Amazon makes major U-turn by shutting all book stores and physical shops in UK March 6, 2022 E-commerce giant Amazon has said it is planning to shut all of its book stores as well as its other brick-and-mortar shops and pop-up stores in the UK and US. The shock announcement to close down all 68 book stores, as well as shops that offer toys and home goods in Britain and the US, [...]
Discount retailers benefit from cost of living crunch as shoppers head to Aldi and Lidl March 1, 2022 Grocery price inflation hit a new high of 4.3 per cent last month, with budget supermarkets luring shoppers in as the cost of living intensifies. Fresh data from Kantar reveals the fastest rate of inflation since September 2013, with the exception of the start of the pandemic when households panic bought essentials. Aldi and Lidl [...]
CEOs plot acquisition spree as UK recaptures global attention September 14, 2021 With AA motoring group, Asda, Morrisons and Stock Spirits taken over by private equity firms such as CVC, the UK market has recaptured the globe’s attention, having seen an unprecedented wave of deals. Stemming from initial undervaluations due to Covid-19 and Brexit, on average, UK companies were being undervalued by around 30 per cent, according to recent data from Schroders. [...]
LIV Golf Invitational Series: All you need to know about the new Saudi-backed £200m circuit June 7, 2022 There is a lot that is new at the LIV Golf Invitational Series, which starts at Centurion Club near London this week, from the 54-hole format to the combination of team and individual scoring. But that is the tip of the iceberg, with much more profound changes to the way golf is played and watched [...]
Australian prime minister blasts ‘arrogant’ Facebook over news ban February 18, 2021 Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has hit back at Facebook over its decision to block news in the country, saying the company’s actions were “as arrogant as they were disappointing”. The social media site last night cut off access to news pages and links in Australia in retaliation to draft new laws that would force [...]
Food sector boss warns of permanent shortages in restaurants and shops September 10, 2021 Shoppers in the UK should expect permanent shortages of products now, according to a food and drink industry leader. The food and drink sector was short of around half a million workers, CEO of the Food & Drink Federation, Ian Wright, told the Institute for Government’s panel on supply chain disruption. The nation would not [...]
Wanted Down Under: UK signs Australia free-trade deal June 15, 2021 The UK and Australia have struck a trade deal that will see a gradual wind-down of tariffs between the two countries and opens up new work visas for youngsters. PM Boris Johnson and his Aussie equivalent Scott Morrison sealed the deal over a Downing street dinner of Scottish smoked salmon and Welsh lamb last night. [...]
Morrisons and Amazon: Retail’s newest BFFs June 14, 2019 By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. Extending its relationship with the world’s biggest retailer is shrewd business by Morrisons’ CEO. The quiet revolution at Morrisons (LSE:MRW) under chief executive David Potts continues to impress after the supermarket chain extended its partnership with online giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). Whereas its rivals have looked to grow through consolidation – with Tesco (LSE:TSCO) buying Booker and Sainsbury’s (LSE:SBRY) trying to [...]
Speed shopping: Food delivery space in frenzy as well-funded newcomers eye Deliveroo’s market share June 9, 2021 Getir has become the latest in a raft of fast-growing grocery delivery operators to raise bumper cash injections to fuel ambitious growth plans. The Turkey-based company, which said it can deliver to customers in as little as 10 minutes and launched in the UK in January, secured almost £400m in investment last week, taking its [...]
Big Tobacco’s takeover of Vectura shows the holes on our Companies Act September 17, 2021 There’s little dispute that companies ought to aim to return money to shareholders. Dividends sustain our pension pots and are vital to keep our economy growing. But when this pursuit becomes single minded it fails even by its own logic. PMI’s takeover of Vectura will generate the greatest shareholder value in the short term, but [...]