NEWS
8 ASIAN TRADER 18 APRIL 2025
The new State of Financial
Wellbeing Index report,
published by the Financial
Wellbeing Forum and support-
ed by Wagestream and the
Retail Trust, found a staggering
92% of retail workers think the
cost-of-living crisis “will never
end” – even higher than the UK
average of 88%.
Money was already the top
concern at the beginning of the
crisis, when the index was
launched in 2022, but the gap
between money and other
wellbeing concerns has
widened – by 59%.
Employers have rushed to
put additional financial support
in place, with around 75% of
retailers ofering new types of fi-
nancial education since the
cost-of-living crisis began.
But the report delves into
the complexities of retail
workers’ financial situations,
revealing that they often hold
conflicting views about money
– making it challenging for
employers to provide efective
support.
Rather than focusing on
short-term reactions, research-
ers say there is still time for
employers to pre-emptively
tackle the wider “Cost of Life”
from colleagues’ financial
stress.
This shift would see retailers
considering pflexible initiatives
both for the long-term, like
workplace savings schemes and
financial coaching, and
immediate relief such as debt
helplines and discounts.
“Retail’s large workforce and
the fact that wages are skewed
to the lower end of the scale
means that the cost-of-living
crisis is more acutely felt in our
sector,” said Chris Brook-Cart-
er, CEO of the Retail Trust.
“While many of the
employers we work with have
been taking steps to address
this, the report highlights what
they can do to support the
long-term financial wellbeing of
employees and foster a
healthier and happier work-
force.”
Money worries even worse than other stresses, including crime
New report reveals financial
New report reveals financial
struggles of retail workers
struggles of retail workers
According to consumer
magazine Which?, the price
of eggs made by big names
including Cadbury, Mars and
Terry’s, and the prices of
other chocolate products
have risen by 50% in a year
while many have also shrunk
in size, states a recent report,
raising the concern of
shrinkflation among
shoppers ahead of Easter
celebrations.
While the latest ofcial
figures showed inflation
slowing to 2.8% in February,
a breakdown of the headline
figure shows food
prices rose 3.3%
with the cost of
chocolate racing
higher, up by a
massive 16.5%.
Chocolate has
been getting more expensive
for several years due to poor
harvests in west Africa,
where over half of the
world’s cocoa beans are
harvested.
The recent Which?
analysis shows that in one of
the discounters, the cost of
Terry’s Chocolate Orange
mini eggs has risen from 99p
to £1.35, while its packet is
now reduced from 80g to
70g.
The price of a Cadbury
Creme Egg 5 Pack Mixed
Chocolate Box 200g rose
from £2.62 in Easter 2024 to
£4 this year, equating to 53%
price increase per 100g.
Shrinkflation hits Easter
chocolate prices
NewstrAid launches
NewstrAid launches
General Hardship Fund
General Hardship Fund
Industry charity NewstrAid has
initiated a new General Hardship
Fund to provide financial relief for
those from the newstrade who are
finding it difcult to keep up with
essential household costs.
The fund ofers grants of up to
£250 per household, helping to ease
the burden of rising bills and
everyday expenses for anyone who
has worked in the sale or distribu-
tion of newspapers and magazines
in the UK.
“Every day, we hear from people
who are struggling just to cover
basic living costs,” said Katie
Babooram, Welfare Manager at
NewstrAid.
Fever-Tree reports strong
Fever-Tree reports strong
revenue growth
revenue growth
The mixer brand saw its revenue
growth accelerate to 7% to 31
December, helping it recover from a
wet start to the summer season in
2024.
The firm’s total revenue was up
4% to £364 million over the
12-month period, with performance
was driven by its operation in the
US, where revenues jumped 9% to
£128m after growing its presence in
the of trade.
Meanwhile, a significant gross
margin improvement resulted in a
66% increase in adjusted EBITDA to
£50.7m, which was in line with
analysts’ expectations.
Lucky Saint first
Lucky Saint first
zero-alcohol member
zero-alcohol member
of Portman Group
of Portman Group
The Portman Group has welcomed
Lucky Saint as an associate
member, making them the first
alcohol alternative member
company in our history.
Lucky Saint was launched in the
UK in 2018 by its founder Luke
Boase with a 0.5 per cent unfiltered
lager product. Since then, it’s
become one of the most recog-
nised and popular alcohol alterna-
tive brands, now featuring on
draught in over 1250 pubs in the UK
and expanding their range to
include a 0.5 per cent hazy IPA in
January 2024.