Britons buying more premium food but Kantar says there is no evidence of stockpilingCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSales of scented candles and retailers’ premium food ranges have soared as cold weather and coronavirus restrictions encourage Britons to hunker down for winter.While the tightening of government rules has not led to a repeat of the stockpiling in the spring, they are still having a big impact on shoppers’ mindsets. Sales of scented candles, potpourri and essential oils for diffusers jumped 29% in October, according to the research group Kantar, while shoppers spent £56m more on premium own-label food and drink brands during the month. Continue reading...

10 Nov 2020 12:26 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Profits nearly double to £296m as retailer benefits from out-of-town locationsThe discount retailer B&M is paying its shareholders a £250m special dividend, after a boost in sales during lockdown almost doubled profits in the first half of the year.The group, which sells everything from homeware and toys to electrical items and pet supplies, was among the essential retailers allowed to remain open during the UK-wide lockdown in the spring, when it proved popular with shoppers. Continue reading...

12 Nov 2020 12:19 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

A new campaign to buy No Time to Die from MGM has been started on GoFundMe. Next step: nationalise 007If Covid kills the cinema experience for good – a hypothetical that sounds less and less far-fetched by the day – then No Time to Die will forever be held up as a key co-conspirator. Although almost every other film set for release this year has been shunted off into the middle distance, there’s something about No Time to Die’s repositionings that seems to have drawn everyone’s wrath.First it was booted away from a spring release. And then again from an autumn release, which is when Cineworld decided to board itself up. This week it was reported that, in an act of increasingly characteristic jumpiness, No Time to Die tried to hawk itself around the streaming platforms for the tidy sum of $600m. Even that failed. At this rate it would take a miracle for anyone to see it. Continue reading...

28 Oct 2020 08:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

After shaky start in lockdown, Bloomsbury sales soar as people pick books over box setsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe Harry Potter publisher, Bloomsbury, has reported its most profitable first half in more than a decade, after a nation tiring of box sets fuelled a lockdown boom in book sales.The company furloughed staff as the coronavirus crisis forced the publishing industry to shut down, but has seen a remarkable change in fortune as the pandemic has persisted. Continue reading...

27 Oct 2020 12:22 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Retailer adds another 3 million customers but remains cautious over Brexit and disposable incomesThe online fashion specialist Asos more than quadrupled profits as its mainly twentysomething shoppers snapped up comfy casual wear and skincare products during lockdown.It added 3 million more shoppers to its active customer base, taking the total to 23.4 million, and said it had made a solid start to the year. However, Asos shares lost more than 10% as the group said it was cautious about the outlook for the business because of the impact of the pandemic and the potential consequences of Brexit on its young shoppers. The shares closed down 553p at £48.25, but still up from £33.73 at the turn of this year and compared with little more than £10 at the time of the plunge in markets in March. Continue reading...

14 Oct 2020 08:38 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Stroll down Britain’s canals these days and you’ll encounter waterside businesses of all kinds trading out of narrowboats. Here, five floating traders share their storiesWhen Stuart Fenwick first moved to London seven years ago, he spent a lot of time on foot exploring the capital’s towpaths. His wanderings prompted a recurring dream in which he ran a floristry studio aboard a narrowboat. “I’ve been working with flowers since I was 15 and I’ve always wanted a shop, but could never really afford it,” he explains. “The overheads in London are just too high and unfortunately, retail floristry has been in decline for a long time.” Fenwick found the solution in Bria – a 42ft narrowboat that roves the city’s waterways. Continue reading...

29 Aug 2021 12:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Pocket Living boss on how his small flats give first-time buyers a foot on the urban property ladderMarc Vlessing, a property developer, says he would be happy to be put out of a job. In an attempt to attract first-time buyers who might otherwise be unable to afford their own homes, his business, Pocket Living, builds smaller-than-average flats with lower-than-average price tags.It is a business model whose success is based on the fact that so many have been priced out of city living by the housing crisis. Perhaps it would be a good thing if Pocket’s niche did not exist? Continue reading...

05 Sep 2021 12:32 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN