Sainsbury’s CEO Mike Coupe to retire after six years January 22, 2020 Mike Coupe is set to retire as chief executive of Sainsbury’s after six years at the helm, the company revealed today. The CEO will leave the role in May before retail and operations director Simon Roberts takes charge in June. Mike Coupe said leaving had been a “very difficult decision for me personally”. Read more: [...]
Aldi announces pay rise and recruitment drive January 21, 2020 Aldi has announced it will increase the hourly rate paid to in-store staff members and hire more than 3,800 employees this year as it pushes ahead with its UK expansion plans. The budget supermarket said all employees will earn a minimum hourly rate of £9.40, a 30p per hour increase from the previous minimum wage [...]
The Harry & Meghan saga shows why your business needs a succession plan January 21, 2020 The drama taking place in the Royal House of Windsor is not only gripping material for a future episode of The Crown, but also a wake-up call to all businesses to have a plan for when important personnel step down or leadership responsibilities change. From the mom-and-pop store to publicly-listed giants, succession planning needs to [...]
First Travelex UK customer-facing systems restored after cyber attack January 17, 2020 The chief executive of Travelex has spoken out for the first time following a cyber attack two weeks ago that caused a global blackout in the foreign exchange provider’s online services. In a scripted video uploaded to a backup Travelex website, Tony D’Souza said the IT system used by staff was now working again. D’Souza [...]
Travelex restores some electronic services following cyber attack January 13, 2020 Foreign exchange company Travelex is beginning to restore some electronic systems almost two weeks after hackers held the company’s systems to ransom, leading to a global blackout of its online services. Staff at the foreign exchange giant had been forced to use pen and paper to serve thousands of customers after a cyber attack forced [...]
Founders need the stamina to run a marathon, not a sprint January 13, 2020 Who’d have thought it? Turns out that marathons are good for you. New research last week revealed that one of the best ways to reduce your cardiovascular age is to get your jogging shoes on and complete the mammoth test of endurance. This comes despite years of expert warnings that this type of exercise was [...]
Marks & Spencer shares slip as clothing underperformance weighs on Christmas trading January 9, 2020 Marks & Spencer’s Christmas performance was weakened by poor sales in its menswear business, after the retailer ordered too many skinny jeans in the wrong sizes. The high street chain said it over ordered skinny and slim-fit mens’ trousers, under-bought regular fit jeans and had too many small sizes and not enough medium and large. [...]
Tesco sees Christmas sales rise for fifth year in a row January 9, 2020 Tesco delivered its fifth consecutive Christmas period of growth last year, outperforming its competitors in a tough retail environment. The grocer’s UK and Ireland division, which includes its wholesale business Booker, increased like-for-like sales by 0.4 per cent in the 19 weeks to 4 January due to a strong operational performance and competitive deals. Read [...]
Banks suspend currency exchange after Travelex cyber attack January 8, 2020 High street banks Barclays, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland are without foreign currency services after a cyber attack against forex giant Travelex. The banks, who get their foreign notes from Travelex, said supplies were running short after last week’s attack, in which hackers warned the firm that unless it paid $6m (£4.6m) they would [...]
Sainsbury’s Christmas sales slip despite online boost January 8, 2020 Sainsbury’s suffered the biggest drop in Christmas sales of general merchandise since it bought Argos in 2016, as consumer demand for toys and games weakened. General merchandise sales, which includes Argos, dropped 3.9 per cent in the 15 weeks to 4 January, driving a 0.7 per cent decline in total retail sales excluding fuel. However, [...]