Today’s news in brief-5/1/24
Asda and Usdaw have signed a collective bargaining agreement, enabling the union to represent hourly-paid employees in convenience stores and Leon restaurants acquired from EG Group. Usdaw will negotiate on pay, hours, and holidays annually for employees across 356 convenience stores and 77 Leon restaurant sites. Asda’s Chief People and Corporate Affairs Officer, Hayley Tatum, highlighted the importance of recognising the role of trade unions, and Usdaw expressed satisfaction with the positive step forward for its members within the EG Group of stores and Leon restaurants. Existing union agreements with Usdaw in Northern Ireland and the GMB in depots and retail stores remain unchanged for Asda.
Boots, owned by Walgreens Boots Alliance, experienced robust performance in the first quarter of the year, ending on November 30, 2023. Retail sales surged by 9.8%, primarily driven by a “record-breaking” Black Friday. This marked the 11th consecutive quarter of market share growth for the retailer. Boots.com achieved its highest-ever monthly and daily sales in November. In-store footfall grew by 7%, with all formats witnessing year-on-year sales growth. Notable categories contributing to sales included Electrical Beauty, Skincare, Premium Beauty, No7, and Fragrance. Digital sales constituted 19.2% of total retail sales, with boots.com sales growing by 17.5%. Beauty sales rose by 11.4%, fuelled by strong performances in Skincare and Premium Beauty.
Sainsbury’s announced a substantial £200m investment to increase colleague pay to £12 per hour (£13.15 in London) from March. This move, the largest investment in staff pay by the retailer, will benefit around 120,000 colleagues, providing them with an additional £1,910 annually nationally and £2,290 in London. This brings the three-year total investment in staff pay to over £500 million. Sainsbury’s has increased pay by 50% since 2018, aligning with the Real Living Wage.
Next’s Chief Executive, Lord Simon Wolfson, warned of possible stock delays resulting from attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels. While currently considered a minor inconvenience, ongoing disruptions could escalate into a major problem throughout the year. Despite these concerns, Next raised its profit guidance to £905m for the full year, a £20m increase, following better-than-expected December sales. The company performed well online, with a 9.1% rise in sales in the three months ending December 31. Positive Q4 trading led to a 5% jump in Next’s share price.
British retailer Ann Summers has secured £8m in asset-based funding from Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance. The funding aims to enhance both physical and online retail offerings while boosting working capital across the business. Ann Summers’ Chief Financial Officer, John Boyle, expressed gratitude for the support, highlighting plans for growth after overcoming challenges in the retail sector in recent years.
Carsten Keller, Zalando’s Vice President of Direct-to-Consumer and founder of the Connected Retail division, has decided to leave the company after eight years. Keller played a crucial role in building Zalando’s marketplace ecosystem and launched Connected Retail, engaging over 7,500 retailers across 13 countries. In 2023, he also founded Zalando’s e-commerce operating system, ZEOS. Keller’s departure was announced through a LinkedIn post where he expressed appreciation for the exceptional experiences during his time at Zalando.
