Category Archives: Retail industry

‘We’ve got to break them up’: farming groups say supermarkets use market power to distort prices

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Claim comes amid state and federal inquiries into Australian grocery sector and what producers say is a widening gap between wholesale and shelf prices

Farming groups have accused the major supermarkets of using their power to distort the market, leading to elevated prices for shoppers and low prices for producers.

The claim comes amid falling global prices for agricultural goods that have failed to dent grocery bills, and growing scrutiny of supermarket pricing practices through newly announced federal and state parliamentary inquiries.

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Retail slump raises spectre of recession as Hunt looks more Truss-like by the day

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Surprise fall in December sales damages chancellor’s claims that UK economy is on right track

The UK economy was probably in recession during the second half of 2023 if the latest retail sales figures are anything to go by.

A surprise 3.2% slump in the level of sales in Great Britain during December appears to show the cost of living crisis was continuing to hurt household finances despite a rise in wages that gave many consumers a bit more spending power.

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Uniqlo sues Shein over ‘imitation’ banana-shaped ‘it’ bag

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Petition demands online retailer stop immediate sale of bags and compensation for damages incurred

Uniqlo is suing the Chinese online retailer Shein over the sale of items it claims copy its popular banana-shaped ‘it’ bag, the “round mini”.

The petition demands that Shein immediately stops the sale of “the imitation products” and pays compensation for damages incurred as a result of their sale. It was filed last month in the Tokyo district court against the fast-growing business’s parent groups Roadget and Fashion Choice, as well as Shein Japan.

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Annual profit is more than $1bn for Woolworths and Coles. How do they set prices and can they justify rises?

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Farmers and consumers alike are sharing their frustration amid the cost-of-living crisis as a government inquiry into the Australian supermarket giants looms

Australian supermarkets breezed through the pandemic, increasing profits and shareholder returns even as living costs surged, all while avoiding the scrutiny faced by their overseas counterparts.

But a looming parliamentary inquiry, and a revitalised political interest in the discrepancy between prices paid to farmers and those charged by supermarkets, means the sector has been thrust into the spotlight.

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Burberry issues profit warning as Christmas shoppers shun pricey trenchcoats

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British brand affected by continued slowdown in luxury demand during cost of living crisis

Burberry has warned that annual profits will be sharply lower than previously expected after consumers left its expensive trenchcoats, bags and scarves off their Christmas shopping lists.

The luxury British brand said trading had been affected by a continued slowdown in luxury demand after rises in the cost of living and increases to interest rates globally.

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UK economy returns to growth amid Black Friday spending lift

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GDP rises by 0.3% in November after October decline, with car leasing and video games fuelling bounceback

The UK economy returned to growth in November after a recovery in consumer spending driven by Black Friday sales, with shoppers hunting for bargains as the key Christmas shopping season got under way.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.3% on the month, after a decline of 0.3% in October, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). City economists had forecast more modest growth of 0.2%.

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Greggs enjoys bumper Christmas period as it hails easing inflation

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Reduced cost pressures and popular festive bakes and chocolate orange muffins boost bakery chain

Greggs has hailed easing inflationary pressures after the UK’s biggest bakery chain rang up bumper Christmas sales amid less travel disruption and enthusiasm for seasonal specialities such as festive bakes and chocolate orange muffins.

The company said sales at established stores had risen 9.4% in the three months to 30 December as it attracted more customers with extended opening hours and by offering online ordering.

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The Iconic pledges to refund customers charged for bogus orders after hack

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Retailer’s move comes after some shoppers said more than $1,000 had been taken from their accounts

Online retailer the Iconic has promised to refund customers who were charged large sums for fraudulent orders after having their accounts compromised.

The refund pledge follows a backlash from consumers, who have been posting their frustration on the retailer’s Facebook page.

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Carrefour pulls PepsiCo products in four EU countries over price hikes

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Stores in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium will no longer stock PepsiCo drinks, Lay’s and Doritos crisps and Quaker cereals

The French supermarket chain Carrefour has said it will stop selling PepsiCo products in stores in four European countries because the global food company has put its prices up by too much.

Shelves at Carrefours in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium will from Thursday carry signs saying the store will no longer stock PepsiCo products such as fizzy drinks, Lay’s and Doritos crisps and Quaker cereals “due to unacceptable price increases”.

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UK shoppers spent £13.7bn on groceries in run-up to Christmas

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Consumers buy more items – including plenty of parsnips and sprouts – to beat last year’s spend by 7%

UK shoppers spent £13.7bn on groceries in the run-up to Christmas – 7% more than a year before – as they sought out bargains and switched to discounters to try to offset price inflation.

The number of items bought rose by 2% in December as prices climbed by 6.7%, according to analysts at Kantar, although that was down from 9.6% in November – making it the biggest monthly drop in inflation the data firm has ever recorded.

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Britons cut back on dining out and buying clothes, Barclays reveals

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Annual card spending report says consumers are prioritising travel and nights out and buying value-range groceries amid cost of living crisis

Hard-pressed consumers cut back on eating out and buying new clothes to prioritise spending on travel, entertainment and a visit to the pub over the past year, as soaring inflation and rising bills sharply curtailed the rate of spending growth.

Consumer card spending increased by 4.1% year-on-year in 2023, almost two-thirds lower than the 10.6% rise in 2022, as the sharp increase in the cost of living took its toll on households.

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Retailers to pay for consumers’ e-waste recycling from 2026 under UK plans

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Households will be able to drop off cables and other electrical waste in-store or have home collections, says Defra

British households will benefit from improved routes for recycling electronic goods from 2026, under government plans to have producers and retailers pay for household and in-store collections.

Consumers would be able to have electrical waste (e-waste) – from cables to toasters and power tools – collected from their homes or drop items off during a weekly shop, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said in a consultation published on Thursday. The ambition is for retailers, rather than the taxpayer, to pick up the tab for these new ways of disposing of defunct, often toxic products safely. The measures are due to come into force in two years’ time.

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Pint of wine anyone? UK looks to bring back ‘silly measure’

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Winemakers question plan as government champions Brexit ‘freedom’ to allow old-fashioned size

The poet Robert Burns imagined a man toasting his lover with a “pint o’ wine”, and Winston Churchill was perhaps the most famous proponent of the pint bottle for champagne. Now, Rishi Sunak’s government has spied a “Brexit opportunity” to legalise the sale of wine by the pint once more – if it can persuade anyone to make the bottles.

Still and sparkling wine will be sold in 200ml, 500ml and 568ml (pint) sizes in 2024, alongside existing measures, under new rules, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) announced on Wednesday. It said the change was made possible by Brexit.

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Boxing Day footfall rises but number of shoppers is well down on pre-Covid levels

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Weaker Christmas spending amid cost of living crisis and fewer shops opening cut visitor numbers by 30% on 2019

Retailers have recorded a small pickup in Boxing Day footfall, but visits to stores remained well below pre-pandemic levels as several high street chains stayed shut.

Retailers have been braced for weak spending over the Christmas period as the UK economy stagnates amid the cost of living crisis.

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Boxing Day sales: retailers expect shoppers to spend $1.25bn amid cost-of-living crisis

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Australian Retail Association predicts $23.9bn in spending for sales period ending on 15 January

Retailers are expecting Boxing Day shoppers to spend $1.25bn on Tuesday as the sector hopes for relief from a drop in discretionary spending.

Retail sales have been sluggish throughout 2023 as cost-of-living pressures bite.

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Labour to crack down on ‘dodgy’ candy stores in push to revive high streets

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Party says American-style sweetshops – some under investigation for tax evasion – are ripping off public

A Labour government will launch a crackdown on “dodgy” candy stores if it wins the next election, as part of plans to revitalise Britain’s high streets.

There are more than 20 of the US-themed sweet stores on Oxford Street, London, alone. Many of them appeared during lockdown as high-street stalwarts closed down and landlords faced the prospect of long-term empty shops.

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Christmas Eve shopper numbers fall amid Sunday trading and cost-of-living crisis

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Footfall was nearly 7% lower than last week and more than a fifth down on 2022 levels

The number of in-person shoppers has fallen on Christmas Eve compared to last year amid Sunday trading hours and the cost-of-living crisis.

Footfall across all UK retail destinations up to 5pm on Sunday was 6.8% lower than last week, and 20.6% lower than 24 December 2022, the latest data from industry analyst MRI Software shows.

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Woolworths issues recall for Christmas mince pies over potential metal contamination

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Supermarket says there have been no complaints and the New South Wales recall is being done as a ‘precaution’

The chance of metal contamination has led to supermarket giant Woolworths issuing a recall in New South Wales for a batch of a common Christmas treat.

Woolworths said the affected product is Shortcrust Summer Berry Mince Pies, sold in six-packs, with a “best before” date of 13 June 2024.

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Nike to axe hundreds of jobs in bid to save $2bn amid sales slump

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US sportswear brand announces job cuts and simplification of product ranges in ‘streamlining’ of operations

Nike is to cut hundreds of jobs, simplify its product ranges and increase its use of automation as part of attempts to save $2bn (£1.6bn) in costs over the next three years amid poor sales.

The US sportswear brand said it was “taking steps to streamline the organisation” and would be spending up to $450m on the changes, mainly on payoffs for employees.

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Ikea warns Red Sea attacks could disrupt supplies and deliveries

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Firm says it is weighing up options to secure product availability amid Yemeni rebel attacks on shipping

Ikea has warned that the disruption to global trade caused by Yemeni rebel attacks in the Red Sea could delay its deliveries and affect availability of some products.

The world’s largest furniture company said it was “evaluating other supply options to secure the availability of our products” after many big shipping companies stopped sending vessels through the Suez canal in response to the attacks by Houthi militants’ protests against the Israel-Gaza war.

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