DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ UK retailers demand government action on rising crime
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Some 88 UK retail leaders, including the bosses of Tesco (TSCO.L), Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) and Marks & Spencer (MKS.L), have signed a letter to interior minister Suella Braverman, demanding action over rising rates of retail crime. Rising crime is increasingly becoming a political issue in Britain ahead of an expected national election in 2024. It also put the scale of retail theft at 953 million pounds ($1.2 billion), despite over 700 million pounds in crime prevention spending by retailers. This would require police forces to record all incidents of retail crime. The industry also wants greater prioritisation of retail crime by police forces across the UK.

Persons: Peter Nicholls, Spencer, Suella Braverman, “, Helen Dickinson, John Lewis, James Davey, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, Tesco, Industry, British Retail Consortium, Conservative, John, John Lewis Partnership, Waitrose, Aldi, Thomson Locations: Weybridge, Britain, Manchester

☆ Britain faces 'epidemic' of shoplifting as Primark profits hit
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sadly, in the last year we've seen twice as many offences," Sharon White, chair of the John Lewis Partnership that owns department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, told BBC Radio. Weston said some of the theft was "quite organised" and Primark was also seeing higher levels of anti-social behaviour. His comments echo those of Tesco (TSCO.L) CEO Ken Murphy, who earlier this month said Britain's biggest supermarket chain was offering body-cams to staff who need them. Murphy also called for a change in the law to make abuse and violence towards retail workers a specific offence in Britain. Target (TGT.N), Foot Locker (FL.N) and Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS.N) have all warned that profits have been under pressure from loss of inventory due to theft at their stores.

Persons: John Lewis, It's, we've, Sharon White, White, shoplifters, George Weston, Weston, Primark, Ken Murphy, Murphy, James Davey, Mark Potter Organizations: Police, Foods, John Lewis Partnership, Waitrose, BBC Radio, British Foods, Crown Prosecution Service, Reuters, Tesco, Dick's Sporting, Thomson Locations: Britain, United States

☆ Waitrose cuts more prices as Britain's food inflation picture improves
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UK food price inflation reached its highest since 1977 in March at over 19%. This official measure slowed to 14.9% in July and, while industry data showed it at 11.5% in August, rising food prices remain a major strain on the finances of many households. Monthly industry data has consistently shown Waitrose losing market share and underperforming rivals including industry leader Tesco (TSCO.L) and No. Earlier this month researcher Kantar said Waitrose had a UK grocery market share of 4.4%, down 0.2 percentage points year-on-year. While all British supermarkets have reduced the prices of some products in recent months, researcher the Institute of Grocery Distribution has said that UK food price inflation will still be around 9% in December.

Persons: Peter Cziborra, Kantar, Waitrose, James Davey, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Waitrose, REUTERS, Bank of England, John Lewis Partnership, Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, of Grocery, Retailers, Thomson Locations: Harpenden, Britain, India

☆ A grocery chain is offering free coffee to cops in an attempt to deter shoplifters
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

British grocery chain Waitrose is offering free coffees to cops under a plan to deter shoplifters. Assaults on staff at Waitrose stores have roughly doubled since 2020, The Times of London reported. Waitrose, an upmarket grocer with more than 300 stores, has begun offering uniformed officers free hot drinks from its coffee machines and will ask them to bring a reusable cup. Parent company John Lewis Partnership said in a press release shared with Insider that the initiative was "part of efforts to strengthen relationships and tackle retail crime." It's trialing increasing the number of security, warning customers that CCTV is in use and that shoplifters face jail time.

Persons: John Lewis, Nicki Juniper, John Lewis Partnership's, It's, Juniper, BRC Organizations: Waitrose, shoplifters, Service, John Lewis Partnership, Partners, The Times, British Retail Consortium, BBC News Locations: London, Wall, Silicon, England, Wales, Northern Ireland

☆ UK retailer John Lewis boosts AI capability with Google deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 9 (Reuters) - British retailer John Lewis Partnership has agreed a five-year deal with Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google Cloud, enabling it to harness the latest artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology. The employee-owned partnership, which runs John Lewis department stores and the Waitrose supermarket chain, said on Wednesday the new agreement, which builds on a decade-long relationship with Google Cloud, was worth 100 million pounds ($127 million). Under the expanded agreement, more of the partnership's technology will migrate to Google Cloud. Google Cloud agreed a similar deal with European home improvement retailer Kingfisher(KGF.L) last November. Zak Mian, the John Lewis Partnership's chief transformation and technology officer, said an example was customers using an image scanning feature in their John Lewis App to show its home design stylists a room they're looking to furnish.

Persons: John Lewis, Zak Mian, John Lewis Partnership's, Prerna Bedi, James Davey, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Sachin Ravikumar Organizations: John, John Lewis Partnership, Google, Waitrose, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, London

☆ Britain's Waitrose joins forces with Uber Eats for rapid delivery
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - British upmarket supermarket group Waitrose has teamed up with rapid delivery firm Uber Eats (UBER.N) to provide its groceries to shoppers' homes in as little as 20 minutes, the companies said on Tuesday. Waitrose, part of the employee-owned John Lewis Partnership, said the "multi-year" partnership launched on the Uber Eats platform in five London stores and will roll out to over 200 stores by the end of August. It peaked at about 15% during the pandemic but has since come off to 10.4%, according to market researcher NIQ. Waitrose said the deal with Uber Eats builds on its existing partnership with Deliveroo (ROO.L) and its own online shopping business. Uber Eats already partners with UK supermarkets Sainsbury's, (SBRY.L), Asda, Morrisons, the Co-op and Iceland.

Persons: Uber, Online's, James Davey Organizations: Waitrose, John Lewis Partnership, Deliveroo, Asda, Morrisons, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Iceland

☆ From caviar to cardboard cutouts, businesses hope for coronation boost
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] A view of souvenirs designed for the Coronation of Britain's King Charles in Windsor, Britain, April 29, 2023. Mugs, plates, tea towels, magnets, cushions and teddy bears are staple memorabilia for royal occasions and an array of these to mark King Charles' coronation on May 6 are already filling shop windows. Others are selling coronation varieties of the games pass the parcel, bingo and charades. John Lewis Partnership, the owner of the eponymous department stores and supermarket chain Waitrose, said last week searches for coronation products on its website had risen more than 262% on the previous week. “Our royal family selection of cardboard cut-outs have always been a favourite of our customers, with King Charles proving himself to be a top seller," an Argos spokesperson said.

☆ Britain's John Lewis has lost its soul, says Mary Portas
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) - British retail consultant and television personality Mary Portas has written an open letter to the John Lewis Partnership accusing the group of losing its soul for considering a change to its longstanding model of employee ownership. "Somehow, in recent years, you've let go of the soul," wrote Portas, known as the "Queen of Shops" due to her efforts to save the UK high street. She accused John Lewis of "chasing the new. But here's the thing: that's not what we really want from John Lewis". John Lewis' Chairman Sharon White wrote back to Portas insisting she would ensure the partnership not only survives, but thrives.

☆ Can sustainable soya farming come fast enough to save the Cerrado?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Mark Hillsdon | Mark Hillsdon Is A Manchester-Based Freelance Writer Who Writes On Business | Sustainability For The Ethical Corporation | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

“Crop finance is a key part of soy farmers' business models and there is a huge appetite and market for green finance,” he explains. It’s a message consistent with the UK Soy Manifesto, which now covers 60% of the soy coming into the UK. Unlocking green investment means this can now happen, he adds, by supporting sustainable agriculture and protecting forests in a financially sustainable way that rewards farmers. And ultimately it is the involvement of these traders in screening out “bad soy” on which any sustainable soy scheme succeeds or fails. The Retail Soy Group’s roadmap commits members to deforestation-free soy with a cut-off-date of August 2020, but soy traders aren’t following these guidelines, says Wijeratna.

☆ Britain's M&S raises staff pay for second time in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterA Marks and Spencer (M&S) logo is seen on the outside of a store in Cheshire, Britain August 18, 2020. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe additional autumn pay review, a first for M&S, follows an initial pay increase in April to 10.00 pounds an hour from 9.50 pounds. The clothing and food retailer said its new package to support workers would cost it 15 million pounds. It includes a one-off 250 pounds M&S voucher for 4,500 salaried colleagues at pre-management levels in stores and support centres. ($1 = 0.8818 pounds)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by James Davey; editing by Kylie MacLellan and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Search resuls for: "John Lewis Partnership"

10 mentions found