All Policy & legal articles – Page 13
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Opinion‘Rising costs will tempt retailers to review commercial contracts – they must be careful’
Renegotiating arrangements can be a legitimate tool for managing financial challenges, but it’s rare for contracts to provide scope for termination or meaningful renegotiation based purely on changes in economic conditions, says Addleshaw Goddard’s Natasha Winter
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Opinion‘While it’s easy to blame the Budget, retailers shouldn’t let it become the new “unseasonable weather”’
While last week’s sad job cuts at Sainsbury’s and Morrisons highlight the increasing pressures on business from the Budget, retailers should avoid letting it become a catch-all excuse for underperformance.
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NewsRiver Island is making job cuts across its head office
River Island has launched a redundancy programme, with roles at its London head office expected to be slashed.
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Opinion‘Retail prices will rise as the pressures from the Budget take effect’
Rates reform is some distance away and new employment regulations are still to play out, so retailers will be rolling up their sleeves to tackle the challenges of the coming year says BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson
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NewsMorrisons axes hundreds of staff as it slashes costs
Morrisons has axed more than 200 staff members from its Retail People Team, becoming the latest supermarket to kick off the new year with layoffs.
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NewsSainsbury’s to axe thousands of jobs as it closes counters and streamlines head office
Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s is set to slash thousands of jobs across its supermarket estate and head office functions as it targets more growth.
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NewsAldi and Lidl back calls for pause on inheritance tax reforms
Discounters Aldi and Lidl have both thrown their support behind farmers protesting at the government’s proposed reforms on inheritance tax.
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NewsThe CMA has named former Amazon boss its interim chair
The CMA has named a former Amazon boss as its new interim chair to support growth for the UK.
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AnalysisThe return of President Trump means inflationary headwinds for UK retail
While Trump didn’t follow through with his promises to launch an international trade war on day one, experts are warning his return to the presidency will mean higher prices for UK consumers.
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Opinion‘ONS figures add unnecessarily to retail doom and gloom’
Yes, the retail industry faces challenges, but the way the official sales data is presented risks distorting the picture, believes George MacDonald
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NewsCo-op launches new fund for sustainable farming
The Co-op Group has launched an £820,000 fund to support sustainable farming efforts, as part of its “long-term investment in UK agriculture”.
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NewsBudget is hurting part-time workers and women, warns Pets at Home boss
The boss of Pets at Home has said the changes to national insurance set out in the budget are damaging opportunities for “young, flexible workers”, part-time workers and women.
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NewsEx-Asda boss Lord Rose has called working from home ‘not proper work’
The former boss of Marks & Spencer and most recently Asda has criticised flexible working, saying it is creating a generation who are “not doing proper work”.
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Opinion‘Why we are more downbeat on the UK retail outlook’
It’s hard to believe how the mood music of shoppers and retailers has changed since last year’s general election, observes Shore Capital’s Clive Black
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NewsLidl ditches ‘attractive’ packaging of least healthy own-brand products
Discounter Lidl has said it will ditch all packaging designs it deems “attractive to children” from its least healthy own-brand products by the middle of the year.
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AnalysisTikTok’s future remains in limbo – if a deal to save it falls through, how could UK retail be impacted?
While TikTok and its Chinese-based owner ByteDance has been given a stay of execution by incoming American president Donald Trump, the hugely successful social media app is still facing an uncertain future. How could a potential ban affect UK retailers and social commerce brands who have made TikTok their home?
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Retail VoiceThe future of sustainability in the retail sector
With sustainability an ever-increasing priority for consumers, retailers must ensure they are at the forefront of all change and not left behind when it comes to the green economy. Gowling’s Jocelyn Paulley highlights the key challenges for the sector
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NewsTimpson, M&S and John Lewis in the top new customer service ranking
M&S is the top retailer in the UK for customer service, according to a new survey of 15,000 consumers. The brand, which recently said that “sales records were broken across the business” for Christmas 2024, narrowly beat John Lewis in the Institute of Customer Service’s (ICS) January 2025 UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI).
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NewsPoundland invests in technology as it ‘cracks down on in-store crime’
Poundland has announced that it is “investing significantly in security enhancements” and pledged to crack down on crime as it launched its ‘Against Retail Crime’ initiative.
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InterviewInterview: Bensons for Beds CEO Nick Collard on its people-powered turnaround
Bensons boss Nick Collard speaks to Retail Week about the Budget, the retailer’s transformative turnaround and the power of its people