Trade deal, Just Eat, Amazon, Klarna: your commercial news round-up
updated on 15 October 2020
Start to build your commercial awareness with this week’s news round-up – take a summary from below and think about how you could use it in an interview or application to demonstrate that you can think commercially.
- Following the introduction of the three-tier lockdown system, the government and local leaders are continuing talks about the implementation of tougher restrictions on areas in England with the highest risk of coronavirus outbreaks. London is due to move to Tier 2 (high alert) from midnight on Friday.
- Today, 15 October 2020, marks the deadline for reaching a trade deal “outline” with the EU; however, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has indicated that no decision will be made regarding an agreement with the EU before the summit in Brussels today. Johnson’s decision to continue Brexit negotiations comes after advice from Brexit representative Lord Frost. Both British and European parliaments now believe the end of October or the beginning of November is a more likely deadline for reaching an agreement.
- Takeaway orders from delivery company Just Eat surged 43% in the UK as 800 McDonald’s restaurants and 300 Greggs outlets were added to its system. Between July and September in the UK, the firm also delivered 46 million orders with growth expected to continue over the next few months. An analyst for Markets.com said: “Further lockdown restrictions across the continent and the UK should keep demand on the up.” Meanwhile, a £5.75 billion takeover deal, which will see Just Eat buyout its US rival Grubhub was approved by Just Eat’s shareholders in October, with the deal expected to complete in early 2021.
- The UK’s new digital services tax, which was implemented in April this year, will not apply to Amazon on products it sells directly to consumers. However, increased charges will be imposed on small traders who use the site to sell products. This new tax was introduced in a bid to get companies, including Amazon, Google and Facebook to pay more tax in the UK and is expected to contribute £500 million annually to the exchequer, according to The Guardian.
- The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is looking into claims that Klarna had details of people who said they had never used the banking company, following a marketing email from the firm. Despite following up the initial marketing email with an error message confirming that recipients had not been added to a marketing database, individuals were concerned as to how Klarna had got their email addresses. The company, which provides checkout services to several online retailers, including Asos and Topshop, said: "The email was sent to Klarna consumers who have recently used one of Klarna's products or services including Klarna's checkout technology." Talking to the BBC, a spokesperson for the ICO said: "Businesses should only contact individuals for electronic marketing purposes where consent has been provided or, in limited circumstances, where they have an existing relationship with a customer.
"Some members of the public have made us aware of an email sent by Klarna and we will be making enquiries."
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