Category Archives: Retail industry

‘Poisoned’ AI: the ChatGPT shopping scams that lead to fake websites

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Buyers are ripped off after assuming online stores were genuine because they are recommended by an AI tool

You want to buy a new bag and so you ask ChatGPT for help. You have always liked Russell & Bromley so you ask ChatGPT what is popular there at the moment.

The artificial intelligence (AI) assistant gives you cross body, shoulder, casual and formal options with the prices listed beside them. You click through from the sources to what looks like the official Russell & Bromley site and buy your new bag, which is conveniently on sale.

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‘Historic’: Canadian warehouse workers sign first-ever union deal with Walmart

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Union says collective agreement is just the start of a broader fight to unionize major employers across the country

Canadian warehouse workers have signed the first-ever collective agreement with Walmart, a breakthrough labour organizers are calling a “historic and powerful step”.

But the union says the deal with a corporation long hostile to organized labour is only an opening salvo in a broader fight to unionize major employers across the country.

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UK shoppers return to high street as warm weather brings respite from shadow of war

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British Retail Consortium figures show footfall rose in May, with consumer confidence improving after spending squeeze

Greater numbers of consumers went shopping last month as spring sunshine brought welcome relief to retailers, which have faced a squeeze on spending since the US-Israel war on Iran.

Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and a separate survey by the accountancy firm BDO showed a bounce-back in footfall during May, reversing a sharp decline in April.

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Burberry boss could earn up to £12.2m under new bonus scheme as company rolls back climate goals

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Company, which paid boss Joshua Schulman £4m in year to March, becomes latest to extend deadline to become carbon neutral

The boss of Burberry could earn up to £12.2m after the luxury British brand introduced a new bonus scheme, while its annual report also revealed the company has scaled back its climate ambitions.

Joshua Schulman, a former chief executive of the US fashion brand Coach who was hired in July 2024 to help revive Burberry, was paid £4m in the year to March, up from £2.5m for his first nine months in the job.

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EU fines Temu for failing to stop sale of illegal and dangerous products

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European Commission finds shoppers on Chinese website very likely to find unsafe items and imposes €200m penalty

EU regulators have fined the Chinese shopping website Temu €200m (£173m) for failing to stop the sale of illegal and dangerous products.

The European Commission imposed the penalty after a 19-month investigation that found consumers were very likely to encounter illegal or unsafe products including baby toys and electronics on the firm’s website.

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UK consumers likely to face higher prices ‘for many months to come’

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Data shows even if Iran war ends, shop price inflation on rise, while only 16% of firms left unscathed by conflict

Higher prices could persist over the summer even if ceasefire talks between the US and Iran bear fruit, consumers have been warned, with economic shock waves likely to be felt “for many months to come”.

Disruption to global shipping, coupled with soaring prices for energy and raw materials, have driven up costs for UK companies, with the impact already filtering through to prices paid at the tills, according to fresh inflation figures.

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Estée Lauder ends merger talks with Gaultier owner Puig

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Sticking points to build beauty powerhouse included which family would hold balance of power

The US cosmetics company Estée Lauder has ended merger talks with its Spanish rival Puig over plans to create a fashion and beauty group worth almost $40bn (£30bn/€34.5bn) after the two sides failed to agree on the balance of power in the combined company.

Estée Lauder, one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of skincare, makeup and fragrances, owns brands including Clinique, Bobbi Brown and Tom Ford Beauty.

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Trainline says Middle East tensions hitting European rail bookings

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Profits jump to £122m at ticketing retailer but it expects flat or declining revenues over the coming year

Trainline has said the US standoff with Iran is hitting its revenues, with rail ticket sales to foreign visitors to Europe affected.

The UK-based ticketing retailer said it expected revenues to stay flat or decline over the coming year, citing “the effects of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East on inbound air traffic into Europe”.

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Dozens of toys recalled in the UK after asbestos found in play sand

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Candle-making kits and rubber toys among products recalled after revelation about play sand sold by Hobbycraft

More than 30 children’s toys have been recalled in the UK after the Guardian revealed that play sand sold by Hobbycraft was contaminated with asbestos.

Over the past three months, other children’s products ranging from candle-making kits to stretchy rubber toys have been recalled by retailers including Tesco, Primark, Matalan and M&S after being found to contain the substance.

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ABF poised to reveal result of Primark and food business demerger plan

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Retail analysts say breaking up food and fashion group would make sense in challenging business environment

Primark may break free from Kingsmill, Twinings and the sugar business this week when Associated British Foods announces plans on a mooted demerger.

The potential split comes at a tricky time for the group controlled by the billionaire Weston family, with its fashion and food arms facing tough competition and rising costs.

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Next chief Simon Wolfson paid record £7.4m – and could get far more this year

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‘Sustained outperformance’ merits pay rise, says company after it ups profit guidance to £1.2bn for year to January 2027

The Next chief executive, Simon Wolfson, took home more than £7m last year, his highest ever pay package, and could be handed up to £9.27m this year after the retailer announced plans to increase his basic salary and bonuses.

The listed company said it was increasing its pay deal for the long-term leader of the fashion and homewares retailer, which now controls a string of brands in the UK including Gap, Victoria’s Secret, Cath Kidston, Reiss and FatFace, as his remuneration was 30% below the average for FTSE 100 bosses.

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Starbucks’s retail arm gets £13.7m tax credit even as sales increase

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Credit can be used to offset future bills as full-year losses at UK division widen to £41.3m and it adds 92 stores

Starbucks’s UK retail arm received a £13.7m corporation tax credit last year, even as its sales increased 6% and it added more than 90 stores.

The credit, which can be used to offset future tax bills, comes after losses widened to £41.3m in the 12 months to the end of September – almost matching the £40m it paid in royalty and licence fees to its parent company.

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Lidl to open 50 UK stores in year ahead – and its first pub

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Almost 2,000 jobs will be created, with retailer vying to overtake Morrisons as Britain’s fifth largest supermarket

Lidl is to open 50 new UK stores in the year ahead – as well as its first pub – as it aims to overtake Morrisons as the country’s fifth largest supermarket chain.

The German-owned retailer has begun building a pub in east Belfast in response to strict local licensing laws that cap the number of premises that can sell alcohol.

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Waitrose under pressure to reinstate worker sacked after stopping shoplifter

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Retailer faces public outcry over treatment of Walker Smith, who tackled shoplifter stealing Easter eggs at London store

Waitrose is under growing pressure to reinstate an employee of 17 years who was sacked after tackling a shoplifter who was trying to steal Lindt Gold Bunny Easter eggs.

The retailer has faced public outcry over its treatment of Walker Smith, who was fired two days after he stopped the shoplifter taking items from the Easter egg display.

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Waitrose employee sacked after stopping shoplifter from taking Easter eggs

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Walker Smith, 54, who worked for retailer for 17 years, says he grabbed bag from thief before they escaped

A Waitrose employee of 17 years has described his devastation after being sacked for stopping a shoplifter who had ransacked a display of Lindt Gold Bunny Easter eggs.

Walker Smith, a shop assistant at a branch of Waitrose in Clapham Junction, south London, was going about his normal duties when a customer stopped him. “They told me someone had filled up a Waitrose bag with the eggs,” he said.

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UK firms expect to raise prices more quickly as Iran war pushes up costs

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Bank of England survey in March shows chief financial officers foresee 3.7% increase over coming year

Companies in the UK expect to raise their prices more rapidly over the coming months as the war in the Middle East drives up costs, Bank of England research shows.

The Bank’s regular survey of more than 2,000 chief financial officers conducted last month, after the Iran conflict began, shows they now expect to raise their prices by 3.7% over the coming year.

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Italy investigates beauty brands over concerns about young girls’ mental health

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Regulator fears use of ‘covert marketing strategies’ by Sephora and Benefit might fuel compulsive habits

Italian regulators are investigating Sephora and Benefit Cosmetics over the apparent use of “covert marketing strategies” to sell beauty products to young girls that might be fuelling an unhealthy skincare obsession known as “cosmeticorexia”.

The Italian Competition Authority said it was looking into promotions for skincare products such as face masks, serums and anti-ageing creams that in some cases appeared to target girls under 10.

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Next says Middle East conflict could raise clothing prices by up to 10%

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Retailer says higher fuel and factory costs may hit supply chains and lead to ‘significant increase in prices’

The boss of Next has said clothing prices could rise by 4% to 10% if conflict in the Middle East extends into the autumn and factories are hit by higher fuel and fabric costs.

Simon Wolfson said the clothing and home retailer had so far seen little disruption to its supply chain.

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John Lewis pays first annual staff bonus in four years as profits rise

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Payment of 2% at employee-owned partnership follows sales increase to £13.4bn

The owner of John Lewis and Waitrose has paid an annual bonus to workers for the first time in four years after underlying profits rose by 6%.

The retail group’s 69,000 employees – which it calls partners – will share £35m, the equivalent of 2% of salary, after it recorded an increase in sales and profits. The payout amounts to about one extra week of pay.

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Billionaire Zara founder Amancio Ortega to receive €3.23bn dividend

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Payment for Inditex founder, the world’s 15 richest person, tops last year’s dividend of €3.1bn

The billionaire founder of Zara is to receive a company record €3.23bn (£2.8bn) dividend this year from the world’s biggest fashion retailer.

Amancio Ortega, who still controls 59% of Spain’s Inditex and whose daughter Marta Ortega Pérez is now chair, will receive half his dividend in May and half in November – as will other shareholders.

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