Brits spend £4.1bn drinking beer at home during cost of living and price of a pint crises July 4, 2023 Brits are staying at home and cracking open cold beers from the fridge, as twin cost of living and price of a pint crises change drinkers’ habits. New research out today show a 25 per cent surge in beer sales in supermarkets and shops outside local boozers, during the cost of living crisis. While the [...]
Le Pain Quotidien operator crashes into administration with only one London store to survive July 3, 2023 A City hotspot for morning coffee, Le Pain Quotidien, has closed all but one of its sites across London, in another fatal blow for the city’s hospitality sector. The Belgian coffee chain, which operates from eight sites across the capital, including a cafe on Fish Street Hill in Monument, has closed all of its sites [...]
Retailer insolvencies jump to higher level than pandemic as brands buckle under economic pressure July 3, 2023 A squeeze on shoppers’ finances has increased the number of retailers being plunged into hot water, new research shows, as the cost of living crisis continues to decimate businesses. As inflation sits at a sticky 8.7 per cent, the number of retailers entering insolvency jumped 56 per cent in the past year, according to figures [...]
B&M: Bargain hunting Brits help budget chain’s revenues top £1bn June 29, 2023 Brits seeking out bargains have continued to drive earnings at value retailer B&M as it reported a 13.5 per cent rise in group revenue in the first leg of the year. The news, however, failed to impress investors as its share price slumped over 6 per cent when markets opened this morning. The homeware to [...]
Hunt unveils measures to ensure customers get fair pricing June 28, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has drafted an action plan with authorities to ensure customers are being facing fair prices during the cost of living crisis. Hunt sat down with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), and the regulators for the energy, water and communications sectors, early on Wednesday 28 June at 11 Downing Street. He was [...]
Pressure on supermarkets to lower prices sends food inflation to new low June 27, 2023 Supermarkets slashing the prices of kitchen staples such as bread, milk and cheese has helped ease food inflation in a welcome boost for shoppers. Food inflation fell to 14.6 per cent in June, down from 15.4 per cent in May, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The decline marks the second consecutive monthly [...]
Whole Foods: Inflation takes bite out of Amazon owned grocery store June 25, 2023 The Amazon-owned UK division of Whole Foods has seen a rapid decline in earnings for the year as soaring inflation makes Brits hesitant to fork out on its pricey goods. Whole Foods UK reported operating losses of £26.9m up from £17.2m the prior year and its sales also fell to £91.6m down from £94.3m. Amazon [...]
Claim of supermarkets profiteering doesn’t pass ‘basic smell test,’ says former Sainsbury’s boss June 21, 2023 The former boss of Sainsbury’s has roundly rejected claims that British supermarkets are profiteering during the cost of living crisis, arguing that the government and regulators should focus on helping those in need instead of considering “interfering in markets”. “This idea that [supermarkets] are somehow profiteering in these circumstances… it doesn’t even pass a basic [...]
Peloton: Wheels come off for bike maker as UK losses widen to £210m June 20, 2023 Peloton’s UK arm has struggled to keep up the momentum of its pandemic success, with the group posting widening losses as sales of the luxury exercise bike fall significantly from their lockdown peak. In its most recent financial results in the year to June 2022, the American brand’s British division said sales contracted 13 per [...]
Grocery inflation falls to lowest monthly rate this year June 20, 2023 Grocery price inflation has fallen to its lowest monthly rate this year – but remains at its sixth highest level since 2008, figures show. Grocery inflation dropped to 16.5 per cent for the four weeks to June 11, down from last month’s 17.2 per cent and March’s record 17.5 per cent according to analysts Kantar. [...]
