revealed. The London-headquartered division has posted a pre-tax loss of £94.3m for the 12 months to 30 June, 2024, after having also lost £115.2m in the prior year. The latest loss comes after Peloton UK [...]
Pets at Home shakes off current market woes but warns of struggles ahead March 31, 2025 Pets at Home announced its profit had fallen in line with expectations in its performance update, but warned of struggles ahead. Its share price fell more than 10 per cent in early trades. The group predicted profit before tax for the year at £133m, in line with previous guidance. It said trends in the final [...]
Monzo, Starling, Zilch: The fintech IPOs that could boost London March 30, 2025 London markets have suffered a torrid couple of years, but could fintech help turn the tide? Swedish fintech Klarna marked the latest snub to the City after it announced it was pursuing a US-listing despite hopes the firm would float in London. This followed 88 companies leaving the London Stock Exchange (LSE) last year, including [...]
Retail sales beat expectations as Brits keep shopping March 28, 2025 Retail sales volumes beat expectations in February as British shoppers seemed to loosen their spending habits, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Retail sales rose one per cent month-on-month after rising 1.4 per cent in January. Markets had expected a decline of 0.3 per cent. Annual retail sales growth came in at 2.2 [...]
FTSE 100 retail giant Next passes £1bn profit milestone for the first time March 27, 2025 Next has joined a small group of UK retail companies in reporting more than £1bn in annual profit. The high street bellwether told markets this morning that its profit before tax for the year to January 2025 was £1.01bn, up 10.1 per cent year on year. Its share price rose more than eight per cent [...]