NEWS
8 ASIAN TRADER 29 NOVEMBER 2024
Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s
budget is expected to prove
to be “a big burden for the
retail industry to carry”, Asda
chair Stuart Rose said,
warning that the “conse-
quences” of the budget will
lead to price increases.
Rose said the increase in
employers’ NICs and changes
to tax thresholds would have
“consequences” and meant it
could not rule out upward
price-tags.
“If you get presented with
a bill unexpectedly for
around £100m, even if you’re
a business as big as us, that
takes some digestion. So
we’re looking at the conse-
quences of that, but you
cannot rule out the fact there
will be some inflation,” said
Lord Rose.
He added that the changes
in the budget were “a big
burden for the retail industry
to carry” and meant that Asda
would “have to look hard at
every piece of expenditure”,
including the annual pay
increase for staf, and may
limit how many workers it
hires.
“We’ve seen an increase
in national minimum wage,”
he added. “We want to
attract good staf, but we
have to look very, very hard
to afordability.”
It comes after Asda
released its gloomy numbers
the slide in total revenues,
excluding fuel, by 2.5% to
£5.3bn in the three months
to the end of September,
while like-for-like sales were
4.8% lower than the same
quarter in 2023.
Asda’s warning about the
cost of budget measures
comes only days after it
announced hundreds of head
ofce job cuts and a restructur-
ing in an attempt to turn
around the business.
Asda CEO Rose says that prices will need to go up - again
Reeves’ budget is ‘big burden
Reeves’ budget is ‘big burden
for retail industry to carry’
for retail industry to carry’
A good majority (69%) of
retail staf experienced
verbal abuse with most
incidents triggered by
shoplifting, said retail trade
union Usdaw in a report.
According to interim
results based on over 4,000
retail staf responses, in the
last twelve months, over two
thirds experienced verbal
abuse while 45% were
threatened by a customer.
17% were assaulted, with 70%
of incidents triggered by
shoplifting – with most
linked to addiction.
Commenting on the
report’s findings, Usdaw
General Secretary Paddy
Lillissaid it has become
increasingly common for
retail stores to be targeted by
organised crime gangs
stealing to order amid a retail
crime epidemic.
“Our survey demonstrates
that theft from shops is not a
victimless crime, with
incidents regularly being a
major flashpoint for violence
and abuse against shop
workers. Having to deal with
repeated and persistent theft
can cause issues like anxiety,
fear and in some cases physical
harm to retail workers. Our
members are reporting that
they are often faced with
hardened career criminals in
their stores [or] those who are
stealing to sell goods on, often
to fund an addiction.”
‘Over two-thirds in retail
sufer abuse from customers’
Carlsberg shifts focus to
Carlsberg shifts focus to
cheaper beers
cheaper beers
Carlsberg is shifting some of its
marketing focus to cheaper brands
as consumers in major markets
selected non-premium – and in
reduced quantities.
The maker of Kronenbourg 1664,
Tuborg and Somersby said beer sales
volumes fell by 1.3% in the third
quarter, noting declines in China,
France and the UK. Premium sales fell
0.5% in the quarter.
For years, brewers have relied on
a strategy of developing and
promoting their more expensive
premium brands to ofset an overall
decline in drinking. Carlsberg said it
remained confident in the long-term
growth potential of premium beer.
New benefits scheme
New benefits scheme
for Fed members
for Fed members
The Federation of Independent
Retailers (The Fed) has launched an
exclusive benefits scheme, FedPlus,
ofering a range of discounts goods
and activities, from everyday
purchases to luxury products.
Fed members will have access to
a range of money-saving benefits
covering a wide variety of areas –
from health, food and drink and
well-being to home, car, fashion,
tech, entertainment and travel and
experiences. A Savings Calculator
will show how much has been saved,
based on spending, and will generate
a personal savings total and provide
links to the individual deals.
One Stop Christmas
One Stop Christmas
campaign ofers
campaign ofers
weekly prizes
weekly prizes
One Stop has announced its 2024
Christmas campaign, giving custom-
ers a chance to win weekly prizes
including a high-end tech bundle.
Until 31 December, customers can
take part in One Stop’s Scratch to
Win weekly advent online game and
also take advantage of the conveni-
ence retailer’s weekly deals by
visiting the One Stop website, where
they will be directed to the Scratch to
Win game page. Customers can try
their luck every Wednesday. Behind
the window each week, customers
will also be able to see the retailer’s
must-have deal.