Grocery chain employees will verify the incident and the reward will be adding to the shopper’s loyalty card
The grocery chain Iceland is offering customers who shop a thief a £1 reward on their loyalty card.
The frozen food specialist said that anyone who spots a suspected shoplifter in its stores should inform the nearest Iceland employee who will verify the incident before adding the reward to the individual’s loyalty card for immediate use.
Continue reading...Profits rise 56% to £38.2m in 2024 as company overtakes British rival Boohoo and closes in on Asos
Shein, the online fast-fashion retailer founded in China, increased sales in the UK by about a third to more than £2bn last year, overtaking the British rival Boohoo and closing in on Asos.
The company, which had been considering a £50bn float on the London Stock Exchange but is expected to list in Hong Kong, said profits rose 56% to £38.2m last year on which it paid £9.6m corporation tax, according to accounts filed at Companies House this week.
Continue reading...Increase of 8% this year in line with ‘strong rebound’ in global market, data shows
UK toy sales have bounced back as adults increasingly muscle in on the market, snapping up everything from Pokémon trading cards and Lego sets to collectibles and action figures based on movie and TV franchises.
After falling almost 4% in 2024, UK toy sales have risen 8% so far this year, in line with the “strong rebound” enjoyed by the global market, data shows.
Continue reading...Restructure by family-owned fashion chain involves 33 store closures but leaves more than 1,000 jobs at risk
River Island has got the green light for a rescue restructure that saves more than 4,000 jobs but will shut 33 of the clothing chain’s 230 stores as people shift to buying online.
The plan to reduce costs, which still puts more than 1,000 jobs and a further 70 sites at risk, won approval from a high court judge on Friday after a majority of creditors gave their backing earlier in the week.
Continue reading...Class action lawsuit argues the online travel platform distorted market with ‘best price’ clauses
Booking.com is facing a class-action lawsuit from more than 10,000 European hotels arguing that the accommodation mega-site used its muscle to distort the market to their detriment over a 20-year period.
The Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Cafes in Europe (Hotrec), which represents the industry within the EU and is bringing the legal action, recently extended to 29 August a deadline for hotel owners to join the suit because of high demand.
Continue reading...BRC says food prices rose by 4% in July from 2024, while CBI blames economic uncertainty for people not spending
Britain’s largest retailers struggled to entice shoppers back to the high street in July as the rising cost of meat and butter drove up food prices, adding to the pressure on household finances.
According to the latest snapshot from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) food prices rose by 4% in July from a year earlier, up from 3.7% in June and above the three-month average of 3.5%.
Continue reading...Sunday’s England v Spain match set to be most-watched women’s football match in UK history, benefiting food, drink and hospitality industries
The climax of the exhilarating women’s Euros, as the Lionesses attempt to atone for their loss to Spain at the World Cup, is poised to be the most-watched women’s football match in UK history with the tournament providing a more than £800m boost to supermarkets, pubs and retailers.
With Sunday’s showdown aired on both ITV and the BBC, and their respective streaming services, TV industry executives expect that, with the help of a family-friendly 5pm kick-off time, viewing will eclipse the 14.8 million peak audience when England lost 1-0 to Spain in Sydney two years ago, if the match is close.
Continue reading...Shoppers flock to stores in June for food, drink and merchandise, and also go on short breaks
Sunny summer weather and a packed schedule of events including Wimbledon, concerts by Oasis and Beyoncé, and international cricket and football sent shoppers flocking to retailers and supermarkets last month.
Retail sales volumes in Great Britain rose by 0.9% in June, bouncing back from a sharp fall in May, although slightly below analyst consensus forecasts of a 1.2% month-on-month increase.
Continue reading...ASA ruling comes amid fears fashion industry reversing progress in body positivity movement
An advert by high street retailer Marks & Spencer has been banned for featuring an “irresponsible” image of a model who appeared “unhealthily thin”.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the model’s pose, choice of clothing and the camera angle which seemed to tilt downwards all contributed to the impression she was too thin.
Continue reading...Music fans snap up wellies, scarves and light jackets, with shares rising more than 4% on back of better-than-expected performance
Shoppers snapping up Burberry wellies, scarves and light jackets to wear at music festivals have helped the fashion brand to its best sales performance in 18 months despite lacklustre spending by tourists around the world.
Sales of the luxury British brand fell by 2% to £433m in the three months to the end of June, with a 1% decline at established stores, an improvement from the 6% fall in the previous quarter and the best performance since Christmas 2023.
Continue reading...Pre-tax profits fall 24% despite rise in Sports Direct sales, driven by closures of House of Fraser and Game stores
A “challenging” luxury market and retreat from gaming have prompted a fall in sales and profits at Mike Ashley’s Frasers.
The group, which is majority owned by the billionaire former Newcastle United owner, said sales fell by 7.4% to £4.7bn and pre-tax profits slid by 24% to £379.5m as it closed some of its House of Fraser department stores and Game video game shops.
Continue reading...These small, joyful indulgences are ‘an antidote to life’s uncertainties’, food trend watchers say
If you said to a friend that you fancied Japanese food this weekend, they might be forgiven for thinking you meant sushi. But lately a new culinary export from Japan is catching up with fish and rice in the hearts and tastebuds of British foodies.
Soft, sweet and full of character, Japanese-style desserts – from mochi ice cream to matcha cookies – have been steadily gaining ground on UK shelves.
Continue reading...Demand for beauty products by gen Alpha customer base also behind retailer’s expansion after tough times
An increase in demand for weight loss drugs, including Mounjaro and Wegovy, as well as demand among its generation Alpha customer base for beauty products is driving expansion at Superdrug.
The retailer plans to add 25 more stores to its 800-plus strong chain this year as well as extending existing outlets, despite troubles across the high street that have led to the closure of hundreds of stores at its rival Boots and downsizing at chains from Poundland to River Island.
Continue reading...Daniel Ervér cites ‘fast-moving situation’ as US administration has changed rules on several occasions
Clothing prices are beginning to rise in the US as Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported goods start to have an effect, according to the boss of H&M, one of the world’s biggest fashion retailers.
Daniel Ervér, the chief executive of the Swedish retailer, said: “In the US, we are starting to see some competitors increasing prices. Different competitors are acting in different ways. Some more aggressively and some more cautiously.”
Continue reading...Budget retailer had a pre-tax loss of more than £51m last year and is struggling to lure back customers amid stiff competition from rivals
“It’s not actually that cheap any more. It’s kind of lost its appeal because everything is not a pound.”
Samantha, a shopper outside Poundland’s Luton retail park outlet who is heading off to B&M to find some better deals, sums up the feelings of many of her fellow bargain hunters and a central problem facing the new owner of the budget retailer.
Continue reading...Grocers turning to Australia, Poland and Uruguay for meat, prompting claim they are undermining British farmers
Cheap chicken and beef from Australia, Poland and Uruguay is on the rise on UK supermarket shelves, according to the National Farmers’ Union, as supermarkets look for money-saving options.
The NFU regularly monitors supermarket shelves and notes that Morrisons is now selling raw chicken from Poland in its poultry aisle. Chicken in Poland is generally produced to different standards from those in the UK, and is cheaper as a result. Morrisons requires that for its UK chicken, poultry must be kept at a maximum stocking density of 30kg/m2, giving the chickens more space to roam. In Poland, this is up to 39kg/m2.
Continue reading...Consumer group makes claims of ‘some questionable and dodgy pricing tactics’ on retailer’s website
Sports Direct could be breaking the law by misleading shoppers into thinking they are getting a good deal, a consumer body has claimed, after it looked at prices of items ranging from trainers to hoodies.
Which? said it had reported the retailer to the Competition and Markets Authority after uncovering what it claimed were “some questionable and dodgy pricing tactics” on its website.
Continue reading...Consumer watchdogs accuse Chinese fashion firm of ‘dark’ practices in formal complaint to European Commission
Consumer watchdogs from 21 countries have filed a formal complaint to EU authorities about alleged “dark” practices by the Chinese fast fashion firm Shein including the “shaming” of customers into buying more than they can afford.
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) has submitted a 29-page dossier to the European Commission citing multiple examples of “dark patterns”, or deceptive techniques designed to encourage purchases.
Continue reading...Market thought to be worth more than £500m as diners seek cheaper alternatives to the pub or a meal out
Dessert cafes and ice-cream parlours are hoping to play a role in a revival of UK high streets and the night-time economy, as people seek an alternative to going to the pub or an expensive meal out.
Their number has soared by almost 700 in the UK in the past decade, according to analysts at Green Street, formerly the Local Data Company, with outlets in places from Aberdeen to Plymouth.
Continue reading...Sales at UK’s third largest supermarket fell 3.1% in four months to April, as rival Aldi announces big expansion
Asda is unlikely to see growth before the end of this year at the earliest, the supermarket’s chair, Allan Leighton, has said, as sales continue to fall despite price cuts and more stock on its shelves.
Meanwhile, Aldi, which is closing the market share gap with Asda, put further pressure on its rival by announcing significant expansion plans across the UK.
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