Category Archives: Retail industry

Australia news live: NSW health system ‘catastrophically let down’ toddler’s family, minister admits

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Two-year-old waited in emergency department for three hours before suffering a cardiac arrest and dying. Follow today’s news headlines live

Victoria to offer contactless public transport tickets from next year

Victorians will be able to use their phones, bank cards or smartwatches to pay for public transport travel from “early next year in a staged approach”, according to reports.

Following a successful start of a ticketless bus trial in Wangaratta, the Allan Labor Government will begin switching on tap-and-go technology across Victoria’s public transport network from early next year in a staged approach – meaning some passengers will soon be able to use their bank cards, phones and smart watches to travel on full fare tickets.

The new ticketing system will continue to be underpinned by extensive technical testing and will be carefully rolled out starting with rail from the beginning early next year – allowing full fare passengers more ways to pay for their travel.

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Retailers to be required to report suspicious or bulk purchases of knives

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New raft of measures labelled Ronan’s law include tougher sentences for those caught selling blades to under-18s

Retailers will be required to report suspicious or bulk purchases of knives, and those caught selling blades to under-18s will face tougher sentences under a new raft of measures to clamp down on young people’s access to weapons labelled Ronan’s law.

Named after Ronan Kanda, the 16-year-old killed in Wolverhampton in 2022 by a teenager carrying a 22in ninja blade he had ordered online, the new laws are part of a raft of anti-knife crime plans announced by the government on Wednesday.

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UK marketplace sellers face ‘second Brexit’ hit from Trump’s US import rules

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End of ‘de minimis’ policy for Chinese goods also expected to hit bigger fashion retailers such as Asos and Boohoo

Many UK-based independent sellers on marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon could suffer a significant hit to US sales from planned changes to import rules under Donald Trump, with experts comparing the impact to a second Brexit.

The new rules, which mean all parcels originating or made in China and being sold into the US must pay import duty – of as much as 15% on fashion items – and an additional 10% tariff, are also expected to impact bigger online clothing retailers such as Asos and Boohoo.

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A grand exit: why four-figure coats have become a high street fixture

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From John Lewis to Cos, high street stores are selling coats costing more than £1,000 in a move to cast themselves as ‘luxe’ brands

If you were given £1,000 to splurge on the high street, what would you buy? Perhaps a head-to-toe new season wardrobe from Zara? Enough knitwear to see you through several winters, or maybe a lifetime supply of socks from Marks & Spencer?

Whatever you decide, you’d need to factor in the cost of a taxi to lug all those bags back from the shops. Or at least, once upon a time you would. These days, a grand is easy to spend on a single item – and it’s all thanks to the rise of the four-figure coat.

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Next ad banned over ‘unhealthily thin’ model in digitally altered leggings

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Watchdog upholds complaint about advert that digitally altered clothing and used low angle to accentuate long legs

The UK advertising watchdog has banned an advert from high street retailer Next for featuring an “unhealthily thin” model in digitally altered clothing.

The advertisement, which ran on its website, featured a model marketing Next’s “power stretch denim leggings”.

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EU to tighten checks on goods sold by sites such as Shein and Temu

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European Commission also urges EU lawmakers to phase out exemption on customs duties for parcels under €150

Parcels sent from China by online retailers such as Shein and Temu will face strict new customs controls as part of a crackdown by the European Commission on “dangerous products” flooding the EU market.

Brussels officials also urged EU lawmakers to phase out the exemption on customs duties that is allowed for parcels under €150 (£125), which enables foreign suppliers to sell cheap goods in the bloc without paying the tax.

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UK grocery inflation slows for first time in six months amid rise in promotions

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Kantar figures could be good news for government as food price rises have fuelled persistent UK inflation

Grocery inflation slowed in January – for the first time in six months – as retailers ramped up promotions to attract budget-conscious shoppers.

The price of groceries increased by 3.3%, easing from 3.7% in December, as the costs of toilet roll and cat food fell but those of chocolate, butter and chilled juices rose, according to analysts at Kantar.

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Woolworths selling downsized’ Brut deodorant for more than double unit cost of old product

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Consumer advocates call for more transparency around ‘shrinkflation’ as supermarkets continue to defend against price-gouging allegations

Australia’s biggest supermarket chain, Woolworths, is selling a significantly smaller stick of Brut deodorant for more than double the unit price of the old product, in an extreme example of “shrinkflation” that leaves shoppers paying more for common household products.

While not unlawful, the pricing decision rubs against heightened public criticism of strategies employed by supermarkets, which have consistently defended themselves against price gouging allegations during a cost-of-living crisis.

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Scotland’s largest haggis maker creating new recipe to meet US rules

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Macsween working to circumvent food regulations that have banned traditional recipe in US for more than 50 years

Scotland’s largest haggis maker is creating a “compliant” recipe of the nation’s most famous dish to circumvent strict American food regulations after more than 50 years in exile.

The decision by Macsween of Edinburgh comes after traditional haggis was banned by the US authorities in 1971, taking issue with the sheep’s-lung component of the recipe, which was then prohibited for use as human food by federal regulation.

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Frasers Group says two-thirds of retail staff are still on zero-hours contracts

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MPs examining plans for legislation were told 11,500 staff on the contracts, which do not guarantee weekly shifts

The owner of Sports Direct has confirmed that two-thirds of its retail workforce remain on zero-hours contracts ahead of new legislation designed to limit their use.

Frasers Group told MPs who are examining plans to strengthen protection for employees that 11,500 staff were on the contracts, which do not guarantee any weekly working shifts, and did not receive compensation even if shifts were changed at the last minute.

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Oliviero Toscani, photographer behind provocative Benetton ads, dies aged 82

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Tributes paid to Italian known for images that drew attention to social themes including HIV/Aids and racism

Tributes have been paid to Oliviero Toscani, the Italian fashion photographer renowned for the provocative images used in Benetton’s advertising campaigns, who has died aged 82.

Toscani, who for two decades was the art director of the global clothing chain, died on Monday after being hospitalised close to his home in the Tuscan town of Cecina.

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Falsely labelled ‘organic’ products rife on Australian shelves, shoppers warned

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Organic farmers sound alarm about greenwashing amid push to introduce national domestic standard

Organic farmers and retailers have warned that Australians are being misled by producers who engage in a form of greenwashing by falsely labelling their products “organic”.

Australian consumers may be happy to pay higher prices for meat, cheese, cosmetics and other goods marked “organic” but producers can use the term without meeting any particular standards or being certified.

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‘So immoral’: gig economy workers forced to pay fee to receive their wages

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Retail assistants on low pay using YoungOnes platform docked cash or told to wait up to 30 days for earnings

Retail assistants have accused a gig economy firm of “holding them to ransom” by making them pay a fee if they want to receive their wages within a month.

A new payment system brought in by YoungOnes, which supplies “freelance” retail assistants to many well-known high street stores, charges gig workers 4.8% of their earnings to be paid in one minute or 2.9% to be paid in three days. If they decline, they typically have to wait 30 days. Previously the workers were paid in three days, without a charge.

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Tesco enjoys ‘biggest ever Christmas’ as shoppers switch from rivals

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Supermarket now controls 28.5% of grocery market, with sales at UK stores up 4% in six weeks to 4 January

Tesco has recorded its “biggest ever Christmas”, with the UK’s largest supermarket chain landing its biggest share of the festive shopping trolley since 2016.

Sales at established UK stores rose 4% in the six weeks to 4 January, with fresh food performing particularly strongly and clothing and homeware sales also up.

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UK retailers may have to cut thousands of jobs after bleak Christmas

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British Retail Consortium figures show sales growth close to flatlining, as card spending fails to rise

Britain’s largest retailers are warning they could be forced to cut thousands of jobs this year as the industry braces for higher taxes and employment costs after a bleak Christmas shopping season.

In the latest sign of tough trading conditions on the high street, figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show sales growth over the “golden quarter” between October and December came close to flatlining.

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Number of UK retailers on brink of collapse soars by 25%

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Report for final three months of year shows pressure driven by rising costs and weak consumer confidence

The number of UK retailers on the brink of collapse soared by a quarter in the final three months of the year, driven by a combination of rising business costs and weak consumer confidence, according to a report.

The proportion of retail businesses classed as being in “critical” financial distress jumped 25% to 2,124 in the fourth quarter compared with the third, the insolvency specialists Begbies Traynor said.

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Boxing Day footfall down on UK high streets despite discounts

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Data may reflect shift in behaviour influenced by cost of living crisis or front-loading of spending

Fewer consumers made the journey to high streets and shopping centres in search of Boxing Day discounts this year.

Footfall across UK retailers was down 8.9% as of 3pm on Thursday, compared with Boxing Day in 2023, according to data from MRI Software.

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Boxing Day sales: crowds flock to stores around Australia in search of bargains

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Shoppers expected to splurge on homewares and beauty products, with retail spending projected to top $1.3bn on Boxing Day

Shoppers have flooded stores to make the most of Boxing Day bargains.

Australians are projected to spend $1.3bn on Boxing Day and a further $2.4bn during the last days of December, Australian Retailers Association and Roy Morgan research shows.

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CEO of Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group says budget felt like being ‘kicked in the face’

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Sports Direct owner reports weaker consumer confidence before and after the budget as it cuts profit expectations

The chief executive of the high street retail giant Frasers said that “we felt we’d been kicked in the face” after Rachel Reeves’ autumn budget.

Frasers said it had witnessed weaker confidence among shoppers leading up to and since the budget, as the company reduced its profit forecasts for the year.

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