Category Archives: Retail industry

Next upgrades profit forecast again as cool weather helps sales

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Retailer expects to make £10m more profit than previously predicted, taking full-year target to £885m

Next has upgraded annual profit expectations for the fourth time in five months after the arrival of cooler weather in late October helped bolster sales.

The retailer said it now expected to make £10m more profit than previously forecast, taking its full-year target to £885m, after full-price sales rose by 4% in the three months to the end of October – double the pace of growth anticipated.

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Pineapple loses its crown: Sainsbury’s sells leafless version to cut waste

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Removing leaves will mean they can be replanted or shredded for animal feed and could reduce emissions

The pineapple has been dethroned: Sainsbury’s has announced it will start selling a crownless version of the tropical fruit from Wednesday.

The spiky, green leaves that grow from the top of the plant are a unique feature of the exotic fruit. But, says the supermarket, they are typically thrown away by customers, contributing to up to 700 tonnes of food waste a year.

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Aurelius Group in talks to buy the Body Shop, says report

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Banking sources say a deal for the beauty products chain is expected to be signed next month

The private equity investor Aurelius Group is in talks to buy the beauty products chain the Body Shop, which has been put up for sale by its Brazilian owner, Natura & Co, a source familiar with the talks has told Reuters.

If completed, the deal is expected to value the Body Shop at a lower price than the £400m-£500m suggested in some media reports, the source said.

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‘Organised gangs’ are shoplifting to order in UK, John Lewis boss says

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Groups of thieves are targeting high-value items such as bottles of spirits, warns the retail group chair Sharon White

John Lewis chair Sharon White has raised fears for the safety of its store workers amid a rise of “organised gangs” of shoplifters who are targeting high-value items such as bottles of spirits.

White, the head of the department store group which also owns Waitrose supermarkets, said it was “not an exaggeration” to describe the change as an epidemic.

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EE to start selling smart TVs, fridges and kettles in move beyond mobile roots

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BT-owned company to take on brands such as Amazon, Currys and Argos with move into e-commerce

The BT-owned EE is to sell smart TVs, fridges, kettles and fitness products as it looks to move beyond its roots in smartphones and enter an e-commerce market dominated by brands such as Amazon, Currys and Argos.

The mobile operator, which has 25 million subscribers, is seeking to use tactics developed selling telecoms products and services to retail products in categories such as smart home security, insurance and games consoles to all UK consumers.

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Waitrose in talks with Amazon over online grocery deal, says report

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Supermarket said to be considering third-party deal after share of UK market falls

Waitrose is reportedly in talks with Amazon to sell groceries via the internet marketplace, in an attempt to lure in more shoppers and claw back market share.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that the upmarket supermarket, part of the John Lewis Partnership, and Amazon were discussing a third-party deal, after the world’s biggest online retailer struck a similar agreement with the supermarket Iceland recently.

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Sandwich price shocks but meal deal costs rise less than average food inflation

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Pret a Manger’s ‘posh’ cheese and pickle sandwich grabbed headlines for its £7.15 price tag, but it’s not all gloom

It’s not often that a cheese and pickle sandwich turns heads, but this week Pret a Manger’s “posh” version grabbed headlines after a tweet decrying its £7.15 price tag went viral.

Although that included VAT for eating in, the social media post shone a spotlight on the rising cost of lunch on the go, as the soaring cost of ingredients has been passed on to consumers.

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Asos cuts profit forecast after wet summer hit sales

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Online fashion retailer says it has reduced its stock levels by 30% amid fall in customer numbers

The online fashion retailer Asos said sales in July and August were hit by wet weather, prompting it to cut its estimate for annual profits.

Asos said the poor weather compounded weaker online demand for clothing. Total sales declined by 15% in the quarter to 3 September, with the UK down 16%. The sales washout resulted in a £60m hit to cashflow. July was the wettest such month in England since 2009.

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Carrefour puts ‘shrinkflation’ price warnings on food to shame brands

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French supermarket chain labels products that have shrunk in size but cost more before contract talks with suppliers

The French supermarket chain Carrefour has put labels on its shelves this week warning shoppers of “shrinkflation”, the phenomenon where manufacturers reduce pack sizes rather than increase prices.

It has slapped price warnings on products from Lindt chocolates to Lipton iced tea to pressure top consumer goods suppliers Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever to tackle the issue in advance of much-anticipated contract talks.

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Poundland moves to buy 71 Wilko sites with possible jobs guarantee for staff

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PwC says owner plans to reopen stores under Poundland brand throwing lifeline to as many as 1,800 staff

Poundland is to acquire up to 71 Wilko sites that it intends to reopen under its own brand in a deal that could throw a lifeline to some of the about 1,800 staff who will lose their jobs at the stricken retailer.

Under the deal struck by administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) with Poundland’s parent company Pepco, the sites will be acquired only after all 408 Wilko stores are shut and more than 12,000 staff made redundant.

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Costa Coffee recalls sandwiches and wraps amid fears they contain stones

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Retailer warns there may be ‘small stones’ in four products from its range and urges customers to return them for refund

Costa Coffee has recalled some of its range of sandwiches and wraps after it emerged that they could contain small stones.

The chain warned customers that four of its products could be affected, and that they could pose a choking hazard if they were eaten.

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Retailers look on sunny side as holidaymakers splash out

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Sales of health and beauty products help high street stores bounce back after a disappointing start to the summer

Britain’s retailers have received a boost from consumers making themselves beach-ready by increasing their spending on skincare and makeup before their summer holidays, despite the cost of living crisis.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said sales of health and beauty products helped drive up spending on the high street as shoppers made the most of brief spells of sunshine in August, although squeezed consumers were holding back elsewhere.

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Wilko: rescue deal to save many stores at risk over supplier debts

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Big suppliers want debts paid upfront in order to guarantee supplying shops

A rescue deal to save the majority of Wilko’s stores has been put at risk as some key suppliers want outstanding debts repaid upfront to guarantee continuing to provide products to the chain.

Doug Putman, who engineered a turnaround of HMV in the UK and owns Toys R Us in Canada, has been negotiating a deal to save as many as 300 of Wilko’s 400 stores, throwing a lifeline to its more than 12,000 staff.

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‘This is psychological warfare’: Starbucks workers allege anti-union firings

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The National Labor Relations Board has reinstated 28 of the more than 200 pro-union workers fired since late 2021

Alicia Flores had worked at Starbucks in Portland, Oregon, for seven years until June, when she received a voicemail from a manager – filling in for her usual boss, who was taking a leave of absence – who informed her she was being fired.

Flores is far from alone.

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Pret a Manger fined £800,000 after employee trapped in freezer

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Employee, who was stuck in walk-in freezer for more than two hours, was treated in hospital for hypothermia

Pret a Manger has been fined £800,000 after an employee was trapped in one of its freezers for more than two hours, where she tried to use croissant boxes to stave off hypothermia.

The employee was wearing jeans and T-shirt when she was stuck in a walk-in freezer, which typically had its temperature set at -18C, in July 2021, Westminster magistrates court was told.

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Wilko administrators urged to accept rescue deal after second bid

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Last-minute white knight bid worth £90m from M2 Capital follows earlier offer from owner of HMV

Wilko’s administrators are facing pressure to accept a rescue deal for the ailing budget retailer after a second last-minute white knight bid worth £90m emerged from an Anglo-Canadian private equity firm.

The gardening to beauty retailer, which has 400 stores and employs almost 12,500 people, called in administrators from PricewaterhouseCoopers earlier this month after running short of cash. Shops are expected to close within weeks, with thousands of job losses unless a buyout can be secured.

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Boots baby formula ads on Google broke rules, says UK watchdog

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Retailer apologises for error, with such advertising banned in case it discourages breastfeeding

Online adverts for Boots for four infant formula products broke advertising rules designed to protect breastfeeding, the advertising watchdog has found.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) made the ruling in response to a complaint that the health and beauty retailer’s infant formula products had been advertised on Google.

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England fans to splash out on food, drink and TVs for Women’s World Cup final

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Supermarkets, pubs and advertisers the winners as supporters prepare for match against Spain

Supermarkets, pubs and TV advertisers are preparing to enjoy a bumper weekend as football fans rush to celebrate the Women’s World Cup final on Sunday morning.

As many as 13.7 million people are expected to tune in when the Lionesses take on Spain in the highly anticipated fixture in Australia – the first time a senior England football team has appeared in a World Cup final since 1966.

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Harvey Nichols boss resigns after strategy dispute with owner

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Manju Malhotra, who joined retailer 25 years ago, is understood to have disagreed over pace of change

The boss of Harvey Nichols has quit the retailer she first joined 25 years ago after tensions over its strategy, and a member of its owning family will take the reins.

Manju Malhotra started at the Knightsbridge store in London in 1998 as a newly qualified accountant and worked her way up through the ranks before becoming chief executive in January 2020, just before the Covid pandemic forced stores to shut.

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Sharp rise in cost of food basics forces UK families ‘to make desperate choices’

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Which? research finds cheese, butter and bread are up by more than 30% in the past two years, hitting the poor hardest

The cost of some basic food items such as cheese, butter and bread has soared by more than 30% in the last two years, forcing poorer households to “make desperate choices between keeping up with their bill payments or putting food on the table,” campaigners have said.

Food price inflation has slowed in recent months, but costs remain much higher than they were two years ago, disproportionally affecting low-income households, according to research by consumer body Which? shared exclusively with the Guardian.

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