John Lewis Partnership considers further reforms to staff benefits as squeeze on retailers tightens November 4, 2016 High street stalwart the John Lewis Partnership is considering further curbs on staff benefits as it becomes the latest retailer to fight back against soaring costs for the sector. Documents seen by City A.M. suggest the escalating national living wage could cost the John Lewis Partnership an additional £171m in 2020. Between 2015, when the [...]
Here’s a round up of all the rumours about the John Lewis Christmas ad November 4, 2016 The internet is going wild about when an ad will hit TV screens. That’s right, the John Lewis Christmas ad cometh – and before it’s even out, the mums of cyberspace have been speculating about what it will be like, even though it will be played on tellyboxes ad nauseum until Christmas day arrives. Read more: [...]
Coconut flour, cactus water and charred food: Waitrose unveils 2016’s top food trends November 2, 2016 Were cactus water, wonky vegetables and coconut flour on the list for your latest weekly shop? No? Well, get with the times, apparently they were among the top food trends of the past year. So says Waitrose's 2016 Food and Drink Report, as consumers are becoming ever more focused on eating "lighter and fresher", while [...]
City Moves for 25 October 2016 | Who’s switching jobs October 25, 2016 Travelodge Hotel chain Travelodge has appointed Hannah Thomson to the position of people director. She will take up her new role from 1 November. Hannah will report directly to the chief executive Peter Gowers and joins the Travelodge operating board. Hannah began her career with the John Lewis Partnership businesses, John Lewis and Waitrose, where she held a range of roles in [...]
How to build a creative company: Lucky Generals’ Helen Calcraft talks MBAs and 50 Cent October 24, 2016 "It's a quote by Napoleon. He was asked what it takes to win a war and he replied: ‘Bring me your lucky generals’,” says Helen Calcraft. “We liked the idea of being those generals that clients can send into battle and come back with a win.” Her agency, Lucky Generals, has been winning a fair [...]
First the complimentary coffee threat, and now this. Waitrose angers customers with new free newspaper curbs October 19, 2016 First came the threat to Middle England’s free coffee – and now this. Waitrose has angered customers by announcing plans to increase the amount of money they have to spend before getting a free newspaper. Read more: Brace yourself middle England: Waitrose's free coffee could be under threat That’s right – from 1 November, loyalty [...]
Take that, Aldi: Tesco gains market share for the first time in years but Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Asda decline further October 18, 2016 It looks like Tesco is beginning to win the battle of the supermarkets, after new figures showed it won supermarket share in the last three months – for the first time in five years. Figures by Kantar Worldpanel showed Tesco increased sales by 1.3 per cent in the 12 weeks to 9 October, which pushed its [...]
The UK is facing a “cliff edge” on food prices, according to Nick Clegg October 17, 2016 UK food prices could spike dramatically if the UK quits the Single Market, according to former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg. Clegg, now the EU spokesman for the Lib Dems, says British shoppers will face dramatically increased bills if the UK reverts to World Trade Organization (WTO) rules after Brexit. The UK currently exports £11bn worth of agricultural products to [...]
London Remainers drag down consumer confidence in the capital October 17, 2016 London consumers are feeling less confident than the rest of the UK, data out today shows. Confidence fell in London during the third quarter despite climbing to a five-year high across the rest of the country, according to the latest survey from accountancy giant Deloitte. Consumer sentiment in the capital fell by three percentage points over [...]
Brace yourself middle England: Waitrose’s free coffee could be under threat October 16, 2016 Middle England's favourite supermarket risks causing a rift among its quinoa and kale loving shoppers. Waitrose is no longer serving up a free coffee or classic cuppa tea to customers in some of its stores in the way they've been used to. The roll back on the tempting offer which was first introduced in 2013 – and has [...]