Boxing Day Debate

Tesco and Morrisons will open their shops on Boxing Day despite calls to give staff the day off. Unions say supermarket staff should not have to go in on 26 December as a thank you for their work during the pandemic Asda, Marks & Spencer, Pets at Home, and toy store The Entertainer have all said they will close. But Tesco and Morrisons have joined Sainsbury's in saying they would open on Boxing Day for a limited number of hours. Tesco said it would reward frontline staff with an extra 10% bonus over the Christmas and New Year period. Morrisons said that working on the day would be voluntary with staff getting double pay. Sainsbury's will open but has reduced the hours after requests from staff. It said most workers would have Boxing Day off. As part of a thank you to staff for their work during the pandemic, Asda said that all of its 631 shops would close for two days over the Christmas break. Frontline staff will also get 100% of their bonus entitlement regardless of whether they have reached sales quotas.

Boxing Day Debate

Pop Mart Success

A Chinese mystery toymaker has seen his wealth surge after his company was floated on the stock market on Friday. Pop Mart, founded by Wang Ning, has grown rapidly to become a company worth around $7bn (£5.3bn). The firm sells collectible figures for about $8 each in packaging that doesn't allow buyers to see what's inside. Mr Wang owns around 50% of Pop Mart following the stock market launch in Hong Kong on Friday, and now has a net worth of $3.2bn, according to Forbes. Beijing-based Pop Mart raised $674m from the share sale, which it will use to open more stores and expand overseas. It shares rose 100% higher in early trading after the stock market debut. "Chinese are stressed over long hours but face low pay at work and unaffordable housing prices, so they look for cheap forms of entertainment and purchases," said Shaun Rein, managing director at China Market Research Group. Pop Mart sells its products in 21 countries outside China and says its customers are mostly aged 18 to 35, while 75% are female. China's millennials spend more on mystery toys than any other hobby, including designer shoes and e-sports, according to a report from e-commerce platform Tmall, which is owned by Alibaba.

Pop Mart

Britain's Worst Hotel

Dirty loos and scathing reviews by guests have led Britannia hotels to be named as Britain’s worst hotel chain for the eighth year running. Described by one guest as a “filthy hovel” and another as “by far the dirtiest hotel room I have ever stayed in”, Britannia props up the table in Which?’s rankings of the best and worst large UK hotel chains. The consumer group said Britannia, which has 62 hotels across the country, had received a customer score of 37%, with the lack of cleaning a particular concern. One of the most scathing reviews was so bad it was “unprintable”, it said. In response Britannia said: “We are totally committed to providing a safe environment for visitors. We have so far spent around £2m on Covid-19 precautions, but we accept there is more to do.” Which? asked more than 4,000 people to rate their experiences at UK hotels on a range of criteria, including bedrooms, bathrooms, cleanliness, customer service and value for money.

Worst Hotel Chain

Will Santa Have Enough Bikes for Christmas?

While bicycle sales shot through the roof as people took to exercising outdoors or commuting to work by pedal power during the pandemic, manufacturers struggled to keep up as factories were temporarily shut down, leading to a worldwide shortage.  This mismatch between rocketing demand and dwindling supply led to empty floors in bike shops, leaving many disappointed customers. Like the majority of products nowadays, most bikes are made using parts sourced from all over the world, and particularly from Asia. Halfords says it has a diverse supplier base across the world, and is "working increasingly closely with our suppliers to meet the demand as more consumers take to cycling in the UK". It has had tens of thousands of customers on waiting lists for deliveries. Looking ahead into 2021, the question is whether bike sales will continue to shoot up, or return to normal levels after Covid-19 eventually passes.  One report estimates the growing popularity of cycling will only continue. UK sales are predicted to exceed £1bn by 2023, up from £842m this year.

Christmas Bikes

Nike Diversity Ad Causes Backlash in Japan

Nike is facing a backlash in Japan over an advert which highlights racial discrimination in the country. The video shows the "real life experience" of three young soccer players from mixed heritage.  It has about 25 million views on social media and almost 80,000 shares. But it has sparked fierce debate as Japan is unaccustomed to openly discussing sensitive issues such as race, with some questioning whether a foreign brand should have waded in. Nike Japan said the ad highlights how people "overcome their daily struggles and conflicts to move their future through sports".  But some comments on social media said Nike was exaggerating the scale of discrimination, arguing that it was unfair to single out Japan. Other users threatened to boycott Nike products. One comment said: "It's as if they are trying to say this kind of discrimination is everywhere in Japan." However, there were also positive comments about the ad, entitled The Future Isn't Waiting, for highlighting the issue of racism.

Nike Japan Advert