Sales of organic food and drink rose sharply in the UK during lockdown – and have soared by double the rate of non-organic equivalents over the past year (The Guardian). Organic bananas, chicken, eggs and wine are among the standout winners that, from January, helped supermarkets enjoy the highest sales growth in the sector since December 2016.
Spending on dining out jumped by more than 30% last month compared with July as people took advantage of the chancellor’s Eat Out to Help Out subsidy scheme and behaviour regained a semblance of normality (The Times £).
Inflation will be higher than expected in the coming months because restaurants and hotels have pocketed the government’s VAT cut to cover rising costs rather than pass it on to customers, the Bank of England governor has said (The Times £).
Boris Johnson warned the UK’s economic outlook was “about to get tougher” as chancellor Rishi Sunak admitted tax rises would be required to pay for the economic chaos wrought by coronavirus (The Financial Times £).
The number of empty shops on UK high streets has risen to its highest level in six years as city centres, and especially London, suffer from a dive in visitor numbers, according to retail analysis firm Springboard (The Guardian).
Sales of Glenlivet edged up in this pandemic-ravaged year to end-June, a rare bright spot for Pernod Ricard (The Financial Times £). Slaked thirsts for other alcoholic brews pushed the French distiller’s organic sales down 9.5% last fiscal year to €8.45bn. Recurring operating profit fell a steeper 13.7% to €2.26bn.
Domino’s Pizza Group threw off its reputation for having one of the least diverse boards on the stock market after appointing two women as non-executive directors (The Times £).
One of Britain’s biggest caterers has insisted that Covid-19 has not created a homeworking “fairytale” and pledged to “deal with” any staff who refuse to return to the workplace without medical grounds (The Times £).
A comment piece in The Times (£) looks at why EU cheese has left holes in every round of trade negotiations.
Estée Lauder is reviewing the language and marketing around its skin-lightening creams as companies face increasing scrutiny over their racial equality pledges (The Telegraph).
Department store Macy’s said it expects sales to be down sharply over the rest of the year as it continues to face “deep declines” in footfall in large US cities, the latest sign of how hard-hit retailers are making uneven recoveries from shutdowns (The Financial Times £).
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