Robinsons owner Britvic sees revenues rocket as UK restrictions ease July 22, 2021 Britvic, which owns Robinsons and Tango, has seen its revenues surge since restrictions eased as the soft drinks retailer was hit hard by hospitality closures. Revenue at the company shot up 22.8 per cent to £384.8m in its third-quarter trading, as it said revenue has grown across all its units. In total, however, the company’s [...]
Government monitoring ‘concerning’ supermarket shortages caused by ‘pingdemic’ July 22, 2021 Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has said he is “monitoring” the growing supermarket shortages caused by workers being forced to self-isolate as Covid cases surge. Pictures of empty shelves circulated across social media last night, leading supermarkets to apologise for the Test and Trace-caused shortages. More than 600,000 people have been told to self-isolate by the [...]
Food supply chains ‘on edge of failing’, meat industry warns July 21, 2021 The country’s food supply chains are “on the edge of failing” as the so-called “pingdemic” aggravates a critical shortage of labour, a sector body said tonight. The British Meat Processors’ Association (BMPA) said the shortage of skills was so critical, some plants had reported vacancies of 10 per cent to 16 per cent of permanent [...]
Not amused: Loungers chief calls govt Covid-19 messaging ‘shambolic’ July 21, 2021 The boss of bar and restaurant group Loungers has labelled the Government’s recent messaging around Covid-19 rules as “absolutely shambolic” and described Covid passports as “unworkable” for the hospitality sector. Nick Collins, chief executive of the 175-site business, said that he “can’t imagine a scenario” where Covid certification would be necessary for his customers. It [...]
Glastonbury scraps plan for one-day September festival July 21, 2021 Glastonbury has ditched plans to hold a one-day event in September, the festival’s organisers have announced. Earlier this year Mendip district council granted a licence application for a one-off show with a maximum capacity of 50,000 people – a quarter of the festival’s usual capacity. But in a post on Instagram organiser Emily Eavis said [...]
Online shopping frenzy to drive Royal Mail parcel volumes beyond pre-Covid levels July 21, 2021 Royal Mail has seen early signs that domestic parcel volumes are re-basing at a higher level than pre-pandemic as consumers continue to be gripped by an online shopping frenzy. Domestic parcel volumes have swelled by more than a third in comparison with pre-Covid levels, in the three months to June 2021. But compared with levels [...]
Next ups full-year forecasts as heatwave spurs Brits to summer shop July 21, 2021 British retailer Next is upping its full-year financial forecasts as consumers have flocked to stores in recent weeks to get their hands on clothing fit for the UK’s heatwave. The rosy outlook stoked confidence in investors as its shares rocketed in its early trading and held up highs of 8.2 per cent in the afternoon, [...]
Vimto popularity helps producer Nichols triple half-year profits July 21, 2021 Sales of the drink Vimto, which is popular in the UK, the Middle East and Africa, grew by more than 42 per cent, Nichols said today. In fact, the popularity of Vimto helped its producer nearly triple its half-year profits in the first six months of 2021. In Africa, Vimto sales grew by close to [...]
Summer DIY builds up Wickes sales above pre-pandemic levels July 21, 2021 Supply store Wickes has seen like-for-like growth lift more than 22 per cent on pre-pandemic levels, as the UK’s warm weather pushes DIY’s lockdown momentum to continue. The Watford-headquartered retailer said that its sales lift in the 26 weeks to 26 June was driven by DIY and local trade. Physicals sales were up 33.1 per [...]
‘I told staff to delete the app’: Hospitality reacts to pingdemic crisis July 20, 2021 While the government was hailing the arrival of so-called “freedom day” yesterday, the threat of rising Covid cases and the “pingdemic” forcing staff to self isolate has left the beleaguered hospitality industry with little to celebrate. One restaurateur told City A.M: “Our ability to operate hangs in the balance by some fairly crude geolocation tech”, [...]