Your commercial news round-up: new defence secretary, Trump, Wilko, The Body Shop, sporting protests

• Ben Wallace has resigned as defence secretary after four years in the position. In his resignation statement Wallace claimed that his political career had come at “a personal toll” to him and his family. Potential replacements had been floated by senior Conservative Party members and included: 

• Armed Forces Minister James Heappey; 
• Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen; and 
• Energy Secretary Grant Shapps. 

As of this morning, Shapps has been announced as Wallace’s replacement. Wallace said he’s leaving the Ministry of Defence “more modern, better funded and more confident” than the organisation he took over. Rishi Sunak expressed his thanks and respect to Wallace, remarking that he’d held one of “the most demanding posts in government”. 

• Continuing with politics for our next story, Donald Trump’s criminal trial has been set for 4 March 2024. The focus of the trial is to determine whether Trump illegally tried to overturn the 2020 election results. The trial date, set by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, marks a significant blow to the ex-president who’d hoped to delay the trial for several years. The case will fall at the height of the 2024 Republican primary season, meaning Trump’s attempts to run for president again may be stunted.  

• Retailer giant Wilko remains in limbo this week as administrators seek out deals to secure its future. After collapsing into administration earlier this month, its administrator PwC originally stated that Wilko stores would need to close with all staff being made redundant. However, a series of new bids have come in that offer hope to save the value retailer. Bidders in the running include: 

• private equity firm M2 Capital, which submitted a £90 million bid; 
• HMV owner Dough Putman, which bid to take on 350 of Wilko’s stores; 
• home, leisure and garden centre The Range; and
• Poundland which is seeking to acquire 100 Wilko stores. 

• Wilko isn’t the only retailer exploring sale options, Natura & Co, owner of The Body Shop, is exploring sales options for the high-street beauty store following significant profit losses caused by the pandemic. A sale of The Body Shop is currently valued at £405 million. JP Morgan analysts said a sale is “the most likely outcome” after executives told them the beauty retailer had “weighed on the company’s bottom line” since consumer shopping habits changed post-pandemic.  

• Finishing off with some sporting news, the series of protests that struck sporting events this summer has been described as the “biggest summer of protests since the suffragettes”. This summer climate activist group Just Stop Oil has taken its protests across pitches, courses and tracks to raise awareness and provoke conversations around the climate emergency. Protests erupted at Wimbledon, the Ashes and the Cycling World Championships were all targeted, with sponsoring companies being a key reason behind the disruption. From a commercial perspective, brands have now been put in a place where they must consider whether sponsoring a sporting event is a wise decision. City A.M. has advised that any prospective sponsor “is clear what it stands for – not just what it stands next to”, particularly those with considerable carbon footprints. Climate activism, much like the suffragette protests in 1913, may not be looked on favourably in the moment but regardless it remains the social fight of our generation.  

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