Britain’s retail sector weathered its fourth poor December in a row with negative like-for-like sales growth on the high street amid volatile consumer sentiment, according to the latest figures from accountancy firm BDO.
The Times says the report shows comparable sales growth dipped by 0.1% last month after the high street “failed to rally at the end of a dismal year of trading”. It is the fourth consecutive Christmas where no high street sales growth has been recorded. The Guardian adds that the fourth Christmas of falling sales was the result of shoppers switching to buying gifts online from the comfort of their sofa.
The weak pound hurt Boots owner Walgreens Boots Alliance over Christmas. The Times reports that the effects of the Brexit vote and result in the US presidential election weighed on the firm. Quarterly sales fell for the first time in four years, to $28.5bn, it revealed in its first-quarter report yesterday, after severe devaluations in the British pound and Mexican peso last year. The two are its biggest markets outside of the US.
Aldi increased its minimum wage amid pay war with Lidl, The Times writes, as the German discounter revealed all staff working in its shops would earn a minimum of £8.53 an hour from next month and those employed in London would receive £9.75 an hour.
The Financial Times examines the fortunes of McDonald’s as the fast food king battles to retain supremacy. The article says new CEO Steve Easterbrook, who took the helm in 2015, has revived US sales but he must stay on top of consumer trends.
The Telegraph reports that shares in stevia maker PureCircle plummeted yesterday as ‘slave labour’ allegation took their toll. The business blamed an ongoing dispute with the US authorities for a fall in sales over the last six months.
A former South Korean executive of UK-based Reckitt Benckiser has been jailed for seven years over the sale a humidifier disinfectant which killed about 100 people and left hundreds with permanent lung damage (The Independent).
Coca-Cola and the American Beverage Association have been accused by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Praxis Project of using tactics similar to the tobacco industry in minimising the damaging health effects of its fizzy drinks and deceiving customers (The Independent).
Organic produce group Daylesford Organic has halved its annual losses, The Times writes. Founded by Lady Bamford, wife of Lord Bamford who owns the JCB empire, the group made a pre-tax loss of £2.7m in the year to March 31, an improvement on the £5.2m loss the year before, according to accounts lodged at Companies House.
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