Welcome to our ‘weekly news in brief’, covering the latest from UK retailers and manufacturers.
Retail News in Brief
Tesco has confirmed it is looking at introducing free deliveries for its top-tier, Clubcard Plus members, as it looks to counter the threat posed by Amazon and take advantage of the massive shift to online shopping. Tesco is yet to release any details on when the free delivery will begin or whether current Clubcard Plus member benefits can be redeemed by online customers.
With a new TV ad campaign "remarksable", Marks & Spencer is looking to highlight its lower ‘everyday’ prices ahead of its Ocado partnership in a new campaign. The campaign coincides with a swathe of new products launched and will run for three weeks to the launch of its Ocado delivery service on 1 September.
In what it hopes will be an example for the rest of the industry, Selfridges has joined forces with a fashion rental site to let customers borrow designer labels for a smaller price than the purchase price to drive a circular economy. The Selfridges Rental Collection includes more than 40 brands and 100 exclusive pieces, which can be rented by customers through the Selfridges website for 4, 8, 10 or 20 days.
Morrisons has extended its partnership with Amazon with the launch of its own store on the e-commerce platform offering a full grocery range, with free delivery. The supermarket’s wholesale operation has been supplying products to Amazon’s own grocery offer since 2016, however, shoppers will now be able to buy from the supermarket’s full range using the ‘Morrisons on Amazon’ store.
Manufacturing News in Brief
With sales of its make-up brands down 18% across the year, Estée Lauder is axing 2000 jobs worldwide as it plans to close stores and department store beauty counters to reduce costs. The US cosmetics giant, which owns Mac, Joe Malone and Clinique, said it will shutter between 10 per cent and 15 per cent of its standalone store estate. In the UK, concessions within department stores such as John Lewis, House of Fraser and Debenhams will also be reduced.
Bakkavor and Pladis have become the latest food and drink suppliers to see coronavirus cases rise among their workers. Bakkavor this week confirmed 72 workers at its Newark dessert factory had tested positive for the virus while Pladis confirmed a number of cases at its South Wigston, Leicestershire site.
Bernard Matthews is resurrecting its infamous Turkey Twizzlers after 15 years. The new incarnation is more premium and significantly healthier. It now contains more than 70% turkey (compared with some 35% in its previous incarnation), ringing in at 87 calories per Twizzler, down from 137.
Lego is launching a new version of its plastic bricks featuring braille in 20 countries around the world. The new bricks are the traditional shape, but the studs on top have been rearranged to reflect characters in the braille alphabet. In 2019, Lego allocated 25% of its earnings to the Lego Foundation, which helps disadvantaged children.
Other News in Brief
The government is continuing to gather evidence on the impact of extending Sunday trading laws in England and Wales with Retailers and industry bodies having been asked to submit their views on a possible extension. The move comes despite reports earlier in the summer the government had shelved plans to change the existing rules.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is being mooted as a key contender to take over responsibility for the troubled food and drink industry reformulation strategy, following the UK government’s controversial decision to scrap Public Health England (PHE) after it was criticised for its slow response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The latest figures from the ONS show UK price inflation increased more than the experts had predicted in July to 1% from 0.6% in June. This is the highest level for four months driven by rebounding global oil prices and fashion retailers holding off on applying anticipated deep discounting.
Diners have claimed more than 35 million discounted meals in the first two weeks of the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme, according to the Treasury. Figures released by HM Revenue & Customs show it had already received claims from the 85,000 outlets participating in the programme, at a cost of £180m. Under the plan, diners can receive 50% off their meal up to a maximum of £10 per head on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in August.
