DS Smith: What inflation? Amazon partner shrugs off rising costs March 10, 2022 DS Smith reported its latest results this morning, which were largely in-line with expectations. The group’s been able to fully offset rising costs with price increases and volume growth. The impact of rising energy costs has been mitigated by improved efficiency and a hedging strategy. Full year like-for-like volume growth is expected to be in [...]
Higher return rates impact Boohoo’s sales growth March 10, 2022 Boohoo said today its net sales growth in the fourth quarter of FY22 was impacted by Brits’ post-pandemic ‘buy before you try attitude’ . The company explained that the higher rate of items returned was due to changing consumption patterns, as people shifted from buying more ‘athleisure’ during the pandemic to mixing it up with [...]
London a £106bn key driver of surging global online sales in wake of pandemic March 10, 2022 London was at the forefront of soaring global online shopping, with record-breaking investment in the capital last year. As the world emerged from the pandemic, retailers took in more than $140bn (£106bn) from web-based sales in 2021 – more than double the previous year. Following numerous lockdowns which led to a spike in virtual shopping, [...]
Staff at John Lewis to share £46m bonus pot after profits rebound by nearly 40 per cent March 10, 2022 Staff at the John Lewis Partnership will share a £46m bonus pot after the retail giant saw underlying annual profits rebound by 38 per cent. The group, which also owns upmarket supermarket chain Waitrose, said it will pay a bonus of 3% to its employees, or one-and-a-half weeks’ pay, and increase wages by 2 per [...]
Lettings head at Foxtons joins rapidly-growing Lomond Group to lead entry into London market March 9, 2022 Ed Phillips will leave his position to become the new group CEO at the Lomond Group, as the latter builds on a busy 12 months that included 25 key acquisitions.
Exclusive: Top UK, German and Belgian retail bosses planning to launch more embedded finance schemes March 9, 2022 More than 50 per cent of top European business leaders are looking to launch more embedded finance schemes, a survey has revealed. An independent poll of 753 bosses in retail and eCommerce companies spanning the UK, Germany and Belgium, indicated most would back such initiatives – which integrate financial services in non-financial companies. The survey, [...]
McDonald’s and Unilever cut ties with Russia after boycott calls March 8, 2022 Fast food titan McDonald’s has announced the temporary closure of its Russian venues while Unilever also said it would suspend operations. The announcements come after social media users had called for boycotts of companies refusing to cut ties with the country in recent weeks. McDonald’s said it would be pausing operations in Russia amid the [...]
‘Challenges and difficulties’ remain for Boohoo in fight against unethical supply chain measures March 8, 2022 “Challenges and difficulties” remain at Boohoo, according to Sir Brian Leveson’s final report after the fast fashion firm’s supply chain scandal. The retailer launched a review programme after reports of neglect and underpayment of warehouse workers in Leicester during the Covid lockdown in 2020. Leveson was brought on board to oversee Boohoo’s Agenda For Change [...]
Greggs full-year sales surpass pre-Covid levels as analysts caution price rises March 8, 2022 Greggs full-year sales have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, as the bakery chain restarts its colleague profit-sharing scheme, which will see £16.6m shared with staff. Total sales rose 5.3 per cent to £1.2bn, in comparison with 2019’s figure of £1.1bn, preliminary results for the year to 1 January revealed this morning. It comes as the bakery chain rewards [...]
Michael Kors CEO exits after six months at fashion giant March 8, 2022 The chief executive of Michael Kors is set to step down after just six months in the role. Joshua Schulman was anticipated to succeed John Idol as chief executive of the fashion brand’s parent company Capri Holdings next autumn. A reason was not provided for the exit but Capri Holdings have said Idol will stay [...]