iPhones No Longer Made in China

 

Apple says it is shifting production of most iPhones and other devices to be sold in the US away from China, which has been the focus of President Donald Trump's tariffs. The majority of the iPhones bound for the US market in the coming months will be made in India, while Vietnam will be a major production hub for items like iPads and Apple Watches, chief executive Tim Cook says. It comes as the technology giant estimated that US import taxes could add about $900m (£677.5m) to its costs in the current quarter, despite Trump's decision to spare key electronics from the new tariffs. The Trump administration has repeatedly said it wants Apple to move production to America. However moving production lines to India will take time and significant investment, costing billions of dollars. Apple shares had plummeted after Trump announced his administration would levy "reciprocal tariffs" on products imported to the United States, with the aim of persuading companies to manufacture more in the US.For now, trade turmoil has left Apple's sales unscathed. The company said revenues for the first three months of the year rose 5% from the same period last year, to $95.4bn.

BBQ - Why are Apple not making the phone in the USA?

iPhone India

Starbucks to Hire More Staff

 

Starbucks will hire more baristas and scale back plans to roll out automation, the coffee shop giant's chief executive Brian Niccol says. The move, which is part of his strategy to win back customers, comes as other food and drink chains increasingly adopt technology to cut costs. Also on Tuesday, the firm announced worse-than-expected financial results as its sales continue to fall. Mr Niccol was brought into Starbucks last year tasked with turning the business around as it struggles with rising prices and consumers cut back spending. "Over the last couple of years, we've actually been removing labour from the stores. I think with the hope that equipment could offset the removal of the labour," Mr Niccol said during a call with investors. "What we're finding is... that wasn't an accurate assumption with what played out." Increasing staff numbers was tested in a handful of stores around the time Mr Niccol joined the firm in September 2024. He has been expanding the approach to include around 3,000 stores this year. Mr Niccol highlighted that taking on more staff would mean higher costs but said he was "banking on some growth to come with the investment". Alongside recruiting more baristas, Starbucks is also revamping its coffee shops, menus and the company's dress code. Starbucks said in April that its baristas would wear dark, single coloured shirts to "allow our iconic green apron to shine and create a sense of familiarity for our customers".

BBQ - Can Brian Niccol turn around Starbucks? Will more staff be the best decision?

Starbucks

, externalStarbucks said in April that its baristas would wear dark, single coloured shirts to "allow our iconic green apron to shine and create a sense of familiarity for our customers".

Xbox Price Hike

 

Microsoft has significantly raised prices for its Xbox console, citing increasing development costs and what it called "market conditions". The increases vary from country to country, with Xbox Series S consoles going up by £50 to £299.99 in the UK. The US has seen even steeper price rises, with the Series X increasing in price by between $100 (£75) and $130, depending on the model. It comes as US tariffs - which experts predict will increase prices for consumers - stir global economic uncertainty. However, Microsoft has not explicitly said tariffs were behind the increase. Xbox prices are also rising in other countries around the world, with the Series S increasing by €80 in Europe and $50 in Australia. It represents a big change in an industry which would typically see prices go down in the years after a console's launch. Kedhrin Gonzalez, founder of Rip & Tear studios, told the BBC he felt the price rise was "inevitable" and "catalysed by current tariff disruptions". "Gamers will suffer most, with little hope of prices decreasing," he said. "This could significantly impact Microsoft's already modest Xbox sales and potentially trigger broader industry repercussions. "This probably won't be the last price hike we see." Sony originally listed the PlayStation 5 digital edition at £360 in the UK when it launched in 2020, but over the years its price has increased to its current £429.99 RRP. Meanwhile, the cost of future Xbox games is also in question, with the firm revealing it anticipated "some of our new, first-party games" would cost $79.99 in 2025. This is the same retail price Nintendo announced for its upcoming Mario Kart World - a cost which caused concern amongst gamers who called it "inaccessible". But unlike Mario Kart, which will cost less if bought digitally rather than in a physical box, Microsoft said its new price would be the same across the board. It also clarified it did not plan to increase the price of existing games, only certain new titles developed by the firm itself.

BBQ - What will the impact be on the price rise for Xbox?

Xbox Price Hike

Toney Chocoloney Recall

 

Tony’s Chocolonely ,the Dutch company which is famous for its USP of having irregular chunks (5 of the chunks are made to have represented west African countries), is asking customers for a recall on certain batches of 3 specific products as they have been found to contain foreign objects (small stones) in the product. The chocolate market is worth over US$162 million (the chocolate market is worth over US$130 billion) a year and is a classic example of an oligopoly. Even though the bar is above the average selling price, it is ethical because it aims to prevent child slavery and to do this it encourages competitors to source cocoa from its established, child labour-free farms in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. The company has recently expanded by introducing advent calendars and had teamed up with Ben and Jerry’s ice cream brand to create “Chocolate Love A-Fair". In the past Tony’s has been found to be controversial. This is due to its pledge to pay all the workers involved with farming the raw materials a higher ‘living’ wage but in 2021 was removed from the list of ethical chocolate companies because Barry Callebaut, one of the companies it worked with, was found to employ and make use of child workers. Customers have been advised to check their lot code and to return the product to the store where you bought it from in exchange for a refund or replacement. Other chocolate bars without the mentioned lot code are safe to consume. The company asked for the recall on the 1st of April 2025 after getting reports from the US and Canada from 12 customers complaining about small stones in the products. Tony’s Chocolonely believes that the stones were a byproduct of the almond harvesting process and in a statement posted how the product was not filtered during third party almond harvesting and processing.

BBQ - What issues will Tony’s Chocolonely face after this recall?

Tony's Recall

Party Rings New Biscuit Shape

 

Fox’s Burton’s Companies (FBC) has unveiled a new addition to the Party Rings range, introducing a new shape for the first time in the brand’s 42-year history. The new Under The Sea Minis will offer the same iced shortcake taste of a Party Ring in fish shapes. They will be available in packs of six for £1.50 and are launching exclusively in supermarket giant Asda on 24 April for 12 weeks. The new format looks to attract the family shopper and boost basket spend, and follows strong performance of the manufacturer’s Mini Party Rings range which is now worth £13.5m, according to NIQ and Kantar data. The launch also marks the first in a pipeline of shaped biscuit innovation for the brand. FBC head of category insight Robin Norton said: “Under the Sea Minis is an exciting milestone for the Party Rings brand. It may be the first time we’re changing the format of the biscuits, but they come with the famous flavour and fun of traditional Party Rings. “In initial testing, the products performed incredibly well with consumers, outperforming industry standards by 24%, so we’re confident they will be a hit when they land on shelves later this month.” The innovation comes as the manufacturer recently launched a brand-new look and feel for the range, alongside a new limited-edition Strawberry flavour.

BBQ: What segment of the market is this product positioning itself for?

Party Rings New Shape

M&S Online Disruption

 

Marks & Spencer has suffered a "bruise" to its reputation after it was forced to stop taking online orders following a cyber attack, an analyst has said. The retail giant has paused orders on its website and apps since Friday as it attempts to restore operations. But analysts say M&S stands to lose out if the problem is not resolved quickly, with shoppers likely to turn to rival brands when buying summer clothes. Kate Hardcastle, consumer specialist at Insight with Passion, said the incident was "a bruise to M&S's trusted brand image".However, she added that because M&S had responded quickly and been open with its communication the long-term damage should limited. About a third of the retailer's clothing and household goods' sales in the UK come from its online operations. Natalie Berg, retail analyst at NBK Retail, said such incidents "erodes consumer trust in the brand". Customers began reporting problems last weekend - with people struggling to use contactless payments, click & collect, and gift cards - and on Tuesday the retailer confirmed it was facing a "cyber incident". Then on Friday M&S said it was pausing taking orders through its UK & Ireland websites and apps and some international websites. With warmer weather due this week, and shoppers turning their thoughts to summer, analysts said M&S could be missing out on sales at a critical time, as people were likely to turn to rival retailers to get what they want. M&S's sales and profits have improved in recent years and it has been seeking to expand its online operations. Last year, out of £3.9bn of sales in its clothing and home business, nearly £1.3bn came online.

BBQ: Would an issue like this cause you to loose trust in a brand? Why is this particularly important to M&S?

M&S Cyber Attack

NI Tax Rises To Hit Prices

Cosmetics company Lush and car repair chain Kwik Fit are among firms which have warned they will raise prices due to an increase in employers' National Insurance (NI). Other firms have told the BBC they will reduce how much profit they make, freeze hiring or in some cases cut jobs to cover the higher costs. From Sunday, employers will have to pay NI at 15% on salaries above £5,000, instead of 13.8% on salaries above £9,100 currently. The Treasury said the billions raised will be spent on public services, including the NHS. Lush told the BBC that with 3,600 employees in the UK and Ireland, it would have to find an extra £2.7m per year. Kasey Swithenbank, Lush's retail head for the UK and Ireland, said: "We are going to be taking small incremental price changes. Kwik Fit, which employs about 5,000 people, estimates the NICs rises will cost it £5m. This will have a knock-on effect on prices, and recruitment, said Mark Slade, its managing director.  The rate that employers pay in contributions will rise from 13.8% to 15% on a worker's earnings above £175 per week. The government expects about 940,000 firms to pay more, 250,000 companies to pay less, and 820,000 to see no change.

BBQ - How would you deal with the NI increase if you ran your own business?

NI Increase