Walkers Crisp Shortage

 

Supplies of Walkers crisps have been disrupted by an IT upgrade. The Leicester-based crisp giant confirmed products including multipacks of ready salted, Quavers and Wotsits had been affected. A number of these are currently unavailable on the Tesco website and there are reports of empty shelves in some shops. A spokeswoman said the firm was "working round the clock" to increase the supply to stores across the UK. She added: "We are currently experiencing disruption to the supply of some of our Walkers snacks products, as a result of a recent IT system upgrade. "We're very sorry for the inconvenience. "We're incredibly grateful to all our colleagues in Leicester and our other sites for their hard work and dedication as we work through this issue." Hoarders however are cashing in on the lack of the availability of the crisps and selling packets online, some for up to £8.

Walkers Shortage

Christmas Comes Early

 
Customers are Christmas shopping early, retailer Marks & Spencer has said, with nearly half expecting to have finished buying gifts by the end of November. Rival John Lewis said that many people were planning big family get-togethers after lockdowns last Christmas. Retail expert Steve Dresser said people were "spooked about shortages of stock" and were budgeting in tough times. In October, shop footfall was higher than in September, British Retail Consortium (BRC) data suggested. Marks & Spencer said that many customers were shopping early and planning ahead, while nearly 40% were planning to do more to celebrate Christmas than prior to Covid. More than two thirds (68%) were planning to have a big family Christmas, the retailer added. Both M&S and John Lewis have launched their Christmas adverts slightly earlier than last year to try to entice people to buy from them. People were concerned about the future of the UK economy "against a backdrop of cheerless domestic news" including "fuel and food shortages" and "surging inflation squeezing household budgets".

Christmas Comes Early

Shopping Green

 

The Co-op’s Ethical Consumerism report shows UK households are spending an average £100 a month on lowering their carbon impact. The report’s findings include tracking the increase in the total size of the ethical food market from £1bn a year in 2000 to £14bn today, a year-on-year increase of 12%. In the last year plant-based foods saw a 34% increase to £1.5bn at the same time as the Co-op introduced a price-match initiative for its own brand vegan foods against equivalent meat products. The report also found that free-range egg sales topped £1bn for the first time as more supermarkets followed the Co-op’s lead in selling only free-range eggs. There has also been a growth in zero waste shops with approximately over 320 independents setting these up whilst Five of the UK's biggest supermarkets have promised to halve the environmental impact of a weekly food shop by the end of the decade. Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Co-op and M&S said they would reduce carbon emissions, deforestation and the food waste and packaging they produce with many trialing the zero waste approach.

Shopping Green

Christmas Soup

Heinz has launched a Christmas Dinner soup complete with turkey, Brussels sprouts and pigs in blankets in a move sure to bring joy to consumers fretting over empty shelves this festive season. The brand’s first cans of Christmas Dinner Big Soup contain “big chunks” of turkey, pigs in blankets, Brussels sprouts, stuffing balls and potatoes, with a gravy and cranberry sauce. Just 500 cans will be produced this year, but Heinz has hinted it could roll the line out in greater numbers next year if it proves a success with shoppers. A survey for Heinz suggests 36% of those who celebrate Christmas prefer the traditional dinner to any other meal. The limited edition tin which was priced at £1.50 sold out within hours of launching on Monday which prompted Heinz to consider bringing it back next year.

Christmas Soup

Tesla Surpasses $1 Trillion Valuation

Tesla surpassed a market value of $1 trillion on Monday, making it the fifth such firm to reach the milestone. Shares in the electric carmaker climbed 12.6% after it struck a deal to sell 100,000 vehicles to the car rental firm Hertz. Tesla has been the world's most valuable carmaker for some time, but brands like Ford and GM make more cars. Previously only Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google-owner Alphabet have reached a $1tn valuation. For years, Tesla struggled to ramp up production of its cars, leading some investors to speculate it would fail. But last year the company, led by billionaire Elon Musk, upped its game and became profitable for the first time, prompting its shares to take off. Following the jump in its share price, Mr Musk's 23% stake in the business is worth around $230bn. The deal with Hertz is the biggest-ever rental car order for electric vehicles and seen as a further vote of confidence. What makes Tesla's achievement all the more remarkable is that it is the first carmaker to hit this milestone. Tesla is now worth as much as the combined market cap of the nine largest carmakers around the world, including automotive giants like Volkswagen and Toyota. Yet Tesla makes up less than 1% of global car sales. Elon Musk and company are being rewarded for anticipating the future direction of the industry.

Tesla Trillions

Ikea on Oxford Street

 

Ikea is buying the former flagship central London store of Topshop for £378m following the collapse of Sir Philip Green's retail empire. The Swedish giant will turn several floors of the huge Oxford Street site into a furniture store as part of a strategy to open inner-city outlets. Ikea said despite the growth of online sales, bricks and mortar remained key. Peter Jelkeby, retail manager of Ikea UK & Ireland, said societies were seeing big changes in the way people live and shop, including soaring online sales and a desire for more local physical outlets. Ikea, famous for its huge out-of-town warehouses, has been trialling inner-city formats across Europe for more than two years. The new store is planned to open in autumn 2023 and will focus on home-furnishing accessories, with the full range available to buy for home delivery. The company opened its first inner-city outlet in Paris in 2019. It also has city centre sites in New York, Toyko, and Madrid, with outlets planned for Vienna, Barcelona, Berlin and Prague. Ikea currently has 22 UK outlets. "Even though online shopping continues to accelerate at a rapid pace, our physical stores - large and small - will always be an essential part of the Ikea experience," said Mr Jelkeby.

Ikea Oxford Street

Vending Machine Comeback

Traditional machines serving offices, schools, and hospitals saw their business evaporate as workers, students and visitors stayed at home. In the UK, of the 24,500 employees servicing these machines, some 5,000 were made redundant. But innovative and niche machines, often boasting upmarket, healthier and specialist products, tell a different story. David Llewellyn, chief executive of the Vending and Automated Retail Association, says automated micro markets saw 367% growth last year. These are small convenience stores, without staff and where customers pay using a smartphone app or at an unattended till. And the vending options are always expanding. For example, you can now purchase fake eyelashes from a machine and perfume and even collect your prescriptions. In April, Rome got its first automated pizza vending machine - on the Via Catania near La Sapienza university district. The red contraption cooks and dispenses pizzas in three minutes, ranging from margherita to diavola, for between €4.50-6 (£3.80-5.10). Italy has one vending machine for every 145 people, lagging only Germany for vending machines' popularity in Europe. Both countries though trail Japan, with one machine for every 25 people.

Vending Machines