Tesco withdraws Christmas cards from sale over forced labour claims December 22, 2019 Tesco has suspended a Chinese Christmas card supplier following reports a customer found a message written inside a card saying it had been packed by foreign prisoners who were victims of forced labour. “We abhor the use of prison labour and would never allow it in our supply chain,” a Tesco spokesperson said on Sunday. Read more: Tesco [...]
City Moves for 19 December – Who’s switching jobs at Turley, Johns & Co and Ashtead? December 19, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes Turley, Johns & Co and Ashtead. Turley Catriona Fraser has been promoted to director in the London team at national planning and development consultancy Turley. Catriona has been involved in several high-profile projects for Turley across London. She has advised on a number of key London development sites for mixed-use alternative [...]
Ofcom to ban firms from selling ‘locked’ mobile phones December 17, 2019 Communications regulator Ofcom has proposed a new set of plans which would prevent phone companies from selling ‘locked’ handsets. BT/EE, Tesco Mobile and Vodafone still sell mobile phones that cannot be used on other networks without being unlocked first, which can cost £10. Read more: MPs say hands-free phones should be banned while driving The [...]
Takeover interest mounts over Sainsbury’s £1.9bn mortgage book December 12, 2019 Grocery giant Sainsbury’s has reportedly received several offers for its £1.9bn mortgage book. The Big Four supermarket chain has attracted a number of bidders as it looks to quit the home-loans market, according to Sky News. The broadcaster said that Lloyds Banking Group is understood to be among the interested parties in the auction, which [...]
Amazon strengthens dominance of UK e-commerce market December 10, 2019 Online retail giant Amazon increased its dominance of the UK e-commerce market this year, according to the latest research. Amazon boosted its market share from 28.8 per cent in 2018 to 30.1 per cent this year, accounting for $30bn in sales. Read more: Amazon nets Champions League rights The next largest player in the UK, [...]
Lidl sales help it hit record stake in UK supermarket sector December 10, 2019 The biggest supermarkets shed yet more market share to discounters Aldi and Lidl in the three months to the start of December, new data out today reveals. The big four grocers saw their collective market share drop by over one per cent to 67.7 per cent as people delayed their Christmas shopping and Black Friday [...]
Tesco leads FTSE 100 risers as it weighs up Asia sale December 9, 2019 Shares in Tesco rose more than five per cent in early trading today, as investors welcomed reports that the company is exploring a sale of its Asian businesses. The supermarket giant has confirmed that it will launch a strategic review of options for its businesses in Thailand and Malaysia, including a potential sale. Read more: [...]
Tesco mulls sale of Thailand and Malaysia operations December 8, 2019 Tesco is mulling the sale of its business in Thailand and Malaysia, the supermarket giant confirmed today. The grocer said it had launched a review of the strategic options for the two Asian divisions, where it operates under the Tesco Lotus brand, “including an evaluation of a possible sale”. Read more: Tesco chief resigns after [...]
Celebrating a brand’s heritage can improve public perception December 4, 2019 As the year draws to a close, 2019 has seen some well-known British brands celebrate anniversaries and centenaries. Two of Britain’s largest supermarkets, Tesco and Sainsbury’s celebrated their 100th and 150-year anniversaries respectively, while British Airways also celebrated its 100th year of trading. Camelot, which owns the National Lottery and Euromillions, was another to celebrated [...]
Avoiding the mistakes of the British Steel pension scandal December 4, 2019 For those of us who haven’t been blessed with gold-plated pensions, the mere thought of sacrificing a guaranteed income in retirement might seem insane. So it may come as a surprise that around 210,000 people transferred out of defined benefit pension schemes in 2018/19, more than double compared to the previous year, according to figures [...]