Retail news

• Kroger-Albertsons’ merger trial raises questions over US shopping habits

  27-08-2024 20:16
  
  Consumer and worker benefit questioned in largest US supermarket merger in history
  
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• Next store staff win six-year equal pay fight

  27-08-2024 17:24
  
  Tribunal ruling will be watched by supermarkets facing similar legal challenges
  
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• Pound hits two-year high against US dollar; White House ‘pressured’ Facebook on Covid-19 content – as it happened

  27-08-2024 15:58
  
  Live coverage of business, economics and financial markets as Federal Reserve rate cuts drive US dollar lowerMeta boss Mark Zuckerberg has said the US government under Joe Biden put pressure on the Facebook social network to “censor certain Covid-19 content” during the coronavirus pandemic.Zuckerberg said that “senior officials” from the White House “repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain Covid-19 content, including humour and satire”, in
  
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• Ocado hails ‘exciting moment’ as delayed Australian fulfilment centres open

  27-08-2024 14:47 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Ocado has opened two fulfilment centres in Australia as part of its 2019 deal with retail chain Coles.The online grocer’s customer fulfilment centres (CFCs), which became operational last month, were originally set to open at the end of 2023 but were hit by construction problems. They will serve Australia’s two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne.
  Ocado said it will help Coles enhance customer service across both areas, and by the end of December, it will transition next-day home d
  
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• Mark Zuckerberg says White House pressured Facebook on Covid-19 content; Ryanair says fare declines ‘levelled off’ – business live

  27-08-2024 12:42
  
  Live coverage of business, economics and financial markets as Meta boss said US government asked Facebook to ‘censor’ pandemic-related contentMeta boss Mark Zuckerberg has said the US government under Joe Biden put pressure on the Facebook social network to “censor certain Covid-19 content” during the coronavirus pandemic.Zuckerberg said that “senior officials” from the White House “repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain Covid-19 con
  
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• Next shop workers win six-year battle for equal pay in landmark case

  27-08-2024 11:01
  
  Chain may have to foot £30m bill after tribunal hears firm paid 3,500 sales staff lower hourly wage than warehouse workersShop workers at Next have won a six-year legal fight for equal pay in a landmark case that could force the retailer to pay more than £30m in compensation and bolster similar claims lodged against the big UK supermarkets.The employment tribunal ruling will benefit 3,540 claimants, who accused Next of paying its retail sales staff – who are overwhelmingly fema
  
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• Labour vows to ‘end shameful neglect’ of shoplifting by police

  27-08-2024 10:31 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Home secretary Yvette Cooper has pledged to “end the shameful neglect” of shoplifting by the police as punishments have plummeted in recent years.
  An analysis by The Times using official figures from the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, and police forces found that just 431 shoplifters received fixed penalty notices — the lightest punishment for stealing items worth less than £100, in the year to March 2024.The figure marks a 98% drop from 19,419 issued a decade ago, as
  
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• Hobbycraft sold to retail investor Modella Capital

  27-08-2024 10:28 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Hobbycraft has been snapped up by specialist retail investor Modella Capital for an undisclosed sum.Back in February, the arts and crafts retailer’s private equity owner Bridgepoint put the chain up for sale.
  The firm had invested heavily into Hobbycraft, more than doubling the retailer’s store estate and strengthening its distribution network with a new warehouse in Burton, Staffordshire.Related StoryHobbycraft owner closes in on sale20/08/2024 x 12:22 PMHobbycraft chief executive D
  
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• Checkpoint Systems Anti-theft Solutions

  27-08-2024 10:13 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Modern Retail. Smart Security Electronic Article Surveillance is at the heart of what they do at Checkpoint. The fight against shoplifting never stops, so they provide retailers... View Article
  
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• [ SECURITY ] Checkpoint EAS Systems

  27-08-2024 09:53 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Modern Retail. Smart Security Electronic Article Surveillance is at the heart of what they do at Checkpoint. The fight against shoplifting never stops, so they provide retailers... View Article
  
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• UK shop prices fall for first time in almost three years

  27-08-2024 09:46 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  New data has shown that UK shop prices have fallen for the first time since the beginning of the cost of living crisis almost three years... View Article
  
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• Iceland boss warns ‘shock’ minimum wage rise would bankrupt chain

  27-08-2024 09:44 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Iceland boss Richard Walker has warned Labour that a “shock” increase in minimum wage would bankrupt the frozen food specialist.
  Walker told The Telegraph that the new government was “absolutely right” to overhaul working practices, but that any changes must happen slowly to avoid a “disastrous” impact.
  Under the proposed workers’ rights overhaul, Labour plans to increase the minimum wage, end zero-hour contracts and give employees protection from unfair
  
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• Temu’s global expansion now looks fraught with difficulty

  27-08-2024 09:35
  
  Owner PDD warns revenue growth will trend downwards amid rising competition and economic slowdown
  
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• Thousands of Next staff win equal pay claim

  27-08-2024 09:25 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  More than 3,500 current and former employees at Next at have won the final stage of a six-year legal battle over equal pay.
  An employment tribunal ruled that Next’s store staff, who are more than 80% women, should not have been paid at lower rates than its warehouse workers.
  Lawyers for the shop staff hailed the judgement as “hugely significant” and the amount of back-pay owed to the claimants could amount to more than £30m.
  However, Next said it would appeal against the
  
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• Aldi launches Back-to-School Fund to support parents

  27-08-2024 09:22 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Aldi has launched a Back-to-School Fund to support families with children returning to school. Parents are being given the chance to secure one of 100 £100... View Article
  
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• Ikea launches secondhand peer-to-peer marketplace

  27-08-2024 08:59 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Ikea has launched a peer-to-peer marketplace for customers to sell their unwanted furniture to each other amid the rise in demand for secondhand goods.
  The platform, Ikea Preowned, will be first tested in Madrid and Oslo until the end of the year with the aim of rolling it out globally, The Financial Times reported.
  Jesper Brodin, chief executive of Ingka, the main operator of Ikea stores, told the publication: “We are in a place in Ikea where we can do more advanced and cool stuff. There
  
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• Lanvin Group revenue hit by global luxury slowdown

  27-08-2024 08:43 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Lanvin Group, the owner of brands such as Lanvin, Wolford and Sergio Rossi, has posted a 20% decrease in first half revenue to €171 million. While direct-to-consumer... View Article
  
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• Landsec to transform former Debenhams unit at St David’s into new outdoor space

  27-08-2024 08:43 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Landsec has submitted plans to transform a former Debenhams unit at Cardiff’s St David’s shopping centre into a new outdoor space. The company said a £17... View Article
  
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• Frasers Group seeks approval for £585m private share buyback

  27-08-2024 08:42 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Frasers Group is seeking approval for majority shareholder Mike Ashley to cash in £585m of shares, which could be bought back by the company in a private deal.
  The Sports Direct owner said it wanted permission to buy back the shares privately from Ashley through one or more transactions at the market price at the time, The Guardian reported.
  The listed retail group said its directors “will only exercise the power to conduct off-market purchases if they conclude at the relevant time i
  
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• M&S plots clothing-only stores amid soaring fashion sales

  27-08-2024 08:20 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  M&S is planning to open a range of clothing-only stores amid soaring fashion sales.
  The high street retailer will trial a standalone clothing boutique in London’s Battersea Power Station later this year ahead of further openings, The Telegraph reported.
  It said the Battersea store would be a trial of a new format with a curated “best of” range of menswear and womenswear, including its Autograph line, as well as lingerie.
  It described the new stores opening in the autumn, wh
  
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• Temu owner PDD’s gloomy profit forecast wipes $55bn off market value

  27-08-2024 08:12
  Chinese ecommerce giant’s shares tumble 29% after executives warn of ‘inevitable’ decline in profitability
  
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• Chinese retailer PDD takes $55bn share hit after warning of ‘inevitable’ profit decline

  27-08-2024 08:12
  Ecommerce giant behind Temu flags rising competition and need to invest more in domestic market
  
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• Ministers urged to step in to save UK firms struggling with high energy costs

  27-08-2024 07:00
  
  Exclusive: Cornwall Insight data shows small businesses paying over £5k extra a year than before energy crisis in 2021Ministers have been urged to intervene to prevent businesses struggling with gas and electricity costs from going bust, as bills are forecast to be 70% higher next year than before the energy crisis.A typical small business such as a pub, restaurant or independent retailer is paying more than £5,000 extra a year on bills than before the energy crisis that began in 202
  
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• UK shop prices fall year on year for first time since cost of living crisis began

  27-08-2024 01:01
  
  Prices down 0.3% in first week of August as food inflation eases and retailers attempt to shift unsold summer stockUK shop prices have dropped for the first time since the cost of living crisis began nearly three years ago, as food inflation eased and retailers offered discounts on clothes and household goods to shift unsold summer stock.New data showed prices were down 0.3% in the first week of August, compared with the same period last year. That compares to a 0.2% rise in July, and the three-
  
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• Data: Shop prices in deflation for first time in almost three years

  27-08-2024 01:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Shop prices fell into deflation for the first time in nearly three years this month as retailers ramped up discounting to shift their summer stock.
  The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NielsenIQ found prices fell 0.3% this month, down from a 0.2% rise in July as growth remained at its lowest rate since October 2021.
  Non-food prices led the drop, remaining in deflation at -1.5% this month, further down from -0.9% in July.
  Meanwhile, food price inflation slowed to 2.0% in August, down from 2.3%
  
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