Category Archives: Retail industry

Hornby sells slot car racing brand Scalextric for £20m

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Purbeck Capital Partners seals deal for business and property rights of toy with model railway maker

For almost six decades Hornby has watched Scalextric drive revenues for its hobby business but on Friday the company said it had decided to sell the famous slot car racing brand for £20m to a little known buyer.

The model railway company, which also sells toy planes and cars under the Airfix and Corgi brands, has sold the Scalextric business and intellectual property rights to Purbeck Capital Partners.

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Hornby sells slot car racing brand Scalextric for £20m

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Purbeck Capital Partners seals deal for business and property rights of toy with model railway maker

For almost six decades Hornby has watched Scalextric drive revenues for its hobby business but on Friday the company said it had decided to sell the famous slot car racing brand for £20m to a little known buyer.

The model railway company, which also sells toy planes and cars under the Airfix and Corgi brands, has sold the Scalextric business and intellectual property rights to Purbeck Capital Partners.

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Ocado failing to deliver on its potential as one of UK’s great technology hopes

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Firm’s automated warehouses are struggling to compete against swift deliveries from stores by bike riders

Only six years ago, the boss of Ocado Group was writing the obituary for supermarkets as he predicted that a surge in online grocery shopping during the pandemic had brought forward the hi-tech future.

“Not every store will disappear, but there will be a dramatic shift,” Tim Steiner said at the height of the Covid pandemic, when shopping from the sofa became the only option for many.

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Ocado to cut 1,000 jobs in £150m cost-saving drive

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Major restructure by retail technology business will lead to reduction of about 5% of global workforce

Ocado is to cut 1,000 jobs as the retail technology business attempts to slash costs by £150m in a major restructure.

The group confirmed about 5% of its global workforce is being cut, with about two-thirds of the job losses affecting its UK operations.

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Asos co-founder dies in fall from 18-storey building in Thailand

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Police say UK entrepreneur Quentin Griffiths fell from 17th floor of an 18-floor condominium on 9 February

Quentin Griffiths, the co-founder of the online fashion retailer Asos, has died after falling from an apartment building in the Thai seaside resort city of Pattaya.

Police told Reuters that the 58-year-old had fallen from the 17th floor of an 18-storey condominium on 9 February.

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Art and antiques help lift retail sales in Great Britain to biggest monthly rise since 2024

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January increase of 1.8% beats forecasts and was also driven by shoppers snapping up jewellery online

Retail sales in Great Britain rose 1.8% in January, the largest monthly increase in almost two years, according to official data, as heavy discounting and post-Christmas sales drew consumers back to bigger ticket purchases.

The rise easily beat forecasts of a 0.2% rise and was partly driven by sales of artwork and antiques sales in January, alongside continued strong sales from online jewellers, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. It was the biggest monthly rise since May 2024.

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Retailers in UK plan to cut staff hours and jobs amid rising employment costs

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BRC survey finds finance bosses expect technology to improve productivity, with 69% pessimistic about the economy

UK retailers are planning to cut staff hours and jobs amid rising employment costs and pessimism about the economy.

Almost two-thirds (61%) of finance bosses at retail companies said they planned to reduce working hours or cut overtime, according to the latest survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the trade body that represents most big retailers. More than half (55%) said they would cut head office jobs and 42% said they would reduce jobs in stores.

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Soup firm Campbell’s dismisses executive over alleged ‘poor people’ comments

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Senior figure allegedly referred to customers buying ‘highly processed food’ and denigrated Indian employees

Campbell’s has dismissed an executive who allegedly referred to the soup company’s products as being made for “poor people” and denigrated its Indian employees.

Martin Bally, who was the vice-president of Campbell’s information technology department, was recorded making the alleged comments by another employee.

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Dermatologists criticise ‘dystopian’ skincare products aimed at children

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Marketing or celebrity-led treatments for toddlers and upwards described as ‘ridiculous’ and lacking in skin benefit

Dermatologists have criticised an actor’s new skincare brand, calling it “dystopian” for creating face masks for four-year-olds, warning that the beauty industry is now expanding its reach from teenagers to toddlers.

It comes as a growing number of brands are moving into the children’s, teenage and young adult skincare market. In October, the first skincare brand developed for under-14s, Ever-eden, launched in the US. Superdrug has just created a range for those aged between 13 and 28.

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UK retail sales growth slows as shoppers await Black Friday and budget

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Industry body says shoppers are waiting for discount day, as Barclays reports falling consumer confidence

Retailers suffered the slowest sales growth since May last month as shoppers were cautious in the run-up to expected budget tax rises and held out for Black Friday discounts.

Sales rose 1.6% in October, a step down from 2.3% the month before, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) trade body and the advisory group KPMG.

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John Lewis ad kickstarts Christmas countdown to the tune of 90s club classic

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Department store chain banks on nostalgia to get customers into festive mood with Where Love Lives

John Lewis is hoping that a dash of nostalgia will get consumers into the festive mood this year as it officially kickstarts the countdown to Christmas with the launch of its 2025 advert to the tune of the 1990s club classic Where Love Lives.

The department store chain is appealing to ageing clubbers – and their teenage kids – with this year’s ad focused on a middle-aged dad transported back to his clubbing days after receiving a vinyl record from his son.

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M&S launches ‘secret support’ pants that offer men a ‘subtle lift’

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Retailer says underwear that could become male equivalent of push-up bra is intended to ‘help men feel their most confident’

For men who lament the decline of the codpiece, or who lack confidence at the office when their pants are not pushing up their genitals all day, Marks & Spencer is riding to the rescue.

The retailer, the UK market leader in selling underwear, has launched what could be considered the male equivalent of the push-up bra.

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B&M ousts finance chief as it warns again on profits after £7m accounts error

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Discount retailer looks for successor for Mike Schmidt, who is stepping down as chief financial officer

The discount retailer B&M has ousted its finance chief after reporting a £7m accounts blunder that will cut its annual earnings – its second profit warning within two weeks.

The company told investors it looking for a successor to Mike Schmidt, who is stepping down as chief financial officer, after the accounting error.

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Chemical linked to low sperm count, obesity and cancer found in dummies, tests find

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BPA, a synthetic chemical used in production of plastics, found in baby products made by three big European brands

A chemical linked to impaired sexual development, obesity and cancer has been found in baby dummies manufactured by three big European brands.

Dummies made by the Dutch multinational Philips, the Swiss oral health specialists Curaprox and the French toy brand Sophie la Girafe were found to contain bisphenol A (BPA), according to laboratory testing by dTest, a Czech consumer organisation. Philips said they had carried out subsequent testing and found no BPA, while Sophie la Girafe said the amount found was insignificant.

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Shein warns on Trump tariff uncertainty after profits slip

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Fast-fashion retailer records 20% growth in sales and fees to $37bn but big hit is expected from US changes to import tax rules

Shein has reported a 20% rise in global revenues to $37bn (£27.7bn) but profits have fallen as the fast-fashion retailer faced increased costs, even before it felt the impact of recent changes to US tax laws.

The Singaporean parent company of the rapidly growing retailer said pre-tax profits had fallen by 13% to $1.3bn last year from $1.5bn in 2023 after an increase in selling and marketing costs, according to new accounts.

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A quiet bite in: Charlie Bigham launches £29.95 ready meals for home diners

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Supermarket supplier says new pricier range is still cheaper than bill for a night out at a restaurant

British consumers are looking to treat themselves with an alternative to dining out despite a squeeze on household finances, according to the food entrepreneur Charlie Bigham who is launching luxurious ready meals costing up to £29.95.

The supermarket supplier is selling a new five-option range, which includes a venison bourguignon made with wild-caught venison from the Scottish Highlands, in an attempt to snare consumers saving on the cost of a night out.

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Tesco steps up UK sales as Asda struggles amid rising inflation

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Marks & Spencer bounces back from cyber-attack as it extends contract of chair Archie Norman

Tesco has grabbed a bigger slice of Britons’ supermarket shopping, as it stepped up sales and market share, while its rival Asda continued to struggle amid rising grocery inflation.

The UK’s biggest supermarket increased its market share to 28.3% in the 12 weeks to 5 October, up 0.7 percentage points on a year earlier, while its sales advanced nearly 7%, according to Worldpanel by Numerator.

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China’s Temu more than doubles EU profits to nearly $120m despite having only eight staff

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Online marketplace paid just $18m in corporation tax, leading campaigners to call for government action

The Chinese online marketplace Temu’s EU operations more than doubled pre-tax profits last year to just below $120m (£90m) despite employing just eight people, accounts show.

They rose 171% in the 12 months to December 2024 compared with the $44.1m the year before, as shoppers snapped up its low-cost goods, which are widely promoted on social media.

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He-Man poised to be next retro name to join UK toy ‘newstalgia’ trend

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Films of old favourites help lift toy sales 8% this year, with 2026 Masters of the Universe movie tipped for similar

A wave of “newstalgia” has fuelled a step up in growth of UK toy sales, with the muscle-bound 80s hero He-Man the latest retro name tipped for a revival thanks to the big screen.

After falling almost 4% in 2024, UK toy sales are up 8% so far this year, buoyed up by the Minecraft and Lilo & Stitch films as well as parents rebuying toys they once owned as children such as Care Bears and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, according to new data.

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Arc’teryx fireworks display in Tibet prompts environmental outcry

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Outdoor brand says the Rising Dragon promotional event was out of line with its values after public criticism

The outdoor brand Arc’teryx has issued an apology after a promotional fireworks display in the Tibetan plateau led to an outcry over potential environmental damage.

The promotional Rising Dragon high-altitude show involved long stretches of choreographed pyrotechnics and coloured smoke along snow-topped Himalayan ridgelines in the Tibetan region of Shigatse. The Canadian company, part-owned by China’s Anta Group, had partnered with a Chinese artist, Cai Guo-Qiang, who oversaw similar shows for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

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