Exclusive: VKG, where workers made jeans for Tesco’s Thai branch between 2017 and 2020, faces charges including fraud
Thai police have brought criminal charges against a clothing factory that was used by Tesco to make F&F clothes, over its treatment of workers.
The Guardian revealed in December that Burmese workers who produced F&F jeans for Tesco in Thailand reported being made to work 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in terrible conditions.
Continue reading...Firm responds to calls from vets who say pictures fuel demand for flat-faced breeds, which often have serious health complaints
Moonpig is to stop selling cards featuring pictures of pugs and French bulldogs after criticism from vets and campaigners who fear the images fuel demand for the breeds, which often have serious health complaints.
Last year, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) wrote to the Greeting Card Association and card retailers, including Moonpig, Paperchase and WH Smith, urging them to stop using pugs and other flat-faced dogs on cards.
Continue reading...Growers say they do not get paid enough by supermarkets, as supply of leeks also comes under threat
Apples and pears could be the next food shortage in the UK, after it emerged that British growers are planting just a third of the number of trees needed to maintain orchards, saying their returns from selling to supermarkets are unsustainable.
Ali Capper, head of the British Apples & Pears trade association which represents about 80% of the industry in the UK, said 1m new trees would have to be planted each year to maintain the UK’s 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) of production.
Continue reading...Supermarkets say they are working with farmers to ensure wide range of produce is available
Supermarkets are facing shortages of salad crops, including tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and cucumbers, as well as broccoli and citrus fruits amid cold weather in producing countries such as Spain and Morocco.
Shoppers complained on social media about low stocks, particularly of peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers, as importers said supplies had been affected by a mixture of unseasonable weather and storms in the Mediterranean combined with a reduction in the amount of crops planted in heated glass houses in the Netherlands as energy bills have soared.
Continue reading...Majority of job losses are at large retailers such as Tesco and Asda, according to Centre for Retail Research
Nearly 15,000 British retail jobs have already been cut since January in a “brutal start to the year” for the high street.
A total of 14,874 retail job losses have been announced by companies so far, according to analysis from the Centre for Retail Research (CRR).
Continue reading...Owner ABF says its grocery brands such as Twinings and Kingsmill also increased trading
Strong sales of heels, baggy suits and knitwear propelled Primark’s sales ahead of expectations over Christmas as shoppers returned to city centres and consumer spending was more resilient than anticipated.
Sales at the cut-price fashion chain’s established stores rose by 11% in the four months to 17 January, compared with the same period a year before, as the owner, Associated British Foods (ABF), said it had sold more items of clothing while prices had also risen by about 8%.
Continue reading...Surprise December drop a result of cost of living crisis forcing people to cut budgets in run-up to Christmas
Retail sales in Great Britain unexpectedly fell by 1% last month as the cost of living crisis forced households to cut back on spending in the run-up to Christmas.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the surprise decline in sales volumes – economists had forecast a rise of 0.5% – was down to factors including rampant increases in food prices and a decline in online purchases as consumers worried about a wave of postal strikes affecting Christmas deliveries.
Continue reading...Supermarket’s rise to £13.18 on 1 February puts hourly minimum rate 20% ahead of January 2022
Aldi is increasing pay for UK warehouse workers for the third time in a year – with the hourly minimum rate now 20% ahead of last January.
The German-owned discounter, which is the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket chain, said pay would rise to £13.18 on 1 February, up 4% on the current minimum of £12.66, which was introduced in September.
Continue reading...Retail chain to invest £480m in rejuvenating its presence on the high street
Marks & Spencer is to open 20 large stores and create 3,400 jobs as part of a £500m plan to rejuvenate its presence on the high street after bumper Christmas trading.
The retail chain – which in October said it would close 67 of its “lower productivity” sites that sold clothes and homewares, about a quarter of its estate of bigger stores – said it planned to open the 20 new “bigger, better” stores in locations across the UK in the next financial year.
Continue reading...Survey of 1,000 factories for campaign group claims many cut rates in pandemic and have not increased them since
Lidl, Zara’s owner Inditex, H&M and Next have been accused of paying garment suppliers in Bangladesh during the pandemic less than the cost of production, leaving factories struggling to pay the country’s legal minimum wage.
In a survey of 1,000 factories in the country producing clothes for UK retailers, 19% of Lidl’s suppliers made the claim, as did 11% of Inditex’s, 9% of H&M’s and 8% of Next’s.
Continue reading...Warhammer achieves record sales of £200m in half-year but says figures for US are flat
The two companies behind Warhammer miniature figures and Scalextric racing sets have enjoyed a good Christmas, while warning about the impact of the cost of living crisis.
Games Workshop – which last month struck a deal with Amazon to create a series based on Warhammer – achieved record sales of more than £200m in the six months to 31 December, its first half.
Continue reading...Discount supermarket’s sales rise by a quarter year on year in four weeks to 25 December
Lidl gained 1.3 million British shoppers in the Christmas period compared with a year earlier as the supermarket benefited from people cutting back on spending.
The German-owned chain said the Friday before Christmas was its busiest ever day as sales rose by a quarter compared with the previous year as shoppers switched from other supermarkets in greater numbers.
Continue reading...Lockdowns were good news for book trade as people read more and sought out bookshops when they reopened
The number of independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland climbed to a 10-year high in 2022, as the book trade defied the odds in an otherwise brutal year for high street retailers.
The lifestyle changes brought about by the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns were a boon for the book trade, as Britons with more time on their hands read more and sought out bookshops when they reopened.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Officials took one day to conclude no laws were broken at VK Garment factory and workers say their words were deleted
Thai police have been accused of conducting a “sham” investigation into potential forced labour at a garment factory formerly used by Tesco, after officials took one day to conclude no laws were broken.
The Guardian revealed last month that Burmese workers who produced F&F jeans for Tesco in Thailand reported being made to work 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in terrible conditions.
Continue reading...Retailer reports much better than expected data in December but remains ‘cautious’ about 2023
Next has upped profit forecasts for the year by £20m after better sales than expected in the run-up to Christmas, but said it remained “cautious” about the year ahead.
The fashion and home retailer said sales had risen by 4.8% in the nine weeks to 30 December, well above predictions of a 2% fall, delivering £66m more sales than expected.
Continue reading...Centre for Retail Research says 17,145 stores shut in total, up almost 50% on 2021, during pandemic
Last year was a “brutal” one for Britain’s retail sector, with more shops shutting down than at any other point in the last five years, and 2023 will be similarly challenging, according to industry groups.
About 47 shops on average pulled down their shutters for the final time every day last year, according to analysis from the Centre for Retail Research (CRR). It found a total of 17,145 shops on high streets and in other locations closed for good over 2022. This is up almost 50% on the 11,449 shops closed in 2021, during the Covid pandemic.
Continue reading...Ben Francis, 30, among slew of businesspeople recognised for services to commerce and economy in new year honours list
The 30-year-old founder of the exercise clothing brand Gymshark has been awarded an MBE in the new year honours list, – just one of a slew of businesspeople to be recognised for their services to commerce and the economy.
Ben Francis, who began his £1.25bn empire sewing his own gym clothes in his parents’ garage in Bromsgrove, near Birmingham, in 2012, is the youngest of those to be honoured for their services to business.
Continue reading...An estimated £3.8bn will be spent on 26 December, down almost 4% on last year
Retailers are preparing for a quieter Boxing Day this year despite freedom from pandemic restrictions as the cost of living crisis weighs on shoppers’ budgets.
Spending is expected to hit almost £3.8bn on 26 December, according to research by GlobalData for Vouchercodes.
Continue reading...Traces of contaminant found in Coles Finest Australian Organic Washed Rind Raw, sold in Victoria and Tasmania
A popular cheese has been pulled from supermarket shelves after traces of a dangerous contaminant were discovered.
The product in question – Coles Finest Australian Organic Washed Rind Raw – has been available for sale online and in-store throughout Victoria and Tasmania since 14 December.
Continue reading...VK Garment factory in Mae Sot is subject of a UK lawsuit against the supermarket from 130 ex-workers
Thai police have raided a clothing factory previously used by Tesco that is the subject of a UK lawsuit over alleged sweatshop conditions.
The Guardian revealed earlier this week that Burmese workers who produced F&F jeans for Tesco in Thailand reported being trapped in, in effect, forced labour, working 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in appalling conditions.
Continue reading...