The Body Shop owners sell ‘avant-garde’ skincare brand Aesop to L’Oréal for £2.5bn April 4, 2023 L’Oreal has agreed to buy Australian skin care brand Aesop for $2.5bn (£2bn). The French cosmetics giant snapped up the brand from Natura &Co – owners of British retailer The Body Shop. Since its formation over 30 years ago, Aesop has grown greatly in popularity and is most known for its hand soaps and body [...]
‘Worse than the pandemic’: Pub bodies warn of closures as energy bills relief scheme ends April 4, 2023 Hospitality bodies have warned that business failure is worse now than it was during the pandemic as the sector braces itself for the first month of trading following the end of the government’s energy bill relief scheme. “We’re seeing an acceleration of business failure which is now worse than the pandemic,” Emma McClarkin, chief executive [...]
Every little helps: Loyalty cards determining over half of Brits’ shopping choices amid cost of living crisis April 4, 2023 Some 54 per cent of Brits said that price discounts via loyalty cards were most likely to encourage them to buy a product as the cost of living crisis spurs shoppers to hunt for the best bargains. According to data by NIQ, a further 35 per cent of consumers said that a ‘special price discount’ [...]
John Lewis wins sneezing dragon High Court battle after judge dismisses author’s claim April 3, 2023 John Lewis has been found not to have infringed the copyright of a children’s author who claimed it had copied one of her designs in its Christmas advertisement. Fay Evans, 49, from Macclesfield, Cheshire claimed the department store had copied parts of her book ‘Fred The Fire-Sneezing Dragon’ in its ‘Excitable Edgar’ Christmas advert which [...]
How Aldi boss intends to see off supermarket rivals and bring discount store within reach of all UK shoppers April 3, 2023 Aldi will not stop the “relentless” roll out of its value supermarkets across the UK, despite attempts by rival supermarkets to scupper its growth, its chief executive has said. Giles Hurley, the head of UK and Ireland operations for the German discounter, told The Telegraph that they are going to bring stores within easy reach [...]
Curtain call? Cineworld shares plunge 20 per cent after failing to find buyer for UK, US and European arms April 3, 2023 Shares in Cineworld plunged 20 per cent this morning after the beleaguered entertainment chain was forced to drop the sale process in its US, UK and Ireland businesses after it failed to find a buyer. The cinema operator, which was hit hard by the fall out from Covid-19, revealed it will be taken over by [...]
Recession fears see Brits stock up on own-brand kitchen staples April 3, 2023 THE COST of living crisis is beginning to be felt in the pockets of ordinary punters – with more than one in three turning towards own brand products to keep the kitchen cupboard stocked. New research from KPMG suggests more than half of UK consumers have reduced ‘non-essential’ spending amid recession fears, with eating out top of [...]
James Watt: I want to help young entrepreneurs learn from Brewdog mistakes April 3, 2023 Most public figures who have found themselves embroiled in the number of scandals that James Watt, the chief executive of craft beer firm BrewDog, has managed would by now surely have retreated from the public spotlight. However, that is not Watt’s style. The outspoken founder of the Punk IPA brand is once again generating his [...]
Banks, inflation, recession, gold AND Ocado: Five lessons the markets taught us this week March 31, 2023 It’s spring. The days are longer, the sun is shining, and fears about the imminent implosion of the global financial system are fading, for now anyway. Markets appeared to calm down after several weeks of banking-related aftershocks and both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 were on course to end the week on a positive [...]
Moonpig shrugs off Royal Mail strikes to hold on to post pandemic loyalty March 30, 2023 Moonpig has reported its largest ever week of sales in the UK thanks to consumers scrambling for Mother’s Day cards. The listed retailer, which allows shoppers to personalise cards and gifts, said it now expects annual revenue for the year ending 30 April to remain at £320m, despite previously warning that Royal Mail strikes had [...]