Mothercare, Sainsbury’s store closures, working hours: your commercial news round-up
updated on 07 November 2019
As the UK’s political parties set off on the campaign trail this week, there has already been scandal, resignations, pacts and many a promise made. While it’s true that the public’s focus will be towards the political world in the run-up to next month’s general election, there are plenty of interesting business news stories that you should be keeping up with. Here’s our round-up from this week:
- In another blow to the British high street, children’s retailer Mothercare has appointed administrators PwC to handle the collapse of the business, putting 2,500 jobs in 79 stores across the UK at risk. According to chairman Clive Whiley, “Mothercare UK continues to consume cash on an unstainable basis”. A “phased closure” plan of its stores will be implemented, while international business remains unaffected.
- The cost of closing some of its stores has impacted Sainsbury’s profits for the second half of 2019. The supermarket group posted a pre-tax profit of £9 million in comparison to £107 million for the same period last year. There was a 1% drop in like-for-like sales with food sales falling by 0.1%. However, Sainsbury’s remains optimistic that bringing Argos outlets into the supermarket’s stores will boost its future financial outlook.
- City traders in London have asked the UK and European exchanges to shorten working hours to 9 to 4 in order to provide a better work-life balance and attract a more diverse range of workers. Head of equities at the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, April Day, commented that the long and unsociable work hours makes it difficult to find childcare and might put off women applying for the roles. She added that cutting working hours would also improve traders’ mental health.
- Some 180,000 passengers are set to be affected as airline Lufthansa cancels 1,300 flights after losing a last-minute bid to stop its cabin crew striking. The two-day strike action began at midnight in Germany and will affect all Lufthansa flights from German airports as cabin crew protest over pay and conditions.
Be sure to check the News every Thursday for this weekly commercial news round-up. Follow @LawCareersNetUK on Twitter and like us on Facebook for instant business news updates.
