Vodafone-Three Merger

 

The proposed merger of Vodafone and Three could lead to "higher prices" and "reduced quality" for customers, the UK's competition watchdog says. The proposed £15bn deal could now be subject to an in-depth investigation. The combined group would be the UK's biggest mobile network with about 27 million customers. The firms said the deal would result in an additional investment of £11bn in the UK. But the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) deputy chief economic adviser Julie Bon said she had "identified concerns which could lead to higher prices for customers and lower investment in UK mobile networks. "These warrant an in-depth investigation unless Vodafone and Three can come forward with solutions." The regulator is also concerned that the deal may make it more difficult for smaller players such as Sky Mobile and Lyca Mobile - who rent space from the bigger operators - to get a good deal. Three and Vodafone have already announced they will introduce a 7.9% increase to the cost of many contracts in April. That now looks like "an ill-timed move that may not sit well with the competition watchdog," said analyst Kester Mann, from CCS Insight. However, for the firms themselves the merger makes sense as "scale is key to help lower costs and improve margins," said telecoms analyst Paolo Pescatore. However, he added that "it could take years before we see the real fruits of this deal" in terms of prices for customers.

Phone Merger

Gucci Sales Slow

 

Sales at Gucci are expected to fall by 20% in the first quarter due to a slowdown in Asia, according to its Paris-based owner Kering. The warning contrasts with rivals LVMH and Hermès whose sales have remained resilient. The luxury market has grown in the past decade but sales have not been as impressive in recent years. Gucci is estimated to get more than a third of its sales from China, whose economy has been struggling. Kering said in a statement that the profit warning "reflects a steeper sales drop at Gucci, notably in the Asia-Pacific region". The firm is scheduled to report its financial results on 23 April. Gucci accounted for two-thirds of group operating income last year. Kering's other brands include Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta. Last month, Kering reported that its net profit last year fell by 17%. Its shares have fallen by more than 23% over the past year. In comparison, its bigger rival LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, Moët & Chandon and Hennessy, posted higher-than-expected sales for 2023. Hermes also celebrated its record annual sales last year with plans to reward all employees worldwide with a bonus. While their results showed resilience in the luxury market, Gucci is known to target younger, aspirational shoppers who are more vulnerable to economic pressures.

Gucci Sales Slow

Easter Egg Cost Rise

 

Climate change is a key reason your chocolate Easter egg could cost more this year, according to researchers. Most chocolate is made from cocoa grown in West Africa, but a humid heatwave has blasted the crops and massively cut yields. Experts say that human-induced climate change has made the extreme heat 10 times more likely. Which? found some popular eggs have risen in price by 50% or more. The shortage of cocoa resulting from the heatwave has seen prices soar to almost $8,500 (£6,700) a tonne this week.Cocoa trees are particularly vulnerable to changes in the climate. They only grow in a narrow band of about 20 degrees latitude around the Equator. Most global production is concentrated in West Africa. In 2023, 58m kilogrammes of cocoa beans worth £127m were imported to the UK from Ivory Coast and Ghana with 85% of the UK's cocoa beans sourced from Ivory Coast. However, severe drought conditions have hit the West Africa region since February this year. This has been caused by temperatures that soared above 40C, breaking records in countries including the Ivory Coast and Ghana. Chocolate makers typically buy beans months ahead of time but soaring prices are now beginning to affect prices in the shops.Feeling the brunt of these price fluctuations are the farmers who grow the cocoa crops. There are estimated to be some two million smallholder farmers in the West African cocoa belt who rely on this labour-intensive crop for most of their income.

Easter Egg

Easter Egg Order Error

An order blunder by a shop on the Orkney island of Sanday has left it with hundreds of Easter eggs - far more than the population. Only 80 were needed, but 80 cases were mistakenly ordered by Sinclair General Stores. It now has 720 chocolate eggs for an island population of about 500 people. Embarrassed shop owner Dan Dafydd is now raffling off 100 of the eggs to one lucky winner, in aid of the RNLI. Mr Dafydd said their Easter egg stock now out-numbered the population of Sanday. "I don't think conventional means is going to get rid of them," he said. "We've been thinking outside the box a little bit."We're doing a 'guess the number' square to win 100 Easter Eggs, with proceeds going to the RNLI." He added: "If you won them you'd probably just give them all away, but a couple of customers were pretty set on the idea of trying to eat all 100."

Easter Egg Order

 

Capri-Sun Recyclable

 

Capri Sun has announced a first-to-market launch with its redesigned recyclable drink pouches – rolling out across retail, convenience, wholesale and foodservice channels. The 200ml single serve pouches come in Orange and Blackcurrant & Apple flavours, and will be the first of the Capri-Sun range to transition to the new packaging. Made entirely of mono material polypropylene (PP), it is the first juice drink pouch to be recognised as recyclable and joins other soft plastics, such as carrier bags, that can be collected for recycling at large supermarkets in the UK. The new mono pouches have a significantly lower carbon footprint than any other common beverage packaging, reducing CO₂ emissions by a further 25% compared to its current pouch, which already weighs only a fifth of a comparable PET bottle. Senior marketing manager at Capri-Sun UK Anke von Hanstein said: “We’re excited to launch our very first recyclable pouch in the UK. We know that sustainability is increasingly influencing purchase decisions among parents and we as Capri-Sun need to do our part to help families. That’s why we’re launching the product they love in a more sustainable format.”

Capri-Sun

More Cuts at John Lewis

John Lewis has indicated it could cut jobs further, despite the retailer reporting a return to profit. The retail partnership, which also owns the Waitrose supermarket chain, posted pre-tax profits of £56m compared with a £234m loss the year before. However, it is not paying a staff bonus for the second year in a row. The retailer said a "few hundred" roles were shed in 2023 as part of £88m in savings and it was eyeing similar cost cuts this year. John Lewis's new chief executive, Nish Kankiwala, told the PA news agency: "We're looking at all the opportunities as we improve our ways of working and if there is eventually a reduction in roles, then we'll use (staff) attrition in the same way as we have done in the past. "If there are unfortunately, regrettably, redundancies then we'll talk to our partners first." John Lewis chair Dame Sharon White told journalists that while job losses at the partnership are inevitable in the coming years, there was no target for a reduction in jobs. In January, John Lewis said it was planning further cuts to its workforce over the next five years in order to boost profitability. The lack of bonus for staff is only the third time the retailer has not paid out such an award since 1953. John Lewis said that is was focusing on improving pay overall for its employees, with about 45,000 staff set to get a 10% pay rise in April. Sales of fashion and beauty products did well, but it saw weaker sales in home and technology. Plans to refurbish 80 Waitrose supermarkets and open a string of new branches would allow for "continued improvement" in profit this year, the group said.

John Lewis

McOutage

 

McDonald's has revealed the technical problems which brought much of its fast food chain to a standstill on Friday were caused by a third party provider. The international restaurant said the global outage happened during a "configuration change" and stopped stores taking orders in the UK, Australia and Japan - amongst others. McDonald's stressed the issue was not caused by a cyber attack. Stores in the UK and Australia are open again after their systems froze. The company experienced a "global technology system outage, which was quickly identified and corrected," McDonald's chief information officer Brian Rice, said. Problems started in the early hours and continued throughout the morning, but the company would not say how many stores were affected. Problems were reported in several countries, including New Zealand, Austria and Germany, but come the afternoon they were starting to get resolved. The fast food chain has about 40,000 restaurants worldwide, with around 1,450 restaurants across the UK and Ireland and more than 14,000 stores in the United States. It operates nearly 3,000 across Japan and roughly 1,000 in Australia.

McDonalds Tech Problem

Sainsburys Job Cut

Sainsbury's has announced it is cutting around 1,500 jobs, subject to consultation, as part of plans it hopes will save around £1bn over three years. The retailer said roles would be lost at its contact centre in Cheshire, in-store bakeries, and some local fulfilment centres. Some staff will be redeployed, with alternative roles found "where possible". The savings will be invested back into the business, the retailer added. The supermarket said it had begun moving to a more efficient way of baking goods in-store, and had outlined plans to move more stores to the model. Sainsbury's said it had reassured colleagues that it would find alternative roles for them where possible, as it would "for any colleague affected by changes proposed". Sainsbury's chief executive Simon Roberts summed up the changes as the next part of its strategy to deliver value and good service to customers, while making "difficult but necessary decisions". "I know today's news is unsettling for affected colleagues and we will do everything we can to support them," he added.

Sainsburys Job Cut

Sidemen Cereal Launch

Cereal brand Best, which has been created by British YouTube collective The Sidemen, has made its retail debut exclusively in Tesco as influencer-led brands continue to flourish. The HFSS-compliant products were developed by cereal manufacturer Mornflake and are available in flavours Choco Crunch and Caramel Gold. Both variants are made with a combination of wheat and oat puffs with added minerals and vitamins B12, D and E. The cereal, which is priced at £2 for a 375g box, is also a source of fibre and low in fat, salt and sugar, with one bowl containing just over 100 calories. Best will be donating a significant proportion of its profits directly to Magic Breakfast, a charity working to ensure children have access to a filling breakfast every day. The Sidemen’s manager Jordan Schwarzenberger added: “It’s brilliant to be working with the best cereal manufacturer in the UK, Mornflake, to make this product for The Sidemen, and to have secured such strong distribution with Tesco at the start of this brand’s journey. To support the launch of the new brand they have signed up 17-year old dart sensation Luke Littler to be part of their promotional campaign.

The Best Cereal

Greggs Profit Sharing

Thousands of Greggs workers will share a £17.6m bonus pot this month after the bakery chain famous for its sausage rolls and steak bakes said it had made a record annual profit and overtaken McDonald’s to become the UK’s most popular breakfast spot. Britain’s biggest bakery chain said 25,000 employees – out of a total of 32,000 across the UK – would receive a bonus in their pay packets at the end of March, as it reported a 27% jump in profits to £188m. Under a profit share agreement, Greggs shares 10% of profits each year with staff who have worked at the chain for at least six months. The payment to each employee varies: for example, someone working 22 hours a week with six years’ service will receive £765. Greggs said there was better news for its customers, too, with no further price rises planned this year. It increased prices by between 5p and 10p on some items in December but held down the cost of bestselling items including its sausage rolls and vegan sausage rolls. Greggs runs 2,473 shops after 145 net openings last year, including at Canary Wharf and Waterloo stations in London and at Gatwick airport. It intends to open up to 160 net new shops this year, as it is aiming for more than 3,000 UK stores over the longer term. Greggs shares were up 5% on Tuesday morning, making it one of the biggest risers on the FTSE 250.

Greggs