Merchandise linked to supermarket’s latest Christmas campaign sells out online hours after going on sale
More than 70,000 shoppers have queued online and hundreds lined up outside UK stores to get their hands on Aldi’s toys and merchandise based around its Kevin the Carrot adverts.
By 10am, several versions of the soft toys had already sold out online amid high demand for merchandise linked to the hero of the discount grocery store’s festive campaign.
Continue reading...Waitrose’s No 1 Brown Butter pies wowed with their ‘buttery aroma’, while Aldi’s, at half the price, scored just one point less
Tucking into a mince pie is usually the first sign Christmas is on the way and with budgets under pressure this year getting your fix doesn’t have to break the bank, with a 29p pie from Aldi coming a close second to Waitrose’s brown butter pastry in a taste test.
The upmarket supermarket’s No 1 Brown Butter Mince Pies came top in a “rigorous” blind taste test conducted by Which?. They wowed the panel of baking experts with their “buttery aroma” and “citrussy aftertaste” to achieve the top score of 74%, earning the consumer group’s coveted “best buy” badge of approval.
Continue reading...Shops will stay open while administrators assess options for the company
The fashion firm Joules has formally fallen into administration, putting 1,600 jobs and the future of the retailer’s 132 shops at risk.
The company said on Monday it had filed a notice to appoint administrators after failing to secure emergency funding. It has now hired administrators from Interpath Advisory, who said shops would stay open while they “assess options for the business”.
Continue reading...Dollar slides and stocks rally in New York on hopes that the Federal Reserve will slow its interest rate rises
The cost of living crisis is driving UK food banks to “breaking point” with almost 1.3m emergency parcels given to people over just six months.
The Trussell Trust charity has said families face record-breaking levels of need, with one in five individuals referred to its network now coming from working households.
Continue reading...Firm reports £63m profit in year to August and prepares for strong Christmas sales at travel hubs
WH Smith will pay a dividend for the first time in three years as it expects a strong Christmas after a return to foreign holidays helped the books-to-stationery retailer return to the black.
The company reported a £63m profit in the year to August, after a loss of £116m a year earlier, as sales soared 58% to £1.4bn.
Continue reading...Marks & Spencer profits fall by almost 24%, although clothing, food and international sales rise
Marks & Spencer has said it faces a “gathering storm”, with next year likely to be more challenging than this after reporting a near 24% fall in profits.
The clothing, food and homewares retailer said sales rose 8.8% to £5.6bn in the six months to 1 October but underlying pre-tax profits sank 23.7% to £205.5m as its Ocado online grocery joint venture fell into the red and it pulled out of Russia.
Continue reading...Online furniture retailer’s brand, domain names and intellectual property bought by Next
The online furniture retailer Made.com has collapsed into administration after weeks of speculation, putting about 500 jobs at risk and leaving customers disappointed.
The company’s brand, domain names and intellectual property were immediately bought by the fashion and homeware retailer Next.
Continue reading...Toy Retailers Association selects likely ‘must-haves’ for British market with eye on strained budgets
An interactive guinea pig which has babies and a “booty shaking” disco giraffe are predicted to be among the bestselling toys this Christmas as retailers battle for custom with toy ranges tailored to suit “every budget”.
With the cost of living crisis looming large, the DreamToys list drawn up by the Toy Retailers Association (TRA), features a selection of cheaper toys this year, with eight of the top 12 under £35. The cheapest item on the list is an £8 Squishmallow, a cuddly toy expected to be a popular stocking filler.
Barbie Cutie reveal doll £33
Gabby’s Purrfect Dollhouse £80
Goo Jit Zu figurine £11
GiGi the Giraffe £28
Mama Surprise £65
Magic Mixies Mixlings Magic Castle £30
Paw Patrol Big Truck Pups vehicle £18
Pokémon Elite Trainer set £42.50
Rainbow High fashion doll £32
Sink N’ Sand game £20
Original 7.5in Squishmallows £8
Lego Star Wars Hoth AT-ST £45
Continue reading...Rise of 11.6% in October from 10.6% a month earlier comes as milk, teabags and sugar become more expensive
Food prices in the UK soared by 11.6% in October – the fastest rate on record – as staples such as teabags, milk and sugar became more expensive along with fresh food, data shows.
Annual food inflation rose from 10.6% in September, the latest monthly report from the British Retail Consortium and the data firm Nielsen showed.
Continue reading...Online grocer to build robotic warehouses for Lotte Shopping in boost after slowing sales
The online grocer Ocado has struck a deal to build robotic warehouses for a South Korean retailer, sending its share price rocketing.
Under the deal with Lotte Shopping, Ocado will also provide technology for online grocery orders from Lotte’s stores. Financial details of the partnership were not disclosed.
Continue reading...Carbon-neutral farmer says use of offsets from Armoobilla project ‘outrageous’ but company says they meet ‘rigorous requirements’ of government standard
A farmer who was assured by Coles that it would look for better carbon offsets for its “carbon-neutral” beef has described the supermarket’s continued use of credits from the Queensland Armoobilla regeneration project as “outrageous”, claiming the project is a “greenwash”.
When carbon-neutral sheep and cattle farmer Mark Wootton called on companies to ensure the integrity of farm offsets used for carbon-neutral products back in April, Coles staff had assured him that the supermarket would “look for a better alternative” once their contract with Armoobilla finished in July.
Continue reading...Comedian and campaigner tells planning inquiry retailer is failing to use landmark building imaginatively
The comedian Griff Rhys Jones is the latest high-profile name to weigh in against Marks & Spencer’s plan to raze and redevelop its main London store, accusing the retailer of not making the most of its landmark building.
Jones, who presented the BBC TV series Restoration in the 2000s, which identified significant buildings in need of repair, told an inquiry into the development of the store on Oxford Street near Marble Arch that, having shopped there, he “would venture that M&S are not using the space in a very imaginative way compared to the possibilities old buildings offer. I wonder if the ‘unsuitability’ has more to do with the desire to create a much bigger floor space and offices.”
Continue reading...Mike Ashley’s increased holding comes after online retailer reported slowing sales and full-year loss
The billionaire retailer Mike Ashley has built up a stake of more than 5% in the online fashion retailer Asos.
His fashion and sportswear retailer Frasers Group informed Asos on Friday that it had become one of the company’s most signifiant shareholders.
Continue reading...Founder of online shopping group cements control as Japanese firm offloads its holding at £450m loss
THG shares have jumped on the news that Japan’s SoftBank will sell its stake in the troubled British online shopping group to its co-founder Matthew Moulding and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.
The move has cemented Moulding’s control of THG, formerly known as The Hut Group, which owns a range of internet health and beauty retailers, and ended speculation about SoftBank’s disastrous investment.
Continue reading...A 3% pay rise for team managers amid 10% inflation comes after a string of wage rises for hourly staff
Thousands of Tesco staff have been forced to take a large real-terms pay cut as the supermarket puts a squeeze on store managers while offering bigger wage rises for lower-paid workers.
In the latest pay battle amid the cost of living crisis, the retailer’s team managers, who earn about £30,000 a year, say they have received as little as a 3% pay rise. The official rate of inflation is close to 10%, and expected to hit 11% this month.
Continue reading...Founder Julian Dunkerton says being ‘cool again’ with TikTok generation helped turn previous £37m loss into £18m profit
Superdry is in talks with its banks to renegotiate up to £70m debt, the fashion retailer revealed on Friday, but investors shrugged off concerns to send shares soaring more than 14% as founder Julian Dunkerton announced a return to profit.
Dunkerton claimed Superdry “was cool again”, with strong demand from the TikTok generation for items such as parachute pants and Afghan coats, as he revealed pre tax profits of £18m, a bounce back from a loss of almost £37m a year before as sales rose almost 10% to £610m in the year to 30 April.
Continue reading...Supermarket aims to make £500m of savings but will freeze prices on more than 1,000 products until 2023
Tesco has warned annual profits will be at the lower end of its hopes as it faces significant cost inflation, revealing it has raised pay for a third time in 13 months.
The UK’s biggest retailer said it was aiming to make £500m of savings this year to offset its higher costs, including more automated tills, but was uncertain how shoppers would behave in the run-up to Christmas.
Continue reading...Electrical goods retailer keen to attract and retain workers as cost of living increases
Currys has raised pay for the third time in 13 months to attract and retain workers amid a labour shortage and rise in the cost of living.
The electrical goods retailer said that from 30 October it was increasing rates by 3.5% to a minimum of £10.35 an hour (£11.43 in London), only a month after a previous rise came into effect.
Continue reading...Many shops, cinemas, pubs and airports are choosing to limit their hours on Monday
Since it was confirmed last Saturday that Queen Elizabeth’s funeral would be held on Monday 19 September, a slew of businesses and services have said they will be reducing operations or closing for all or part of the day as a mark of respect.
With the day declared a bank holiday, many employers have given staff the entire day off and most shops will be closed. So what will be open on Monday and when?
Continue reading...On Black Wednesday anniversary, sterling hits 37-year low against dollar and 17-month low against euro
Fears that the British economy is already in recession after a slump in retail sales last month triggered heavy selling of the pound on international money markets taking it to a 37-year low against the dollar.
With average UK wages continuing to fall behind rising prices and the Bank of England expected to push up interest rates next week, sterling fell by more than 1% against the US currency to $1.135, its lowest since 1985.
Continue reading...