More retailers reported falling sales this month than at any point since March 2009 as British shoppers cut back on spending in food shops, department stores and furnishing specialists (The Telegraph). High street sales are falling at their fastest rate since the height of the recession in 2009 as struggling households put the brakes on spending, according to a survey that is a grim omen for struggling retailers this Christmas (The Guardian). As high street and online shops gear up for the crucial Christmas sales period, half of retailers said they suffered a drop in sales this month, the Confederation of British Industry’s latest report reveals (The Daily Mail). Retail sales fell this month at their steepest rate since the recession, according to new figures that add to anxiety over the strength of the economy days ahead of an expected interest rate hike (Sky News).
The world’s biggest and most profitable brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev sold less beer but made more profits in its third quarter as it raised its forecast for savings from last year’s £79bn takeover of rival SABMiller. (The Financial Times £)
Ranjit Singh Boparan, the multimillionaire boss of 2 Sisters Food Group, has apologised for the scandal engulfing his company as he pledged to fund the cost of independent inspectors to police all 12 of his UK chicken sites. (The Guardian)
Big investments in film and television production, cloud computing and the grocery business failed to put a dent in Amazon’s third-quarter results, with the ecommerce giant cruising past Wall Street’s expectations last night (The Times £). Amazon is launching a service that will enable couriers to open customers’ front doors and leave deliveries inside. Called Amazon Key, the system combines an app, home security camera and a smart lock that couriers unlock via the app once they have scanned the package, to confirm its arrival (The Daily Mail).
The FT’s Lex column writes: “Jeff Bezos once warned small investors to stay away from Amazon. “We are not a stock you can sleep well with at night,” said the ecommerce company’s founder after its shares fell 90 per cent in the dotcom bust… Small investors who disregarded Mr Bezos’s advice have done supremely well, but not via dividends. As they have for 20 years, sceptics can stay awake worrying about the lack of profits. The rest of us are wide-eyed at the growth.” (The Financial Times £)
Lloyds Pharmacy has announced it will close nearly 200 stores across England because of changes in government policy, with its parent company also blaming funding cuts and the apprenticeship levy. (The Guardian)
For months, bakers, biscuit-makers, farmers and food producers have sounded the alarm over a dearth of butter in France. But this week, with French newspapers warning of the worst shortage since the second world war, the crisis has turned political as the government seeks to reassure consumers. (The Guardian)
Half past eight on October 24 will go down in history as the moment Britain ceased to be a tobacco manufacturer. Once the final product — a pouch of fine-cut tobacco for roll-your-own cigarettes — came off the production line at the plant in Ballymena, the machinery was turned off at the site which will be redeveloped for use by Wrights Group, the Northern Irish busmaker. (The Times £)
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