The Next wave: how the clothing retailer spread its wings and made sales surge

Whatever Next? One of the UK’s largest clothing retailers is shrugging off its rather dull image and spreading its wings internationally, even as many high street rivals suffer.You may think of Next as a place to buy reliable work clothes, a nice cushion or to kit out the kids – it is the UK’s biggest children’s clothing seller. However, it has quietly been morphing into something much bigger.Its shop on London’s Oxford Street tells some of the story – it houses not only a giant kids clothing department, but a big men’s suiting section and womenswear. Many of the parents shopping there appear to be waiting for teenage daughters who are thronging the Victoria’s Secret section upstairs and the neighbouring Bath & Body Works and Gap stores

Champagne body attempts to buck Delevingne sisters’ marketing fizz

A champagne industry body has written to the celebrity Delevingne sisters demanding they stop making references to the drink in the marketing of their vegan prosecco brand.Della Vite, founded by Cara, Poppy and Chloe Delevingne, has been accused of exploiting the reputation of champagne, by Comité Champagne, the Times reported.Della Vite marketing materials feature the slogan: “Cheat on champagne” and: “Warning: This is not champagne”.It has emerged Della Vite received a letter from the industry body, which describes itself as “defending the joint interests of champagne houses and growers”, demanding they stop making reference to champagne in their marketing.The sisters refused and the brand has continued with its campaign

‘The money machine is misfiring’: City blames Brexit for UK’s £20bn productivity headache

For Rob Rooney, the impact of Brexit for the City of London is clear. “Frankfurt, Madrid, Milan and Paris are all doing better than they were. It has been at London’s expense. There is no question about that.”In his time as Morgan Stanley’s top executive in London, Rooney led the US investment bank’s relocation of hundreds of bankers and billions of pounds of assets to Frankfurt to sidestep Britain’s shock EU departure

Tinned tuna maker Princes floats at nearly £1.2bn in boost for London

The tinned tuna maker Princes Group has kicked off a float with a valuation of nearly £1.2bn in a boost for the London stock market.The debut of the shares in the almost 150-year-old company, which is best known for its Princes tinned tuna and Napolina tinned tomatoes, olive oil and pasta, marks a rare bright spot in the UK’s lacklustre market for flotations.However, the stock launched at the bottom end of a £1.16bn to £1

Starbucks workers hold strike vote amid anger over pay and conditions

Unionized Starbucks workers across the US are casting their votes on whether to hold a strike amid anger over pay and conditions at the world’s largest coffee chain, and allegations it breached labor laws by engaging in bad faith bargaining.Starbucks has faced a rapid wave of mobilization since 2021. Starbucks Workers United, a union representing baristas at the chain, has won elections at more than 650 of its locations in 45 states and the District of Columbia, representing more than 12,000 workers.Butit has yet to obtain a contract. Starbucks Workers United claims company management started to “majorly stonewall” the union; Starbucks claims the union walked away from the bargaining table

UK house price growth slows as buyers ‘sit on sidelines’ before budget

British house price growth slowed in October, according to lending data, with analysts suggesting that buyers are “sitting on the sidelines” before a budget that may bring new property taxes.The average house price rose by 0.3% month on month in October, Nationwide said, down from 0.5% in September. The average price of a home was £272,226, up from £271,995 in September