There’s an easy way to beat festive overindulgence, but you won’t like it November 11, 2016 It’s nearly Christmas, and what with all the office party canapes, festive drinking and eating out, we’re likely to be consuming more than usual. Overeating at Christmas is as certain as turkey sandwiches and the new John Lewis advert. But now new research has emerged showing all the harm of a week of binge eating can [...]
Have yourself an analogue Christmas: Vinyl outsold digital downloads for the first time last week December 6, 2016 It's going to be a crackly, scratchy sort of Christmas this year, after new figures showed sales of vinyl outstripped those of downloaded music for the first time since the advent of digital downloads last week. The Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) said £2.4m was spent on vinyl albums in week 48 of 2016, compared with £2.1m [...]
Retailers’ share prices stung by the rise in the national living wage in the Autumn Statement November 23, 2016 Retailer's share prices are suffering this afternoon after chancellor Philip Hammond said the national living wage would rise in April next year. The national living wage hourly rate will increase from £7.20 an hour £7.50 an hour in 2017, Hammond said. Read more: The National Living Wage is going up again next April The change [...]
Bovis Homes on track to deliver record revenues despite Brexit blip November 10, 2016 Housebuilder Bovis Homes said today that it's on track to meet expectations of revenue and profit growth for the year, despite uncertainty in the market following the EU referendum. The group said that aside from the weeks immediately after the UK's vote to leave the EU, sales during the year to date have followed a normal [...]
M&S to close dozens of stores November 4, 2016 Marks & Spencer will be closing dozens of UK stores and will cut its clothing offer in others, it's been claimed. Following reports from Bloomberg that M&S will be closing its Paris store and shops in China, Sky News has said that M&S boss Steve Rowe will announce UK store closures next week. It is expected that [...]
New Ukip leader Paul Nuttall is mulling a bid to snatch Andy Burnham’s Greater Manchester constituency next year December 4, 2016 Newly-elected Ukip leader Paul Nuttall is mulling a bid for the constituency of Labour's Andy Burnham in an effort to enter the House of Commons. Burnham is due to step down as a Leigh MP next year to fight for the mayoralty of Greater Manchester, and Nuttall is considering a battle to steal the seat from [...]
John Lewis sets the bar for Christmas trading with healthy 2.3 per cent growth in festive week December 31, 2015 The high street can breathe a sigh of relief if bellwether John Lewis is anything to go by: sales at the department store during Christmas week were up a healthy 2.3 per cent on 2014. The retailer, which last year celebrated its 150th anniversary, posted sales of £129.2m in the week to 26 December. The shopping [...]
High street footfall increased as consumers looked to do more than shop on Black Friday November 27, 2016 High street footfall had a shocking Black Friday comeback as British consumers looked for an "experience" with their shopping trip, new research suggests. Online sales fell well below expectations, increasing just 6.7 per cent and failing to meet both the forecast of 25 per cent and the 31 per cent rise in 2015. At the same time, high street footfall was [...]
Former Tesco (TSCO) executives set to appear in UK court on fraud charges September 3, 2017 Three former Tesco executives will appear in court tomorrow, charged with fraud relating to the supermarket’s 2014 accounting scandal. The three men were charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) last September, and pleaded not guilty to the charges at a hearing at the beginning of August. Read more: Co-op’s the latest supermarket to drop [...]
Is the John Lewis Christmas advert never knowingly over commercial? November 11, 2015 Christmas comes but once a year – as does John Lewis’ much-heralded festive TV ad campaign. And, regular as clockwork, its Man on the Moon ad was released on Friday as part of the retailer’s £7m campaign. As usual, it’s a heart-warming story played out over a now customary cover of a classic song, Oasis’ [...]