Ikea Success in India

India's $40bn (£29bn) "home and living" market - of which furniture and furnishings is a big component - is mainly powered by the country's middle class. Ikea believes it is slowly making inroads - many of the 8,500-odd products on sale at its two 430,000 sq ft stores in Hyderabad and Mumbai, and online, are tailored and tweaked to suit Indian consumers. "Ikea is not in a hurry. They are all about creating and expanding an organised, price-sensitive, modern retail furniture market for India," said Ankur Bisen, senior vice-president at Technopak, a consultancy. A third of Ikea's range in India changes every year and a quarter of its products on sale are locally sourced, according to Kavitha Rao, Ikea India's chief commercial officer. "As a market, India always holds surprises for any global retailer. It is price-sensitive and you have to work across consumers in each category." So, Ikea here sells its cheapest sofa at 10,000 rupees ($134; £98) and its most expensive one at 125,000 rupees. A 19-rupee set of colourful spoons for children and a 99-rupee whiskey glass are among the lowest-priced items. To better understand Indian consumers, Ikea visited more than 2,000 households with varying incomes in different cities. It placed furniture, home furnishing accessories and kitchens in many homes and tested them to see how they fared in the country's hot, humid and dusty cities.

Ikea India 

M&S Mistake

Marks & Spencer has apologised after some customers were sent other shoppers' parcel tracking details. One customer said he got more than 100 text messages with links to GPS locations and photographs of parcels on other people's doorsteps. The spokesperson added: "The issue was quickly identified and resolved. We're apologising to [the customer] for the inconvenience caused." They said only 1% of orders had been affected by the glitch. The customer, who asked us only to use his first name, Tom, said a flurry of text messages started straight after he placed an order for some bedding. While no names or numbers or card details were included, he could see the location and GPS coordinates of where parcels were delivered as well as images of some people's parcels that had been left outside.

M&S Parcel Mystery

Royal Recycle Mint

 

Gold and precious metals are to be extracted from old phones and laptops by Britain's coin-maker. The Royal Mint plans to introduce a world-first technology to the UK to recycle gold from electronic waste. Less than one fifth of electronic waste ends up being recycled, estimates show. The mint's chief executive Anne Jessopp said the technology would help to "make a genuine impact on one of the world's greatest environmental challenges". The Royal Mint has signed an agreement with Canadian start-up Excir to recover 99% and more of gold from devices' circuit boards.Researchers have estimated electronic and electrical equipment discarded in 2021 will weigh more than 57 million tonnes. If nothing is done to counter the problem, electronic waste is set to reach 74 million tonnes by 2030 - almost a doubling of tonnage in a decade, the mint said. The mint's Ms Jessopp described the potential of the technology as "huge" in its ability to reduce electronic waste, preserve precious metals, and develop new skills.

E-Waste

P&O Sack 800 Staff

 

A backlash against P&O Ferries is growing after the firm sacked 800 staff without giving them any notice. The government said it would review its contracts with P&O Ferries after it fired its employees, planning to replace them with cheaper agency staff. P&O said it was a "tough" decision but it would "not be a viable business" without the changes. Nearly a quarter of P&O Ferries' staff were told via a video message on Thursday that it was their "final day of employment". Sacked staff said the video message had referred to a "generous severance package" being offered, but no details were given. P&O Ferries claimed almost £15m in government grants in 2020, which included furlough payments for its employees. P&O Ferries said on Thursday that the decision to lay-off 800 workers was "tough" but said the business would not be viable without "making swift and significant changes now". It said: "We have made a £100m loss year-on-year, which has been covered by our parent DP World. This is not sustainable. Without these changes there is no future for P&O Ferries." P&O Ferries is one of the UK's leading ferry companies, carrying more than 10 million passengers a year before the pandemic and about 15% of all freight cargo in and out of the UK. P&O was bought by DP World, the multi-national ports and logistics company based in Dubai in 2019. At the time of purchase, its chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem described it as a "strong, recognisable brand". It paid a £270m dividend to shareholders in 2020.

P&O Sack Staff

From Waitress to Owner

 

Chloe Campbell was 15 when she started waitressing in a cafe in Moray, and now four years later she owns it. Chloe said she had always been good at saving her money, so when the opportunity arose to go from employee to employer at The Coffee Pot in Dufftown she jumped at the chance. She had held onto most of her wages, aside from spending on basics, and the 19-year-old got the keys last month. She said she hoped to one day expand the business. "I was working somewhere else and saw this job, it was just weekends I started off doing, and progressed from there," Chloe recalled of starting at The Coffee Pot. She had saved enough to take it over, and the lease is paid monthly. Chloe said the hardest part was proving to be getting her head around all the paperwork. She said she has six very good employees of various ages. The café sells breakfasts and lunches as well as coffee and sweet treats. "We have a lot of regulars," she said. "Everything is made here. Our cakes are very popular - especially the strawberry tarts." As for expansion, she said: "If the opportunity occurs then I definitely would."

Coffee Pot

Walkers Lighter

 

Walkers is launching a new non-HFSS crisps range with “nearly half the salt” of its standard offering. Simply called ‘45% Less Salt’, the range will debut with three flavours: Mild Cheese & Onion, Lightly Salted and A Dash of Salt & Vinegar. It is the crisps giant’s first fully non-HFSS range. Containing “nearly half the salt” of its hero lines, the snacks maintained “the great flavour that Walkers is known for”, it said. Walkers claimed the snacks had “performed strongly in consumer taste-testing”, with eight out of 10 consumers stating Mild Cheese and Onion “exceeded expectations”. Consumers were “increasingly looking for great-tasting lower salt snacks”, said the brand, adding that eating less salt was important to 79% of people surveyed. “Our latest launch answers the demands of shoppers, whilst helping retailers to capitalise on a growing consumer trend,” she added. The launch will be supported with a multimillion-pound campaign across in-store activations, TV and digital advertising. It comes as other crisps and snacks brands are scrabbling to reformulate products in the run-up to the government’s HFSS clampdown.

Walkers Lighter

Pastie Price Hike

Bakery chain Greggs has warned that its prices could go up for a second time this year as it faces surging costs. Higher prices for food, energy and staff, plus tax changes mean the company's own costs will rise by between 6% and 7% it said. The chain, known for its sausage rolls and steak bakes, put prices up at the start of the year and it expects "further changes" to be necessary. The UK cost of living is rising at the fastest pace for 30 years. Greggs said the cost of raw materials had gone up while energy prices are also soaring. While it has locked in prices for some commodities ahead of time, the company said future costs remain "uncertain". Greggs said that overall wages at the company increased by 3% last year, and it had brought forward a planned 2022 pay rise by five months, adding £4.5m to its costs. While average pay in the UK has been going up, it has been lagging behind increases in the cost of living - adding to the squeeze on households' finances. The chain said rising costs "necessitated some price increases, which were made at the start of this year, and further changes are expected to be necessary". "As ever, we will work to mitigate the impact of this on customers," it said, adding that it did not expect a "material" rise in profits for the year ahead. The comments triggered a near 9% fall in Greggs' share price to a one-year low of £20.96. The business swung back to a profit last year after taking a hit in 2020 when many of its shops were closed for much of the year due to the pandemic. Profit before tax rose to £145.6m for the year to 1 January, compared to a £13.7m loss in the previous 12 months.

Greggs Price Rise

Netflix Price Hike

 

The cost of watching Netflix hits from Bridgerton to The Crown is to increase, as the streaming platform raises its prices for subscribers in the UK and Ireland for the second time in less than 18 months. The move, the latest sign of the financial toll the growing competition is taking on the world’s most popular service, follows a round of price rises for UK subscribers in December 2020 and those in Ireland in March last year. Netflix, which has about 14 million UK subscribers and 600,000 in Ireland, according to Ampere Analysis, is to raise the price of its most popular package, which offers simultaneous viewing on two screens, HD and the ability to download shows and films to two devices, to £10.99 a month. It is also raising the price of its basic package for the first time in a decade. The entry-level plan, which allows viewers to watch only one screen at a time and download to one device, will rise by £1 a month to £6.99. Netflix said the increases were the inevitable cost associated with maintaining a continual pipeline of new content for viewers amid rising competition from rivals including Amazon’s Prime Video, Disney+ and HBO Max. The UK is Netflix’s biggest production base for TV shows and films outside the US with a $1bn annual content spend.

Netflix Price Rise

Happy Birthday Smarties

 

White chocolate Smarties are going on sale to celebrate the colourful chocolate favourite's 85th birthday. 'Smarties White" will be on shelves from the middle of this month and will initially launch in a tube like the rest of the range, with a recommended retail price of 70p. A 100g sharing bag will also be available from the summer. The white chocolate Smarties will initially be an exclusive in ASDA stores in March, before rolling out to a range of supermarkets and convenience stores from June. Maker Nestle said white chocolate was increasingly popular with shoppers, outperforming both milk and dark chocolate at a category level, according to IRI Market Advantage consumer data. Rebecca Mitchell, Brand Manager for Smarties said: “Here at Smarties HQ, the most popular request we receive is for a white chocolate version – so we’re absolutely delighted to be able to grant the wish of Smarties fans everywhere! One of the reasons Smarties has been such a popular brand for so long is because we love to unbox imagination with exciting innovations - whether that’s new formats such as blocks and buttons, our recyclable paper packaging or delicious taste sensations. Smarties launched under their current name in York in 1937. However the Rowntree Society says they were originally released in 1882 under the name Chocolate Beans.

Smarties Birthday

Business Pull Back from Russia

 

Thirty years ago when communism collapsed in the Soviet Union, Western firms jostled to be first through the door. The arrival of brands such as Coca-Cola and McDonald's symbolised the start of a new era, closely followed by retailers, miners, lawyers and advisers. And Russians became eager consumers of Levi jeans and luxury goods. Now, in the wake of President Putin's military aggression in Ukraine, some firms, including Apple, Jaguar Land Rover, H&M and Burberry, have announced they are pausing activities in Russia. Russia was the fifth largest European retail market in 2021, valued at £337.2bn. Some brands may not want to burn their bridges, if there's a chance of returning at some later date. That is why many firms simply say they are "reconsidering" or "suspending" sales rather than withdrawing altogether. And with sanctions limiting forms of payment, restrictions on taking foreign exchange out of the country and huge uncertainty over future prices and consumer appetite, the business climate is extremely challenging making the decision to hit pause easier.

Business Pull Back from Russia

Fitbit Recall

Fitbit has recalled one of its fitness-tracking smartwatches due to the risk of it overheating and burning people. The company, now owned by Google, said it had issued a voluntary recall of the Fitbit Ionic watch. It will give people who purchased the device a refund of $299 (£225) and a discount on a replacement product. The Fitbit Ionic was manufactured between 2017 and 2020, and about 1.7 million of them were sold internationally. The CPSC said it was aware of 40 burn injuries internationally. In a statement, Fitbit said: "Customer safety is always Fitbit's top priority and out of an abundance of caution, we are voluntarily recalling Fitbit Ionic smartwatches." It said the number of reports about the watches overheating represented "less than 0.01% of units sold".

Fitbit Recall

Sainsburys Cafe Closure

 

Sainsbury's is set to close 200 of its in-store cafes next month, putting about 2,000 jobs at risk. The supermarket has also announced plans to close less popular hot food counters in 34 stores. Chief executive Simon Roberts said the chain was "absolutely committed" to supporting the members of staff affected. They will be prioritised for vacant jobs and encouraged to look at alternative roles within the business. It comes as part of new plans aimed at updating the supermarket's eat-in, takeaway and home delivery food and drink offer for customers. The move follows a trial of a new "food hall" format called The Restaurant Hub at its Selly Oak store in Birmingham. Off the back of the trial, Sainsbury's plans to open 30 more of the food halls in 2022, as well as 30 Starbucks coffee shops in its supermarkets over the next 12 months. It is currently working in partnership with the Boparan Restaurant Group on the project. As part of the trial, customers were able to choose options from the likes of Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Ed's Diner and Slim Chickens. The retailer has already closed its fresh fish, cheese and meat counters in stores, which saw about 3,500 jobs cut.

Cafe Closure