What does the Al-Fayed case mean for employers? Opinion The allegations against Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed are particularly egregious, but they could have lasting ramifications for employment law, explains Dan Parker The maelstrom of recent allegations of sexual harassment emerging from Mohamed Al-Fayed‘s ownership of Harrods is deeply concerning. On one hand, the task of reckoning with these allegations is likely to be enormous [...]
Mark Kleinman: Thames needs to clear murky waters to restore credibility Business Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and is the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. This week he tackles resetting Reeves, Thames Water and challenges for challenger banks Reeves’s post-reset reset may need new faces at City regulators How about a post-reset reset? Such has been the turbulence of Labour’s [...]
Knoops: Boss reveals plans to become £4bn global giant Business The boss of Knoops has outlined his plans to the grow drinking chocolate chain into a $5bn (£3.9bn) giant with at least 3,000 stores across the world. William Gordon-Harris, who is both the chairman and chief executive of the London-headquartered business, said his revenue target is “readily achievable” when each of its hoped-for stores hit [...]
Harrods faces major Christmas strike as staff demand inflation-busting festive bonus November 11, 2024 London’s iconic department store Harrods is facing the prospect of major strike action by its staff over the critical Christmas period. Hundreds of staff, who are members of the United Voices of the World (UVW) union, will vote on strike action in December over what they have described as “poor working conditions” and their festive [...]
Labour’s ‘growth’ agenda already looks like a bad joke November 7, 2024 Well, that didn’t take long to unravel: the first Labour Budget for nearly 15 years, and the first ever by a female chancellor, saw the parallels with Kwasi Kwarteng’s infamous 2022 mini-Budget emerging within hours. The comparison was misguided, although the jittery reaction of financial investors and rise in government funding costs told its own [...]
What to wash your Halloween haul down with October 29, 2024 Never has there been a festival so associated with sweet treats as Halloween and now is the time to stock up for trick-or-treaters. Whether clearing the leftovers or raiding your child’s haul there is a way to make the experience even better with a glass of the good stuff. Chocolate I tend to go with [...]
Fenwick: John Lewis rival slumps into the red and cuts jobs October 15, 2024 Department store chain Fenwick slumped back into the red and cut jobs as it battled the cost-of-living crisis and a “changing retail environment”. The Newcastle-headquartered business has reported a pre-tax loss of £28.3m for the year to 26 January, 2024, having previously made a pre-tax profit of £57.1m in the prior 12 months. Newly-filed accounts [...]
Three recessions, two children and a pandemic later – my fine jewellery brand still shines on October 14, 2024 Kiki McDonough chats through four decades of her award-winning fine jewellery business
Pasta Evangelists: From ‘pasta le disaster’ to £40m turnover October 9, 2024 After conquering London's pasta takeaway scene, Pasta Evangelists has set its sights on the restaurant industry.
Wedgwood owner slumps to loss despite strong Harrods and Selfridges sales October 7, 2024 The owner of historic fine china and porcelain brand Wedgwood has slumped into the red despite strong sales through Harrods and Selfridges. Fiskars UK, which is based in Stoke-on-Trent, is also behind the Waterford, Royal Doulton and Royal Albert brands. Newly-filed accounts with Companies House have revealed that the business fell to a pre-tax loss [...]