Free Dry-cleaning

The High Street chain Timpson is offering to dry clean suits for unemployed people for nothing. It hopes this will help them succeed in job interviews. Wearing a suit is generally expected for an interview and clothes stains are said to "turn off" 59% of executives The problem is that getting suits dry cleaned usually costs in the vicinity of £10, which can be prohibitive for unemployed people looking to return to work. This is good PR for Timpsons whom will hope people will remain loyal customers if they help them get a foot on the job ladder.

Free Dry-cleaning

Toon Tea Takes Brew To USA

Family firm Ringtons has confirmed two distribution deals which will see its famous tea sold across the US. The 107-year-old Newcastle business, whose customers include luxury grocer Fortnum & Mason, has seen significant market growth over the last year, thanks to its traditional doorstep delivery service, business-to-business and private label divisions all strengthening within this timeframe. Established in 1907 today the company is headed up by the fourth generation of the Smith family and employs more than 500 staff across more than 20 sites throughout the UK, including its North Tyneside factory where all of its tea and coffee is blended, roasted and packed. Ringtones has modified its packaging to conform to US guidelines and launched a website to direct American audiences to their online stores.

Ringtons USA

Get Your Coats, We Are On Strike!

Staff at Gateshead clothing company Barbour have begun four weeks of strike action over pay and working hours.The strike is in protest at contractual changes requiring staff to work until 22:30 and removing extra payment for unsocial hours. Unite regional officer Fazia Hussain-Brown said: "Many of the workers struggling to get by on less than the living wage are the sole bread winner and have family or caring responsibilities. "The company should not underestimate the resolve of the workforce nor the impact that four weeks of strike action will have on supplies."

Barbour Stike

Record Breaking Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars sold a record number of cars last year, breaking through the 4,000 mark for the first time in its 111-year history. The luxury car maker sold 4,063 cars, up 12% on last year, and marking the fifth consecutive year of record sales. Sales in the US increased by almost a third, by 40% in Europe and in the Middle East by 20%, the firm said. About 80% of its buyers were entrepreneurs and business owners, with the remainder celebrities. The firm is also currently "mulling" creating a four-wheel drive SUV vehicle in 2015.

Record Breaking Rolls-Royce

Ice Cream Shortage!

Coromoto famous ice-cream shop in Venezuela which offers a world record 850 number of flavour of ice cream has had to close due to a shortage of milk.  Venezuela, which depends on imports for many products, is experiencing shortages of some staples, such as corn oil and powdered milk. According to the latest official figures the scarcity index stands at 29,4%. This suggests that out of 100 goods, 29 were not always available everywhere at the time. The government blames unscrupulous businesspeople, who it says hoard goods to drive up prices.

Ice Cream Shortage

Storage Wars

Apple is sued for claiming iPhones have 16GB of storage when its operating system takes up more than a fifth of available space. A lawsuit has been filed against Apple, accusing the technology giant of promising more available storage space than it actually delivers in its iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices. On some devices the latest iOS8 can take up to 23.1% of the storage of the device which leads to the data limit being hit quicker and forcing customers to pay for storage on Apples iCloud. 

Apple Storage Wars

Beautiful On The Inside

Asda is set to trial the sale of "wonky veg" with support from TV chef Jamie Oliver. They will be encouraging shoppers to buy misshapen produce such as crooked carrots, knobbly pears and wonky spuds. Bagged up and promoted using the tagline 'beautiful on the inside' the veg will be sold at a lower price as the supermarket looks to make the appeal of "ugly food" more accessible. Over half of what farmers produce currently has to be thrown away or sold as animal feed despite it having no difference in taste than what is sold at full price in the supermarkets. Would you buy wonky veg?

Wonky Veg