Thontons Closes Shop Doors

 

Chocolate maker Thorntons has said none of its stores will reopen after coronavirus lockdowns are lifted. The decision to close its 61 shops will put more than 600 jobs at risk. The company said it had been badly hit by the pandemic, which forced its stores to shut their doors during the crucial Christmas and Easter holidays. "The obstacles we have faced and will continue to face on the High Street are too severe," said Thorntons retail director Adam Goddard. "Despite our best efforts we have taken the difficult decision to permanently close our retail store estate." Thorntons has been on the High Street for more than a century but these days history isn't enough to guarantee survival. The company, which was founded in Sheffield in 1911, said it would continue to sell its chocolate online and try to sell more through supermarkets. Since the beginning of the crisis, sales through its website have increased by more than 70% compared to the previous year, it said.  It will also try to expand the range of products made at its factory in Alfreton, Derbyshire and increase international sales. In 2015, Italian food giant Ferrero bought the chocolate chain for £112m. In a statement, the company said: "We remain committed to this iconic British brand and will continue to invest further in the future potential of Thorntons to ensure we evolve with the times."

Thorntons

Uber Contracts Milestone

 

Uber has insisted its fares will not rise after saying that its 70,000 UK drivers will be guaranteed a minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions. The ride-hailing giant said drivers would earn at least the National Living Wage, or £8.72 an hour, in a move that could shake up the wider gig economy. It comes a month after it lost a legal battle in the UK over drivers' status. Uber said it was "turning the page" on workers' rights, but some said it had not gone far enough. Analysts also warned the company had increased prices in California after a similar ruling and was likely to do the same in the UK.  Uber, which is worth $110bn but has never made a profit, said the changes to its UK drivers' pay would come in from Wednesday, and form an earnings floor, not an earnings ceiling. Union leaders and employment experts said Uber's move would have far reaching consequences for the gig economy. Bates Wells lawyer Rachel Mathieson, who represented Uber drivers fighting for worker rights, called it "a very significant milestone".

Uber

Lockdown Pet Boom

A total of 3.2 million households in the UK have acquired a pet since the start of the pandemic, according to the Pet Food Manufacturers' Association. That means the country now has 17 million pet-owning homes, the association says. Young people are the main drivers of this trend, with more than half of new owners aged 16 to 34, the PFMA says. Many have bought pets in response to social isolation, but there are concerns about animal welfare, it adds. UK supermarkets have already noted an "unprecedented" rise in pet ownership and have warned that it is causing a shortage of some dog and cat food products. Helen Warren-Piper, general manager of Mars Petcare UK, which makes Pedigree and Whiskas, said: "We recognise retailers are experiencing unusual demand for pet food during lockdown." The pandemic boost to pet ownership has led retail chain Pets at Home to raise its profit forecast yet again as demand for pet products continues to soar. The company, which has 451 outlets across the UK, says full-year profits will be £85m, up from a previous estimate of £77m. It said trading over the past eight weeks, during the latest lockdown, had been better than expected.

Pets at Home

M&S Online Expansion

 

Marks & Spencer is to launch 46 new websites in overseas markets from Iceland to Uzbekistan, as part of moves to grow its online business. It expands the retailer's online reach to more than 100 countries, offering M&S clothing and homeware. The firm said the expansion would enable it to capitalise on growth without considerable upfront costs. Last year, M&S posted its first loss in its 94 years as a publicly-listed company as coronavirus hit store sales.Online e-commerce sales were up 75% according to its latest interim results, as overall losses across the business reached £87.6m in the six months to 26 September. M&S is in the midst of a wide-reaching transformation programme which last year saw 7,000 job cuts across stores and management. Using an "adaptable" website platform designed for international sales, orders are fulfilled through M&S' distribution network. M&S' international online channels have been translated into 10 more languages and additional currencies. They will also start selling clothes from 11 rival brands on its website this spring in a bid to boost its online sales. Marks said the move to sell items from Hobbs, Joules, Phase Eight and White Stuff from March was part of its ongoing "transformation programme".

M&S Online Expansion

Every Little Bit of Recycling Helps

 

Tesco is rolling out collection points for soft plastic packaging like crisp packets, pet food pouches and bread bags at stores in England and Wales. The supermarket chain is aiming to establish a nationwide recycling network for these harder to process plastics. Currently most soft plastic ends up in landfill. The recycled material will be used to package food, household and beauty products, Tesco said. The supermarket said it prioritised reducing the plastic packaging it used, but that the new service would also have "a real impact". The roll-out will start with new collection points at 171 stores in the south west of England and in Wales. During a 10-store trial in 2018 Tesco said the most commonly returned packaging was bread bags, fruit and vegetable packaging, crisp packets, salad bags, and baby and pet food pouches.  Customers may return packaging bought from other retailers as well as Tesco's own packaging, however they will need to clean items that are heavily soiled and take them back to participating stores, while the rest of their recycling is collected at the kerbside. Tesco said it expected to collect 1,000 tonnes of soft plastic a year.One estimate suggests UK supermarkets produce 800,000 tonnes of plastic every year, although they don't make figures publicly available.

Every Little Helps

Coca-Cola Revamp

 

Coca-Cola is to launch an “evolved” version of its Zero Sugar SKU as it looks to create “the best possible Coca-Cola experience”, it said. The evolved version features a new recipe and “sleek” pack redesign the brand said would “enhance consumers Coke experience even further”. It will roll out over the coming months. A Coca-Cola spokeswoman said the new version “offers consumers the best Coca-Cola experience, still with zero sugar and zero calories”. She added the new recipe was the latest in a number of moves Coca-Cola had taken to reduce sugar and help people to reduce their sugar intake. “For a number of years, we’ve been changing the recipe and innovating to offer people a choice of low and no-sugar drinks including offering smaller pack sizes, introducing colour-coded labelling and increasing marketing investment in our low and no-sugar range of drinks.” The revamped Coca-Cola Zero Sugar comes alongside a new campaign for the brand, spanning TV, online, video and radio ads, as well as interactive OOH advertising, shopper activation, PR and social media. Kicking off this month, the campaign, called ‘Open That Coca-Cola’, explores non-verbal reactions to the drink.

Coca-Cola Revamp