Fraud squad eyes end of Tesco investigation November 13, 2016 The fraud squad is expected to announce within weeks what its next steps for Tesco will be, as it wraps up its investigation into the black hole in the retailer's accounts. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) launched its probe into the supermarket giant's accounting practices in October 2014, and brought charges against three individuals, Carl Rogberg, [...]
How did this unknown Spanish lottery video win the Christmas advert battle of 2015, giving Mog and Man on the Moon a run for their money? November 23, 2015 Move over John Lewis and Sainsbury’s, a new Christmas contender in the festive ad race has emerged. And it has come from the most unlikeliest of places – the Spanish Lottery. “Justino” is a beautiful animated ad which in a week has overtaken a number of leading British brands to become the third most shared [...]
The death of Aim: Can equity crowdfunding eclipse the LSE’s junior market? April 28, 2016 The alternative finance market enjoyed near triple-digit growth last year, with the value of its loans, investments and donations hitting £3.2bn. Within this, the main sub-sectors of peer-to-peer lending and equity crowdfunding significantly increased awareness of the concept of lending directly to individuals – excluding those entities like the banks which have for too long dominated markets [...]
Yorkshire Tea makes for a Brand new firm on list January 13, 2016 It’s that time of the year again. YouGov has published its BrandIndex Buzz score rankings for 2015, and for the second year in succession Aldi and Lidl are the brands with the greatest score. This is whether a respondent has heard something positive or negative about a brand in the last two weeks. The German [...]
Robert Dyas Christmas advert wins weirdest ad of 2015 for “we’re gay, straight and bi” YouTube video December 13, 2015 We've had John Lewis's Christmas advert bonanza, then the Man on the Moon spoof (from Aldi, who else), as well as the curveball surprise hit of the Christmas ad season (a Spanish lottery ad, if you missed it). Now, we have the winner of the title for weirdest ad of the year (and not just Christmas). Of [...]
Sainsbury’s Christmas advert 2015: Has Mog The Cat just won Christmas for the supermarket? November 13, 2015 Oh Mog, have you just won Christmas for Sainsbury's? It's certainly possible, with a fun, heartwarming ad that will appeal to both the young and the old. This year's commercial is certainly a bold departure from last year's sombre tone. Once again, tying its campaign to a good cause (on this occasion, Save the Children, [...]
Retailers sound alarm bells after one of toughest Christmas periods on record January 13, 2016 UK retailers have suffered one of their worst Christmas trading periods on record, according to new research showing a surge in the number of companies struggling to make ends meet. Turnaround specialist Begbies Traynor said 26,013 UK retailers entered the year in significant financial distress – nearly double the amount recorded in the fourth quarter [...]
Tesco, Sainsbury’s and M&S are among most praised companies by NGOs but VW and Royal Dutch Shell make “naughty” list of most criticised January 18, 2016 Tesco, Sainsbury's and M&S are certainly not having the best of times on the high street these days, but there's one place their winning at least. The three are among several of the biggest global companies to make a "nice" list of companies which pressure groups and campaigners across the world, from the likes of Which? to Greenpeace, have [...]
Christmas adverts 2015: Here are some of the best spots so far from Lidl, Asda, TK Maxx, PayPal and Mulberry November 4, 2015 We're just a few days into November but the clash of Christmas retailer ads has already begun, with a plethora of festive spots being released in the last couple of days. Watch: The 2015 John Lewis Christmas advert finally released The biggies are yet to drop – most notably John Lewis, which is artfully building [...]
Cyber Monday 2015: Shoppers across the UK set to spend more than £3bn by Cyber Monday November 28, 2015 By the time Cyber Monday comes to an end shoppers around the UK are expected to have spent over £3bn, as they clutch at online deals. Analysts predict a total of £3.2bn to be spent by customers across the country this weekend – Amazon reported its biggest sales day ever in the UK yesterday, with 6m orders, according [...]