Business rates aren’t fit for purpose but Rishi Sunak’s digital tax is a sticking plaster, not a solution July 30, 2020 Long before the coronavirus pandemic, our high streets were struggling. Faced with the rise of online sales, many well-known retailers were either closing stores, entering a form of insolvency known as a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), or falling into administration. The oft-quoted analysis of this demise was that the costs of running a physical store [...]
Amazon Fresh: What does the expansion mean for UK supermarkets? July 28, 2020 Amazon’s announcement that it will offer free grocery deliveries for Prime customers represents a step up in competition between the internet giant and the UK supermarkets. The US company, which bought upmarket grocery chain Whole Foods in 2018, will offer free Amazon Fresh delivery in London and the South East from today. Plans are in [...]
A digital tax is no way to reward our innovative online retailers July 28, 2020 Throughout lockdown, the advantages — indeed, the essentiality — of online retail became clear. Now, Rishi Sunak is rumoured to be mulling over a new online sales tax. Advocates for this new tax, such as SportsDirect owner Mike Ashley and Tesco boss Dave Lewis, believe that the existing business rates system creates an uneven playing [...]
Markets live: FTSE 100 and US stocks drop sharply as US-China tensions flare July 24, 2020 The FTSE 100 and US stocks fell after US-China relations soured and rising coronavirus cases threatened the global economic recovery. London’s blue-chip index closed 1.4 per cent lower at 6,124 points, despite some better-than-expected economic data. The FTSE 250 closed 1.3 per cent down. Read more: Asian shares retreat as US-China tensions sour Germany’s Dax [...]
Supermarket growth slows as shoppers return to pre-lockdown habits July 21, 2020 Grocery sales in the the UK rose 14.6 per cent year-on-year in the four weeks to 12 July, but lost the momentum seen at the beginning of lockdown as restaurants, pubs and cafes were allowed to reopen. Supermarket sales slipped from 18.9 per cent growth the previous month, as shoppers tentatively returned to their normal [...]
Retail restraint: John Lewis and Primark decline government help to play the long game July 16, 2020 For retail, the story of Covid-19 has been one of survival. Inevitably, the sector has looked to the government for assistance. Even the most hardened devotee of the free market has seen the Treasury’s coffers as a life belt to help companies get through the worst of the pandemic. Change and adaptation can come later. [...]
Major UK mobile networks vow not to reintroduce roaming charges after Brexit July 13, 2020 The UK’s four major phone networks — EE, Three, Vodafone and O2 — have vowed not to reintroduce roaming charges when Britain leaves the bloc in January, after the government today urged Brits to check with their mobile carriers for price changes ahead of the Brexit transition period deadline. The UK government today called on the [...]
FTSE bosses: Businesses ready to kickstart UK recovery July 3, 2020 This weekend the UK economy takes a few more important steps towards reopening and rebuilding. And in spite of the human toll the coronavirus has had, so far the public are strikingly optimistic about the future. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, two-thirds of people believe the pandemic will result in improvements in how we [...]
Covid Recovery Commission: FTSE 100 bosses unite to set UK economy back on track July 3, 2020 Some of the biggest names in UK business have teamed up to create a pressure group to ensure the economy emerges from coronavirus “stronger and fairer”, its members announced today. The group will be called the Covid Recovery Commission, and will involve the chairs of FTSE 100 powerhouses Tesco and Shell and the chief executives [...]
Sainsbury’s sales up 8.5 per cent as grocer ‘feeds the nation’ during lockdown July 1, 2020 Grocer Sainsbury’s today said that total first quarter sales increased by 8.5 per cent as the supermarket beat expectations despite the coronavirus pandemic. It said that although it was forecasting a £500m profit hit due to the crisis, stronger grocery sales and business rates relief would offset the shortfall. Shares in the grocer jumped initially [...]