Retail news

• Aldi forecasts biggest ever Easter

  20-03-2024 22:45 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Aldi is gearing up for its “biggest and best Easter yet” and expects to sell around 20m hot cross buns and 8.6m own-label chocolate eggs over the season.
  The discounter is forecast to spend around £8m with British suppliers on hot cross buns and Easter eggs in the run-up to the holiday, as well as a further £4m on fresh meat, fish and meat-free alternatives and around £34m on British fruit and vegetables.
  It also predicts its lamb sales will rise by 900% during East
  
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• Holland & Barrett awards 9% pay boost for store workers

  20-03-2024 22:08 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Holland & Barrett is raising pay for its store workers by 9%, almost 5% higher than the new National Living Wage.
  Salaries at the health and wellbeing retailer will increase from £11.00 to £12.00, and £11.95 to £13.00 for its London-based staff.
  The new rates will start from 1 April, pushing the pay threshold to £12 an hour for store staff, an increase of 25% on two years ago.
  The pay boost comes on the back of Holland & Barrett’s growth over the
  
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• Millions of vapes could be dumped ahead of UK ban as retailers ‘fail to recycle’

  20-03-2024 19:30
  
  Nine out of ten producers and sellers do not fulfil their legal duty to help consumers dispose of e-cigarettes, study showsA quarter of a billion disposable vapes could be dumped before a ban comes in next year as most retailers are not fulfilling their legal duty to help consumers recycle them, according to new research.The not-for-profit organisation Material Focus, which conducted the research, found that more than nine out of 10 of vape producers and retailers seem not to provide or pay for
  
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• South Africa regulator levies record fine for individual against former Steinhoff chief

  20-03-2024 18:27 via ft.com
  Markus Jooste issued with $25mn penalty by financial watchdog for his role in accounting scandal
  
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• Temu-owner PDD doubles revenues to cap ‘pivotal’ year

  20-03-2024 14:21 via ft.com
  Profits at Nasdaq-listed Chinese ecommerce group soar 146% in three months to December
  
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• Aldi ‘cheapest Christmas dinner’ ad was misleading, says ASA

  20-03-2024 13:42 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Aldi’s claim that it was “the home of Britain’s cheapest Christmas dinner” has been ruled misleading, after Sainsbury’s reported it to advertising watchdog ASA
  The newspaper ad highlighted that Which? had found Aldi’s Christmas dinner was more than 20% cheaper than what was sold at Sainsbury’s. It also stated “Sainsbury’s £44.81”, “Aldi £33.80” and “Swap & Save over 20% on your Christmas dinner”.
  
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• Mike Ashley to advise model train maker Hornby

  20-03-2024 13:14 via ft.com
  Billionaire retailer’s Frasers Group recently increased its stake in toy company
  
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• Mango branded’ irresponsible’ by ASA for featuring ‘unhealthily thin’ model in ad

  20-03-2024 13:14 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  A Mango product listing featuring a model “who appeared to be unhealthily thin” has been ruled “irresponsible” by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) .
  The listing on the Spanish fashion retailer’s app, which was viewed by the ASA on 29 December 2023, was for a short sleeve sweater, featuring a model wearing the garment with their arms by their sides.
  The complainant, who believed the model appeared unhealthily thin, had challenged whether the advert was irres
  
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• Majestic in advanced talks to purchase Vagabond Wines ‘within days’

  20-03-2024 12:42 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Majestic Wine is in advanced discussions to acquire Vagabond Wines, which filed a notice of its intention to appoint administrators earlier this month.
  Majestic, which is owned by Fortress Investment Group, could strike a deal to buy the embattled chain within days, Sky News reports.
  The deal would add approximately 12 wine bars to Majestic’s portfolio, alongside an urban winery at Battersea Power Station.
  Sources close to the discussions told Sky News the two wine specialists would comple
  
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• Majestic in advanced talks to buy Vagabond Wines ‘within days’

  20-03-2024 12:42 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Majestic Wine is in advanced discussions to acquire Vagabond Wines, which filed a notice of its intention to appoint administrators earlier this month.
  Majestic, which is owned by Fortress Investment Group, could strike a deal to buy the embattled chain within days, Sky News reports.
  The deal would add approximately 12 wine bars to Majestic’s portfolio, alongside an urban winery at Battersea Power Station.
  Sources close to the discussions told Sky News the two wine specialists would comple
  
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• Kingfisher drives online growth with launch of marketplace for Castorama France

  20-03-2024 12:20 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Kingfisher has launched an online marketplace for its home improvement retailer Castorama France. The move follows the introduction and rapid growth of the group’s marketplaces at... View Article
  
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• Gucci owner Kering’s shares tumble 14% on profit warning

  20-03-2024 11:47 via ft.com
  Falling sales at flagship brand weigh on French luxury group’s outlook
  
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• Gucci owner Kering’s shares tumble 12% on profit warning

  20-03-2024 11:47 via ft.com
  Falling sales at flagship brand weigh on French luxury group’s outlook
  
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• Holland & Barrett increases staff pay to a minimum of £12 an hour

  20-03-2024 11:45 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Health and wellness retailer Holland & Barrett is to increase hourly pay for store staff by 9%. This means that store colleagues will see their rate... View Article
  
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• Kingfisher launches home improvement marketplace at French DIY giant

  20-03-2024 11:36 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Kingfisher is launching a home improvement e-commerce marketplace at Castorama France, as it continues to develop its marketplace offer.
  Castorama France will launch more than 500,000 new products from verified third-party merchants onto its e-commerce channels, marking a sevenfold rise in its product choice available for the banner’s customers.
  All third-party merchants will be selected by Castorama experts and go through a verification process to ensure they meet Castorama’s qualit
  
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• Greggs IT glitch leaves stores unable to accept payments

  20-03-2024 11:28
  
  UK bakery chain says it has now resolved tech problem, which follows McDonald’s outages and ‘issues’ at Sainsbury’sBusiness live – latest updatesBritain’s biggest bakery chain Greggs has been hit by technical problems with payments that forced some stores to close temporarily.Greggs said it had experienced issues accepting payments in some outlets on Wednesday, but my mid-morning the problems had been fixed. Continue reading...
  
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• Kering’s shares tumble on profit warning

  20-03-2024 10:51 via ft.com
  Falling Gucci sales weigh on French luxury group’s outlook
  
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• Gucci owner Kering’s shares tumble on profit warning

  20-03-2024 10:51 via ft.com
  Falling sales at flagship brand weigh on French luxury group’s outlook
  
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• Greggs shops close after IT glitch leaves stores unable to accept payments

  20-03-2024 10:34
  
  Tech problem at UK bakery chain follows McDonald’s outages and ‘issues’ at Sainsbury’s in recent daysBritain’s biggest bakery chain Greggs has been hit by technical problems with payments, and some stores have reportedly closed.Greggs said: “We are currently experiencing issues accepting payments in our shops.” It added: “We are working to resolve this as soon as possible.” Continue reading...
  
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• Online Retail Store: 6 ways to get more customers for eCommerce

  20-03-2024 09:41 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Did you know that over 30,000 businesses in the UK became insolvent in 2023? That’s a marked rise from the around 15,000 businesses in 2021, proving... View Article
  
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• Harvey Nichols to make job cuts

  20-03-2024 09:30 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Department store chain Harvey Nichols has announced a shake-up of its operations as it looks to cut costs. The move could result in the loss of... View Article
  
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• Co-op becomes latest supermarket to launch ‘Best of British’ section online

  20-03-2024 09:07 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Co-op has become the latest supermarket to launch a dedicated “Best of British” section across its website as part of its commitment to champion British sourcing and local suppliers.
  The convenience retailer’s new section features a range of 100% British products including beef, pork, chicken, fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, milk and cheese lines.
  Co-op propositions director Adele Balmforth said the pages make it “easier and quicker” for customers to buy Britis
  
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• The Body Shop urged to disclose true cost of collapse to taxpayers

  20-03-2024 08:52 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Taxpayers must be told about the true cost of the collapse of The Body Shop, MPs have urged the insolvency watchdog
  The moves comes after The Telegraph revealed that taxpayers will be responsible for shouldering the redundancy costs of hundreds of sacked employees last month.
  Around 500 roles have been axed since The Body Shop’s collapse, with affected workers being told to make claims through the Government-backed redundancy payments service – which is funded using National Insuranc
  
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• The Body Shop must disclose cost of collapse to taxpayers, urge MPs

  20-03-2024 08:52 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  MPs have urged the insolvency watchdog to reveal the cost of The Body Shop’s collapse to taxpayers.
  The moves comes after The Telegraph revealed that taxpayers will be responsible for shouldering the redundancy costs of hundreds of sacked employees last month.
  Around 500 roles have been axed since The Body Shop’s collapse, with affected workers being told to make claims through the Government-backed redundancy payments service – which is funded using National Insurance contribu
  
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• The Body Shop: Cost of collapse must be disclosed, urge MPs

  20-03-2024 08:52 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  MPs have urged the insolvency watchdog to reveal the cost of The Body Shop’s collapse to taxpayers.
  The moves comes after The Telegraph revealed that taxpayers will be responsible for shouldering the redundancy costs of hundreds of sacked employees last month.
  Around 500 roles have been axed since The Body Shop’s collapse, with affected workers being told to make claims through the Government-backed redundancy payments service – which is funded using National Insurance contribu
  
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• Harvey Nichols staff face redundancies as it eyes return to profitability

  20-03-2024 08:28 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Harvey Nichols’ support team faces impending redundancies as the business works on returning to profitability.
  The layoffs are set to hit 60 staff – amounting to less than 5% of the luxury department store retailer’s overall employee base.
  According to Drapers, the cuts will impact the retailer’s support team in what it called a “reorganisation” of the business to support future growth, streamline its operating model and boost operational efficiencies.
  A colle
  
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• Shrinkflation: hot cross buns, chips and cereals among products being downsized for the same price, Choice report finds

  20-03-2024 08:15
  
  Australian supermarkets blame hidden price hikes on changing manufacturing facilities, shortages of raw materials and rising supplier costsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastHot cross buns, chips and breakfast cereals are being downsized even as supermarkets retain or lift prices for the shrunken products, new research shows.The practice, known as “shrinkflation”, reduces costs for producers b
  
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• Ted Baker to appoint administrators

  20-03-2024 07:57 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Ted Baker’s UK and European retail and online arm is to appoint administrators. The fashion retailer’s parent company Authentic Brands Group said an independent director at... View Article
  
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• Kontoor Brands appoints Tom Waldron as sole chief operating officer

  20-03-2024 07:43 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Kontoor Brands, the parent company of Wrangler and Lee, has named Tom Waldron as its sole chief operating officer. He had previously shared the position with... View Article
  
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• Tumi appoints new VP for Asia Pacific and Middle East

  20-03-2024 07:42 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  The Tumi travel accessories brand has appointed Aris Maroulis as its new vice president for its Asia Pacific and Middle East region. With 25 years’ experience... View Article
  
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• Co-op introduces “Best of British” section online

  20-03-2024 07:40 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Co-op has introduced a dedicated “Best of British” section across its online delivery website as part of its commitment to British sourcing. The convenience retailer has... View Article
  
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• [Interview] A day in the life… Paul Mansell, Head of Property. The Perfume Shop

  20-03-2024 06:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Meet Paul, the Head of Property at The Perfume Shop, who orchestrates the brand’s expansive property portfolio. In this interview, Paul shares insights into his daily... View Article
  
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