Brazil may be out of the World Cup, but there are reasons to be cheerful July 9, 2014 They may have been humiliated at the World Cup, but culturally, Brazilians still have plenty to be proud of You could be forgiven for thinking the only things that had ever taken place during centuries of Brazilian history were five World Cup wins, Pele and samba. But 200 million people live in Brazil, and believe [...]
Amazon ready for busy Xmas September 24, 2013 ONLINE giant Amazon said yesterday it plans to hire 15,000 seasonal staff across its UK fulfilment and customer service centres, as it gears up to meet demand this Christmas. Last year the group hired 10,000 temporary staff across its eight UK warehouses and Edinburgh call centre, offering permanent roles to 1,000 of the staff at [...]
Royal Mail relief as shareholder revolt is averted July 24, 2014 ROYAL Mail chief Moya Greene’s £1.35m pay package was overwhelmingly approved yesterday as a threatened shareholder revolt failed to materialise at its annual general meeting (AGM) in Birmingham. The letter and parcel delivery company, controversially privatised last October, saw all resolutions at the sparsely attended AGM passed by well over 90 per cent, with only [...]
Amazon hits 15 years of British online business October 14, 2013 AMAZON UK celebrates its 15th birthday today, with its British operations having run since 1998. Amazon has seen dramatic growth in its 15 years with revenue growing from $293,643 (£183,662) in its first quarter of 1999, after launching in the UK, to highs of $15.7bn last quarter. Despite Amazon’s record growth, its earnings are harder [...]
Argos offers eBay pickup with click and collect partnership July 3, 2014 Buyers of eBay items will be able to collect more of their goods at Argos stores, after the two companies announced yesterday that they would be significantly expanding their click and collect partnership as the service is rolled out across the UK. The deal will see the click and collect service extended to around 650 [...]
Regulator welcomes end of Amazon’s “price parity” rule August 29, 2013 The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has welcomed a decision by online giant Amazon to end its price parity policy (release). Amazon's policy had prohibited sellers on its platform from offering the same goods elsewhere at lower cost. Here's how Amazon describe it: Price parity generally means that the price of each product you list [...]
France passes anti-Amazon bookshop law October 3, 2013 THE FRENCH government yesterday banned websites from offering free postage in conjunction with discounts on books, in a direct attack on Amazon’s dominance of the market. The move is designed to boost France’s independent bookshops, who claim they cannot compete with the cheap prices and swift delivery offered by their much larger US rival. “The [book pricing] law [...]
Unanimous approval on French “anti-Amazon” bill October 3, 2013 A unanimous decision has been taken by French lawmakers to approve a bill designed to safeguard small bookstores against powerful online competitors. The bill will restrict retailers like Amazon from combining offers of up to five per cent discounts with free deliveries. It was was proposed by the opposition party UMP, but had all-round support, [...]
Blackberry share price up on near return to profit June 19, 2014 Blackberry has moved a step closer to profit today, posting a smaller than expected loss as it begins to the feel the effects of cost-cutting measures. In early trading shares of the troubled smartphone maker gained 10 per cent on the news that pre-tax losses have been reduced from $557m in the previous quarter to $6m. [...]
Atos makes IT tie-up with Bull May 27, 2014 French IT group Atos is to buy Bull in a deal worth €620m (£502.2m) to create the biggest Europe-based cloud computing company and a major player in cybersecurity. The companies said the combined company would be second only to Amazon in global cloud computing revenues. Atos has offered €4.90 per share for Bull, or 30 [...]