€229m drop in April: Imports from Britain to Ireland continue downward slope June 15, 2021 Irish imports from Great Britain in April decreased 20 per cent from a year ago. Imports have continually fallen since Brexit, according to a Bloomberg report. Ireland’s statistics office today reported imports from Britain fell by €229m compared with April 2020. The greatest decreases were in the imports of “Food and live animals” and “Chemicals and related products”. Goods [...]
‘West End productions cannot survive under social distancing’ warn theatres June 15, 2021 The four-week delay to easing lockdown restrictions will have “serious implications” for many theatres, with large-scale commercial productions at most serious risk, the industry has warned. On Monday evening the government postponed plans to fully re-open society on 21 June amid a sharp rise in cases of the more transmissible Delta variant, which was first [...]
Boohoo takes tough stance on suppliers following Leicester factory scandal June 15, 2021 Boohoo has taken a tough stance with its suppliers that includes removing them from the online retailer’s supply chain list if an alert is raised about them. Boohoo has set up a sub-committee of its Supply Chain Compliance Committee that will focus on the financial practices of the businesses and now requires suppliers to have [...]
Troubled hospitality operators face rent debt pile of £5bn and business rates payments June 15, 2021 Troubled hospitality operators are facing billions of pounds in rent debt and business rates payments after the Government decided not to extend financial support measures. Trade groups have called for an extension to the rent moratorium, business rates holiday and furlough support after the Prime Minister said that the further easing of lockdown restrictions will [...]
Staff crisis in hospitality: Act now or risk being the next France June 15, 2021 The hospitality sector is in the midst of a staff crisis. We always knew that staffing would be a challenge with full reopening post-Covid, that not everybody would return to work after furlough. Many of our French and Italian staff went back home during lockdown and had decided not to return to the UK or [...]
Ikea France fined €1m for spying scheme and CEO found guilty June 15, 2021 A French court has ordered Ikea to pay a fine of €1m today after the retailer was found guilty of snooping on its staff and storing illegally obtained employee data. The furniture and home furnishing giant became the focus of a criminal probe in 2012, following reports of a widespread spying scheme that was used against employees. [...]
Pints and picnics: Euros and hottest day of 2021 boost pub and food spending June 15, 2021 Euros and hottest day of the year boosts pub and retail spending
Sales at H&M soar as restrictions ease but lag behind pre-pandemic levels June 15, 2021 Sales at H&M jumped in the retailer’s second quarter of 2021, however they remained well below the pre-pandemic sales recorded during the same period in 2019. Between 1 March to 31 May 2021, net sales at the clothing retailer grew 62 per cent in the period from a year earlier, or 75 per cent measured [...]
Dead centre of town: City looks to bring new life to cemetery cafe June 14, 2021 Fancy a thriller of a business opportunity? Canada Cemetery and Crematorium is looking for a new proprietor to refurbish and operate its on-site café for visitors and mourners. With the current five-year lease coming to an end, Canada Cooperation is accepting new proposals for the Gatehouse Cafe at the [...]
Footfall shrinks despite summer sun thanks to post-Bank Holiday blues June 14, 2021 Despite the UK being blessed with summer sun, footfall across all UK retail destinations last week was 18.4 per cent below 2019 levels. Meanwhile, Greater London has been hit by a 19 per cent drop in football, in comparison to highstreets the year before the pandemic, according to retail traffic counter Springboard. But in comparison [...]