Category Archives: Retail industry

UK grocery price inflation falls to two-year low amid supermarket price war

Posted on by

Competition helped offset impact of Red Sea shipping crisis in February, says analyst Kantar

Grocery price inflation in the UK has slowed to a two-year low as fierce competition among supermarkets offset the impact of the Red Sea shipping crisis on goods prices.

In a boost to households, supermarket prices were 5.3% higher than a year earlier in February, the lowest rate since March 2022 and down from January’s 6.8%, according to the analyst Kantar. Grocery sales grew by 5.1% in the four weeks to 18 February.

Continue reading...

More than half of UK retailers affected by Houthi disruption, survey shows

Posted on by

Costs are escalating amid delays, according to British Chambers of Commerce research that shows UK exporters have also been hit

More than half of UK retailers and exporters have been affected by the disruption to Red Sea trade from Houthi rebel attacks on cargo ships, research by a leading business lobby group suggests.

The price of shipping a container from Asia to Europe has gone up by as much as 300% for some businesses, while logistical delays have added up to three to four weeks to delivery times, according to the survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).

Continue reading...

New Woolworths boss faces tough initiation amid rising community anger over prices

Posted on by

Brad Banducci will face a Greens-led Senate inquiry, but it is Amanda Bardwell who will have to rebuild the supermarket giant’s reputation

Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci is stepping down from Australia’s biggest supermarket chain – but he’s going down swinging.

Against a backdrop of multiple parliamentary inquiries and a year-long pricing investigation, Banducci maintains that the grocery sector is “unbelievably competitive”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Violence and abuse against UK retail staff rises to 1,300 incidents a day

Posted on by

British Retail Consortium says criminals ‘being given a free pass’, with thefts more than doubling to 16.7m incidents last year

UK shop workers are facing 1,300 incidents of violence and abuse a day and a battle to control “brazen” acts of shoplifting, as pressure mounts on ministers to intervene to protect retail employees.

Retailers saw the number of incidents of racial abuse, sexual harassment, physical assaults and threats with weapons rise 50% last year, while thefts more than doubled to 16.7m incidents, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the trade body which represents most major retailers.

Continue reading...

The Body Shop collapses into administration in UK

Posted on by

Hundreds of jobs at risk less than three months after cosmetics chain was bought by German firm Aurelius

The Body Shop has collapsed into administration in the UK, less than three months after it was taken over by a private equity company, in a move that puts hundreds of jobs at risk at the cosmetics chain.

Aurelius, the German buyout company that bought The Body Shop for £207m in November, said it had been unable to revive the fortunes of the business after dismal trading over Christmas and new year.

Continue reading...

The Body Shop files intention to appoint administrators

Posted on by

Process likely to lead to job losses and store closures, and threaten source of sales for global network of small farmers and producers

When Anita Roddick sold The Body Shop in 2006, she left behind not just a thriving cosmetics and skincare empire but living proof that a business could follow strict ethical guidelines and still make healthy profits.

But on Monday, the private equity-owned company filed the intention to appoint administrators.

Continue reading...

UK farmers vow to mount more blockades over cheap post-Brexit imports

Posted on by

Inspired by French action, British campaigners say they will continue slow tractor protests after Dover roads were blocked

Farmers say there will be further French-style blockades following a slow tractor protest at Dover against low supermarket prices and cheap food imports from post-Brexit trade deals.

Around 40 tractors and other farm vehicles blocked roads around the Kent port for several hours on Friday evening by driving slowly and carrying signs with slogans such as “No More Cheap Imports”.

Continue reading...

Chocolate maker Hershey issues warning over record cocoa prices

Posted on by

US firm expects rising costs to hit profits and sales as consumers cut spending on treats

The US chocolatier Hershey has warned on profits and sales after a sharp increase in the cost of cocoa to record levels pushed up the price of chocolate, hitting cash-strapped consumers in the pocket.

Global cocoa prices hit a new peak of $5,874 (£4,655) a ton on Thursday in New York as dry weather continued to affect crops in west Africa, with poor harvests driving up prices in the region, which produces the majority of global supply.

Continue reading...

‘Diabolical actions’: Snoop Dogg and Master P sue Walmart in breakfast cereal spat

Posted on by

Rappers entered breakfast market with Snoop Cereal in 2023, and allege conspiracy between manufacturer Post Consumer Brands and supermarket chain Walmart to ‘choke’ startup brand

Rappers Snoop Dogg and Master P are suing US supermarket chain Walmart and food manufacturer Post Consumer Brands, claiming that the two companies conspired to sabotage the success of the pair’s new breakfast cereal enterprise.

Snoop Cereal launched last summer, with Master P hailing parent company Broadus Foods as the first Black-owned cereal company in the US: “This has been going on for over 100 years, that we’ve been consumers and never owners, so we’re changing that game.” The rappers partnered with Post to produce the cereal itself.

Continue reading...

UK’s January sales failed to revive consumer spending, say retailers

Posted on by

Sales growth slowed last month amid cost of living crisis, poor weather and rail strikes

The traditional January sales on the high street failed to inspire a revival in consumer spending last month, as households continued to cut back amid the cost of living crisis.

Britain’s largest retailers said sales growth slowed last month as higher living costs weighed heavily on consumers, while weather conditions and strikes on the transport network also hit spending.

Continue reading...

‘I’m devastated it’s closing’: London shoppers bid sad farewell to Fenwick

Posted on by

New Bond Street department store, which opened in 1890s, to close doors for final time this weekend

More than 130 years after it opened, the flagship Fenwick department store in central London, will close its doors for the last time on Saturday.

The historic four-storey shop in New Bond Street, Mayfair, is shutting after the retailer – which is owned by more than 40 descendants of John James Fenwick who founded the company with a single store in Newcastle in 1882 – sold the property to developers for £430m.

Continue reading...

Britons switching to smaller, higher-quality alcoholic drinks, experts say

Posted on by

Increasing preference said to be driven by desire to be healthier and is fuelling trend for 100ml taster bottles

As the adage goes: good things come in small packages. According to alcohol industry experts British consumers are increasingly choosing to enjoy their beverages in smaller portions, but of higher quality – fuelling a trend for 100ml taster bottles.

The shift comes from a desire to be healthier, experts say, with drinking among UK teenagers and young people falling. In June 2023, Tesco sold 25% more low- and non-alcoholic beer than in dry January.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads

Continue reading...

Burberry issues profit warning as Christmas shoppers shun pricey trenchcoats

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

UK economy returns to growth amid Black Friday spending lift

Posted on by

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%.

Continue reading...

Greggs enjoys bumper Christmas period as it hails easing inflation

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...