Marks & Spencer could be set to announce further store closures. The UK retailer is reported to be considering a radical change to its portfolio, as a result of falling profits. According to the Guardian, the retailer is expected to ramp up its store-closure plan this week, as it announces its half-year trading results on Wednesday. Earlier this year, it announced plans to close six stores in the UK, but has continued to open new food-only stores across the country.
Iceland is continuing to accept 'Round Pound' in the UK until the end of 2017, extending its original deadline from 31 October. Tarsem Dhaliwal, Iceland Group managing director, said the statistics reveal that many people still have old pound coins stashed away. “We are happy to save them the trouble of changing these old coins at a bank by allowing them to spend round pounds in our stores until the end of the year,” said Dhaliwal.
Dave Lewis, Tesco’s chief executive officer testified last Thursday at the London trial of three former Tesco executives accused of the accounting fraud. He said that while he was aware of tensions with suppliers and issues surrounding the company’s financial structure, he had no idea profits had been overstated by about £250 million.
Sparkling fruit wine, Ibiza Ice has been listed in a number of Irish stores, including Spar, Eurospar, Mace and Londis. Ibiza Ice is described as a blend of Austrian mountain spring water and fruit wine made from apples and pears. Richard Horwell, Founder of Ibiza Ice commented,“We are shaking up the fruit wine category with the world’s first range of sparkling fruit wine – this is a burgeoning market, which is yet to experience the same premiumisation as other wines."
Associated British Foods, the owner of the Primark fashion chain and Twinings Tea, has seen its profit before tax for its 2016/17 financial year rise 51% to £1.58 billion. This figure was boosted by profit on the sale of businesses during the financial year, with statutory operating profit up 21% to £1.34 billion. Group revenue was up 6% on a constant currency basis to £15.4 billion in the year to 16 September 2017.
Centra Parnell Street has won IGD’s Innovative Store of the Year award. The award, sponsored by McCurrach UK, was presented at the annual IGD Awards, which took place in London recently. IGD analysts visited over 700 stores across 50 countries, including Ireland, the UK and the US, to shortlist just seven stores for their commitment to innovation.
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