DEBATE: With Nike coming up with new self-lacing trainers, is this really a good use of tech talent? January 17, 2019 With Nike coming up with new self-lacing trainers, is this really a good use of tech talent? Rowan Kisby, strategy director at digital transformation agency MullenLowe Profero, says YES. This is a much more interesting story than simply the link to those Nike shoes worn in the 1989 Back To The Future sequel. Because this [...]
Focus on: Living by the River Thames September 13, 2019 Every September, the River Thames plays host to the Totally Thames festival; a month-long event which sees it taken over by art installations, history tours and performances. It’s a chance for Londoners to reconnect with the body of water that provides the backdrop to our daily lives, and make the most of some of the [...]
Perched at the top of Courchevel 1850, the ski resort of L’Apogee boasts Michelin stars, Himalayan salt saunas and five-star skiing March 4, 2019 It’s time to join the Russian oligarchs and ladies-who-lunch (on €250 truffle risotto) in the French Alps’ most-exclusive resort, Courchevel. This is a long weekend skiing done right – hundreds of kilometres of piste, ski-in-ski-out hotel accommodation and beyond-5-star luxury in the snow-clad epicentre of 5-star luxury. The stay: Perched at the top of Courchevel [...]
Philip Day steps back from race to buy collapsed high street shoe store LK Bennett March 31, 2019 Philip Day, the billionaire owner of retailer Edinburgh Woolen Mill, has removed himself from the competition to buy collapsed shoe seller LK Bennett. The retail tycoon had lodged a bid with administrators at EY, joining Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley, as well as Chinese fashion entrepreneur Rebecca Feng and former LK Bennett chief executive Darren [...]
Premier League betting tips: Liverpool strikers can profit fromCottagers’ leaky defence March 14, 2019 IT’S BEEN a near perfect week for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool. A potentially tricky fixture with Burnley in the Premier League last Sunday was taken care of without too much bother and then a brilliant away performance in Munich saw the Reds through to the Champions League quarter-finals. While they are by no means firing [...]
WH Smith is the UK’s worst high street store, say shoppers May 29, 2019 WH Smith is the worst of all UK high street stores, according to a survey of British shoppers published today. Read more: Ranked: The top 15 retailers to work for The stationery provider got the worst rating of 100 retailers, with just 50 per cent of customers expressing satisfaction based on factors such as quality of [...]
Hotel Review: The Cary Arms & Spa in Torquay is a highlight of the Devon coastline June 10, 2019 Whatever they paid the marketing wizard who rebranded Torbay as the ‘English Riviera’ – where the Cary Arms & Spa resides – it wasn’t nearly enough. The name evokes images of sun-beaten beaches lined with palm trees swaying in the hot afternoon sun. Of ice creams melting down sticky hands, thick paperbacks with broken spines [...]
Showstopper! is an improvised musical of fast thinking comedians and off-the-cuff tunes January 24, 2019 The premise of Showstopper! seems almost impossible to pull off. Each night an improv comedy troupe creates a brand new musical from scratch, taking audience suggestions for settings, plot points and style. But they’ve been pulling it off for more than 11 years and 1,000 shows, spawning such spontaneous one-offs as Sinky Boots (set aboard [...]
Iceland to fight £21m claim that it pays staff less than the national minimum wage January 2, 2019 Iceland could be hit with a £21m fine after HM Revenue and Customs ruled that its Christmas savings scheme technically results in staff being paid less than the national minimum wage. The supermarket disputes the finding, which relates to a scheme whereby the company allows employees to voluntarily set aside money from their weekly wages over [...]
Unilever swallows healthy food startup Graze February 5, 2019 Retail giant Unilever has agreed a deal to buy UK healthy snacks firm Graze at a reported valuation of £150m. Founded in 2008, the brand had raised just £2m from London investors Octopus Ventures and Draper Esprit before being acquired by US buyout group Carlyle in 2012. The bidding war for Graze had garnered interest from [...]