While much of the media attention this morning, including The Grocer’s, is focusing on the impact of the recent cyberattack at M&S, there was also a lot of concern regarding the news of inflation starting to soar again.
Today’s figures from the Office for National Statisitcs said UK inflaton hit 3.5% during “awful April”. As reported in The Times, this was up from 2.6% in the previous month and reached its highest level since January 2024.
The paper, along with other outlets this morning, reported that the figure was driven by a sharp rise in household bills, including energy and food, and was ahead of expert forecasts, which had predicted inflation to hit 3.3%
Not getting away from cyberattacks for too long the BBC is reporting that police investigating the raids on M&S and Co-op are now focusing on a gang of cyber criminals known as Scattered Spider. The National Crime Agency has told BBC News the group is a key part of its ongoing investigation to find the culprits.
The report descibed the gang as ”a loose community of often young individuals who organise across sites like Discord, Telegram and in forums, most likely located in the UK and US”.
While deeply concerning, the cybercrime wave is not the only headache for retailers out there as evidenced by a report in the Telegraph. It tells the tale of a shoplifter who has been banned from every Greggs outlet in England and Wales after targeting the same shop seven times. Patrick Verry, 33, was caught stealing from a branch of the pastry shop on Wood Green High Road, in north London, on 15 May.
For longer reads over your morning coffee, you could turn to the FT. The paper casts its spotlight on Cranswick’s plans to build a ’megafarm” in Norfolk rasing 14,000 pigs and 714,000 chickens. The colour piece begins with its chief UK business columnist John Gapper standing on the edge of a pig pen and takes the story from there.
The FT also has an interesting read looking at the success of Spanish supermarket chain Mercadona. It highlights how the retailer’s good employment practices, including higher wages than is traditional in the supermarket sector, are paying off.
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