Mothercare used to have almost 400 stores, but will now have about 80 to 100. Photograph: Rex Mothercare is to almost halve the size of its UK chain and stop selling clothes for older children as it tries to carve out a profitable future on the high street. Mark Newton-Jones, Mothercare chief executive, said it... Continue Reading →
The Serious Fraud Office has stepped up its inquiries into the collapse of BHS and the conduct of the department store chain’s former owner Dominic Chappell. The Guardian understands that the SFO has contacted individuals involved in running BHS before it fell into administration in April, and the administrators themselves, and asked for a series... Continue Reading →
Marks & Spencer is to be lobbied by MPs and fair pay campaigners after a petition against planned pay cuts gathered almost 90,000 signatures. Siobhain McDonagh MP, who raised the issue in parliament in June, will lead a delegation to present the Change.org petition at the retailer’s Marble Arch store in London on Thursday. Friends... Continue Reading →
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LONDON (Reuters) - Vodafone UK said on Saturday hackers had accessed the accounts of 1,827 of its customers this week, the second cyber attack on a British telecoms company this month. The attackers had potentially gained access to the victims' bank sort codes and the last four numbers of their bank accounts, along with their... Continue Reading →
I was furious when separate visits in the same car on the same day to an Aldi store on Nantwich Road near Crewe, in Cheshire, led to a parking charge notice from ParkingEye for £70. The maximum stay there is one-and-a-half hours. My wife arrived first at 10.39am and left at around 11.30am (after spending... Continue Reading →
John Lewis says it could lay off up to 250 warehouse workers as part of a lacklustre trading update that saw its half-year profits slump. The group, which owns the department store chain as well as upmarket grocer Waitrose, also warned that it was likely to miss full-year profit targets due to increased pension costs.... Continue Reading →
Store managers and employees are in line for bonuses One of the City’s most influential shareholder groups has issued a warning about planned changes to a multimillion-pound bonus scheme at Sports Direct, the retail chain run by Mike Ashley, the owner of Newcastle United football club. The Investment Management Association (IMA) issued its “red top”... Continue Reading →
WHSmith accused of hiking prices at hospitals Shop forcing people to pay almost double for some items in hospital stores A4 notepad was £12.99 in hospital outlet compared to £8.99 on High Street MP Paula Sherriff called the practice 'exploitative' and 'completely unfair' Comes after company demanded boarding cards at airports without passing on VAT... Continue Reading →
Shops at airports are facing a consumer revolt over claims that retailers are asking customers to show boarding cards to avoid paying VAT without passing discounts on to customers. Customers of prominent stores including WH Smith, Boots and Dixons have pledged on social media not to show their boarding passes at airports and urged their... Continue Reading →
Sky customer sends company bill for all time spent trying to cancel his contract - and receives £1,500 payout SWNS Pete Swift Tables turned: Pete Swift, with the correspondence he received A Sky customer has landed a £1,500 pay-out after sending them a bill for the time he spent trying to close his account. Pete... Continue Reading →
Next has been accused of bullying workers into giving up overtime pay for working on a Sunday. The fashion and homewares retailer, which employs more than 52,000 people, wants about 800 shop workers to give up the premium they are currently entitled to, worth up to £20 a week or £1,000 a year. The workers all... Continue Reading →
Former Morrisons chief executive Dalton Philips doubled his pay last year to £2.1m and will receive a further £1.1m payoff despite being sacked after a slump in sales and profits at the supermarket chain. Philips, who left in January, was awarded a £1m annual bonus in cash on top of his £850,000 salary, £213,000 in pension... Continue Reading →
The supermarket group's boss, Dave Lewis - who replaces axed chief Philip Clarke last year - has vowed to turn the company's fortunes aroundTroubled retail giant Tesco is set to announce record losses of up to £5billion this week – the worst performance in its 97-year history.Clive Black of stockbrokers Shore Capital said Wednesday’s announcement will be... Continue Reading →
Getty Images EntertainmentAAPLApr 16 05:00PM126.17-0.61-0.48%Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts on Thursday sent a memo to Apple employees that explained the shipping delays for the Apple Watch, and she hinted that the company would return to iPhone-style launches with lines outside its stores.The French Apple news site iGen.fr obtained the memo, which goes into detail on the... Continue Reading →
Morrisons is to cut more than 700 head office jobs in a sweeping clearout by its new boss that will reduce staff at the grocer’s Bradford site by nearly a third.David Potts, a month into his role as chief executive, has already axed half of his top management team and is now turning his attention to... Continue Reading →
Mothercare plans to cut up to 140 shopfloor managers as part of an overhaul of the loss-making UK chain. The company said 620 middle managers had been put at risk of redundancy, with 120-140 jobs expected to go as new roles are created. Mothercare employs about 5,000 people in its UK shops.The move would save £1.3m and help reduce Mothercare’s... Continue Reading →
Anyone with a Nectar card shopping at Sainsbury’s this weekend is going to be disappointed. On Saturday the retail giant halved the number of Nectar points its customers will earn from now on in-store.As of Saturday, instead of getting two points for every £1 you spend at Sainsbury’s you will now only get one. And... Continue Reading →
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