Category Archives: Retail industry

Booktopia will not fill orders and may not issue refunds, say administrators

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Customers left out of pocket who placed orders have now become, in effect, unsecured creditors

The administrators handling the collapse of Booktopia have announced that orders placed with Australia’s largest online bookseller will not be filled – and there may be no refunds either.

It means out of pocket customers who placed orders prior to the company entering voluntary administration have now become, in effect, unsecured creditors – which voids store credits and gift cards too.

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Australia’s largest online bookseller Booktopia enters voluntary administration

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Insolvency advisers are assessing the business while options for its sale or recapitalisation are explored

Booktopia has entered into voluntary administration, but will continue filling orders and selling to the public under supervision from an insolvency adviser.

Australia’s largest online bookseller announced the move on Wednesday, two weeks after it went into a voluntary suspension of share trading.

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Next UK government poised to benefit from fall in inflation and fuel prices

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Pressure on household finances eases as shop price rises slow to 0.2% and petrol costs drop for second month

Britain’s next government is poised to benefit from easing pressure on household finances after a slowdown in inflation in stores and a fall in fuel prices, but costs remain “too expensive” for many families.

Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show that annual UK shop price inflation cooled last month to 0.2%, down from 0.6% in May – the slowest pace since October 2021 – as retailers cut the prices of many of their key products, including butter and coffee.

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Cost of toothpaste can double through the year in UK, study finds

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Research discovers the cost of some healthcare products fluctuates wildly, according to time of year you buy them

Dentists agree that brushing twice a day is the best way to look after your teeth. But depending on what month it is, dental hygiene can be a dramatically more expensive habit to maintain.

New research has shown that the cost of a tube of toothpaste at some times of the year can be double its price at other times. The price of other popular health products such as Gillette razors can also double depending when they are bought.

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Lift prices, find your niche or shut: Australian cafes face tough choices as inflation bites

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Hospitality outlets are being forced to evolve as cost-of-living pressures change the way cash-strapped consumers spend their money

The Sydney eatery John Montagu is known for its sandwiches.

The cafe in the harbourside suburb of Woolloomooloo has an avid following, especially among those who appreciate that it is named after the Earl of Sandwich, which may sound comical but is a bone fide noble title.

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John Lewis is ‘back on track’, says outgoing chair Sharon White

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Return to profit will enable ‘significant investment’, including Waitrose refurbs and more convenience stores

The outgoing chair of John Lewis has insisted that the retail group is “back on track” and “more fit for the future” with an improving financial position enabling it to spend money refurbishing Waitrose supermarkets and opening convenience stores.

Sharon White, who will retire as chair of the John Lewis Partnership in September, said the upmarket Waitrose brand was “underrepresented in convenience” as it sought new avenues of growth.

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‘We’re not backing down’: US grocery workers take on Kroger with strike vote

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Food 4 Less workers to vote on action if new deal is not reached, as employees say wages and benefits lag behind

About 6,000 grocery store workers are set to vote on strike action after the expiration of their union contract with the Kroger-owned Food 4 Less chain.

The contract with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) expired on Saturday. Members are voting on whether to authorize a strike if a new deal is not reached, and results expected late on Friday.

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DFS furniture chain blames Red Sea crisis for profit warning

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Attacks on shipping leading to delays to deliveries and higher shipping costs, says retailer

The furniture retailer DFS has issued its second profit warning of the year, blaming much of the drop on delays to deliveries and higher shipping costs caused by the Red Sea crisis.

The retailer, which owns 118 shops across the UK, said it expected pre-tax profits of £10m-£12m for the year ending 30 June 2024, well down on the £20m-£25m predicted in March, amid supply chain disruption and weaker consumer demand.

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One in three Asda staff have been attacked at work, survey finds

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GMB poll receives reports of workers being stabbed, punched and threatened with syringes

One in three Asda staff have been attacked at work, according to research that included reports of workers being stabbed, punched and threatened with syringes.

The poll of almost 1,000 members of GMB, one of the UK’s biggest unions, returned stories of delivery drivers being chased by people in cars, while store workers had food thrown at them. More than half (58%) of respondents said they had suffered injury or illness on the job.

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Stop Shein listing on the FTSE, workers’ rights campaigners urge

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Groups issue call to next government amid criticism of online fashion retailer’s labour practices and accusations of copying

Workers rights campaigners have called for the UK’s next government to oppose the online fashion business Shein joining the FTSE, arguing that a London listing would be “yet another betrayal to working people everywhere and the planet”.

Alena Ivanova, campaigns lead at Labour Behind the Label, said it had heard the news of senior British politicians courting Shein’s £50bn listing “with dismay” given what she claimed was a lack of transparency about its supply chain and ethical concerns.

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Asda-owning Issa brothers go their separate ways amid family rift

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Union warns of risks to shoppers and staff after Zuber Issa sells 22.5% supermarket stake to private equity co-owners TDR Capital

The billionaire brothers who part-own Asda have gone their separate ways, with Zuber Issa selling his shares in the supermarket to the private equity firm TDR Capital amid a rift between the siblings.

Zuber owned 22.5% of the Leeds-based grocery chain after a £6.8bn takeover alongside his older brother Mohsin and TDR three years ago. The sale of his stake had been expected for months, but was thought to have been complicated by lock-in agreements.

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UK clothing sales to EU plummet as Brexit red tape deters exporters

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Small and medium-sized firms badly hit as huge drop in apparel sales helps fuel 18% slide in all-non food exports

UK exports of clothing and footwear to the EU have dived since Brexit, according to a new study that shows the extent to which complex regulations and red tape at the border have deterred firms from sending goods across the Channel.

Exports of clothing and footwear sold to EU countries have fallen from £7.4bn in 2019 to £2.7bn in 2023, helping fuel an 18% slump in sales of all non-food goods exports to countries covered by the EU single market, according to the consultancy Retail Economics and online marketplace Tradebyte.

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Asda now the most expensive UK supermarket to buy fuel, study shows

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Chain once prided itself on selling the cheapest fuel but RAC analysis shows it is now the dearest

Asda is now the UK’s most expensive supermarket fuel seller, research shows, after the retailer’s private owners ditched its long-held pledge to be the cheapest on the market.

The retailer, which was bought by the billionaire Issa brothers and their private equity partner TDR Capital in 2021, charged an average 2.1p a litre more for unleaded petrol than rivals Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons at the end of May, according to an analysis by the RAC motoring organisation.

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Falling UK inflation not leading to rise in spending, report finds

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May recorded the lowest spending growth since February 2021, Barclays’ snapshot of card activity shows

Consumer spending growth is at its weakest in more than three years as higher council tax bills and the rising cost of broadband and mobile phones eat into household budgets, a report has said.

The monthly snapshot of credit and debit card activity from Barclays found an improvement in consumer confidence as a result of falling inflation was not leading to a pickup in spending.

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Inflation in UK shops falls amid price cuts on furniture and TVs

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Biggest drop since November 2021 as ‘unseasonable’ weather pushes retailers to continue promotions

Shop price inflation has eased to the lowest level since November 2021 after retailers cut the price of big purchases such as furniture and TVs as households keep a tight rein on spending amid cost of living pressures and poor weather.

Prices rose at an annual rate of 0.6% in May, down from 0.8% in April – the slowest pace since November 2021 – according to the latest monitor from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) trade body and the market research firm NielsenIQ.

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Marks & Spencer plans to step up cost cuts despite 41% jump in annual profits

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Pre-tax profits increased to £672.5m but retailer says it will reduce costs further as part of five-year plan

Marks & Spencer has said it will step up cost cuts in the year ahead despite increasing annual profits by a better-than-expected 41%.

Stuart Machin, the chief executive of the clothing, homeware and food retailer, said it was “at the beginnings of a new M&S” with “wind in our sails, and confidence that our plan is working” as pre-tax profits rose to £672.5m in the year to 30 March. Sales rose 9.4% to £13bn.

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Burberry profits slump by 40% as demand for luxury goods slows

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British fashion retailer hit by drop in sales in Asia and Americas, and expects challenging first half of 2025

Burberry’s profits have slumped by 40% in a year amid a wider slowdown in demand for luxury goods that has pushed down sales in Asia and the Americas.

The high-end UK fashion retailer posted a pre-tax profit of £383m for the year up to 30 March in its preliminary results on Wednesday, a 40% drop on the £634m in the previous 12 months. Global sales fell by 8% in the second half of the year.

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Brexit border IT outages delay import of perishable items to UK by up to 20 hours

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Lorries carrying meat, cheese and cut flowers held up by new checks, with retailers rejecting some orders

Lorries carrying perishable food and plants from the EU are being held for up to 20 hours at the UK’s busiest Brexit border post as failures with the government’s IT systems delay imports entering Britain.

Businesses have described the government’s new border control checks as a “disaster” after IT outages led to lorries carrying meat, cheese and cut flowers being held for long periods, reducing the shelf life of their goods and prompting retailers to reject some orders.

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Target Pride merchandise only available at select stores after rightwing backlash

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Company, which operates roughly 2,000 stores, declined to disclose number of stores where merchandise will not be available

Target confirmed Friday that it won’t carry Pride Month merchandise at all stores in June after the discount retailer experienced a backlash and lower sales over its collection honoring LGBTQ+ communities.

Target, which operates roughly 2,000 stores, said decisions about where to stock Pride-themed products, including adult apparel, home goods, foods and beverages, would be based on “guest insights and consumer research”.

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Shein ‘steps up plan for London IPO’ amid US listing hurdles

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Sources say Singapore-based online fashion retailer founded in China prefers a float in New York but faces tougher scrutiny than expected

The fast-fashion company Shein is stepping up preparations for a London listing after its attempt to float in New York faced regulatory hurdles and pushback from US lawmakers, sources have told Reuters.

The online clothing retailer plans to update China’s securities regulator on the change of the initial public offering (IPO) venue and file with the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as soon as this month, said one source.

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