Ikea accused of ‘vicious’ anti-union campaign, allegedly using intimidation tactics September 27, 2018 Ikea violated workers’ rights to unionise in three countries, a federation of unions has claimed in a complaint filed to the OECD. The UNI Global Union, a collection of 900 unions from 140 countries, accuses Ikea of a “vicious anti-union campaign in the United States, Ireland, and Portugal.” Read more: Samsung Electronics boss indicted for [...]
Online betting firm 888 shares drop after increased regulation hits UK revenue September 27, 2018 Shares in online gambling firm 888 dropped nine per cent today after the company reported a poor opening half to the year in its key UK market. UK revenues decreased 18 per cent to $86.5m (£65.9m) as the company responded to increased regulation and refocused its marketing to the highest return-generating areas. Read more: Shares [...]
Sainsbury’s-Asda merger will impact competition in 463 local areas, competition watchdog warns September 27, 2018 The UK competition authority today warned the mega merger between Asda and Sainsbury's could Seriously lessen competition in 463 local areas across the country. To solve the issue, the new business may have to sell off hundreds of the overlapping stores. Last week, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its concerns around the merger were [...]
Chained to its rival? Halfords swoops in for embattled bike chain Evans Cycles September 27, 2018 Britain’s largest bike chain Halfords is in talks to rescue its beleaguered rival Evans Cycles, according to Sky News late last night. Halfords is understood to be one of several parties which have shown interest in buying Evans, which has hurried up the bidding process in an effort to avoid collapse. The news comes [...]
Tui avoids market turbulence to fly through summer despite UK heatwave September 27, 2018 Tui has avoided the market turbulence caused by the UK heatwave and flown through the summer with customer volumes up 4 per cent. The travel group said it expected a fourth consecutive year of double digit growth ahead of its full year results in December, re-iterating its 10 per cent growth guidance. Earlier this week [...]
H&M revenues bounce after online focus, but logistics system dampens profits September 27, 2018 Swedish fashion brand H&M posted bumper revenues for the nine months to the end of August this morning, as third-quarter sales climbed amid the retailer’s efforts to ramp up its online shopping operations in the wake of persistent high street troubles. Revenues in the third quarter of 2018 climbed nine per cent to Skr64.8bn [...]
Saga’s voyage of recovery interrupted by declining profits September 27, 2018 Retirement insurance and travel firm Saga this morning said it was making strong progress on its recovery despite reporting declining underlying before-tax profit. Underlying profit at the firm dropped 3.7 per cent to £106.8m – which was due to Saga investing heavily in its business and marketing, chief exec Lance Batchelor told Morning Wire The firm's [...]
Women’s fashion retailer Bonmarché shares collapse as it warns on profits September 27, 2018 Women's fashion retailer Bonmarché's shares plunged 20 per cent in early morning trading after issuing a profit warning today, blaming weak high street demand and a lack of footfall. The company said its online sales continued to grow strongly but that sales in store have dipped in recent months. Underlying profits for the full [...]
Retail sales growth slumps after bumper summer September 26, 2018 UK retail sales growth slumped slightly this month after a strong summer, according to the latest statistics. The Confederation of British Industry's (CBI) retail sales gauge fell to +23 in September from +29 in August. Read more: Online retail to be Next's summertime saviour as hot weather boosts sales Department store, footwear and leather, chemists [...]
Industry groups call on World Health Organisation to change stance on vaping September 26, 2018 An international coalition of vaping industry groups has called on the World Health Organisation (WHO) to reform its stance on vaping regulation. Vaping advocacy groups from sixteen countries have called on the public health agency to reverse its stance that members states could ban vaping products outright as part of a tobacco control plan. Lead [...]