Pepsi x Boohoo

Pepsi has launched a sportswear collection with online retailers Boohoo and Boohoo Man. The collection is made up of matching tracksuits, loungewear and sports tops, aimed at ‘consumers who are as equally interested in fashion as they are sports’. They’re calling it a ‘trend-led, innovative capsule collection intersecting and celebrating art and sport’. The designs are inspired by artwork from five up-and-coming artists from around the world – DIYE from Argentina, Bicicleta Sem Freio from Brazil, DXTR from Germany, Kim Sielbeck from the US, and Iain Macarthur from the UK. The collection is part of Pepsi’s global #LiveItLoveIt campaign, which saw them sponsor the 2018 Champions League Final. Is this the future of fashion collaborations? 

Pepsi x Boohoo

Robo Farmers

Harvesting soft fruit mechanically represents a huge challenge - each berry needs to be located, even if it's behind a leaf, assessed for ripeness and then harvested and boxed with enormous care to avoid bruising.But recent developments in visual sensor technology, machine learning and autonomous propulsion have brought the goal within reach. A shortage of migrant fruit-pickers is driving demand for robotic alternatives, say strawberry producers. Some of these prototype machines pick, others snip, but all claim to be as good as humans.Robots can operate at all times of the day or night - harvesting during the chillier night hours can dramatically lengthen shelf life and avoid bruising. But developers emphasise the motivation is not to replace migrant labour with cheaper, more efficient robots. In fact, it's not proving easy to replicate the standards that human pickers deliver.

Robo Farmers

Worst High Street Shop

WH Smith has been voted the worst retailer on the UK High Street in a survey of more than 10,000 consumers. Customers complained the shops were out-of-date, products were expensive and staff were rude in the survey by consumer group Which? Cosmetics chain Lush, discounter Savers and toy chain Smyths Toys came top in the survey, which asked shoppers for their thoughts on about 100 retailers.It is the eighth year in a row that WH Smith has been ranked in the bottom two of the survey. Despite the criticism, WH Smith is successfully managing to drive sales at its travel stores higher. Revenues at its outlets at railway stations and airports overtook those of its High Street stores for the first time last year.

Worst Shop

Whey Aye Wheel

Europe’s biggest wheel could be built on the Tyne as part of a £100m development which would transform the Quayside’s iconic skyline. The observation wheel - named ‘Whey Aye’ - would even dwarf the London Eye. It’s the centrepiece of an ambitious development which could create 550 jobs and breathe new life into an empty part of the Quayside. “This is the most exciting project in the UK at this moment,” claimed Nigel Hartley, who works for World Wheel Company. “I think this is going to enhance what is one of the greatest Quayside views in the world.” The privately-funded development would take between 18 and 24 months to build and could be complete in late 2020.It would be built on the site of the former Spillers’ Flour Mill, which was demolished in 2011 and has lain vacant since. The development would also have bars, restaurants and family attractions including football pitches, tennis courts and a virtual golf course - featuring real bunkers. The highlight, however, is a virtual reality attraction named the Giants of the North Experience. Guests will be transported through Tyneside’s history - including ship building and mining - before experiencing thrills such as walking out to Local Hero at St James’ Park. Construction contracts worth £20m will be put out to tender for local firms.

Whey Aye

Mothercare Closures

Mothercare has confirmed it is closing 50 stores as part of a rescue plan, a move that will put 800 jobs at risk. The baby products retailer said it was in a "perilous" financial position.The store closures will leave it with 78 outlets in the UK by 2020. The retailer has already nearly halved its store numbers over the past five years. It had intended have 92 outlets by 2023, but has now accelerated its closure plans and will have just 73 by that year. The company plunged to a £72.8m loss in its most recent financial year, as it took hefty charges to pay for closing stores and reorganising the business. Mothercare saw falling numbers of shoppers in the second half of the financial year and had to discount to try to stimulate sales. However, over the year as a whole, like-for-like sales fell 1.3%. What is causing the problem at Mothercare?

Mothercare

TGI Walk Out

Workers at two branches of the American diner chain TGI Fridays are holding walk-outs over changes they say will cost them hundreds of pounds a month. The firm has introduced a new pay policy, which redistributes customer tips from waiters to kitchen staff. The 24-hour strike will affect branches in Milton Keynes and Covent Garden.The Unite union has forecast a "summer of disruption" by unhappy employees. The firm said it pays its staff fairly and is working to find a resolution. Flagging consumer spending on casual dining combined with rises in the minimum wage are squeezing profits at mid-market restaurants like TGI Fridays. In February the chain introduced a system that takes 40% of tips paid by customers on credit and debit cards for redistribution to back-of-house staff. Unite said the aim was to reduce staff turnover in kitchens by giving them a pay rise without increasing costs. But the union said it would cost waiting staff on the minimum wage up to £250 a month in lost income.

TGI Friday

Royal Business

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding is anticipated to boost the UK economy by £120 million, research has revealed. Statistics have shown that the royal family has a huge impact on the economy and that the monarchy makes millions for the UK each year. Prince Harry and Ms Markle’s wedding which is due to take place on Saturday in Windsor is expected to cost £32 million but researchers anticipate that their nuptials could boost retail by £120 million due to the hype surrounding it. Merchandise inspired by Prince Harry and Ms Markle is anticipated to give shops a windfall boost of £120 million in 2018, according to research. This includes memorabilia, food and drink, newspapers and books and fashion sales such as bridal wear. There are already spoons, tea towels and cookies inspired by the couple.

Royal Business

Healthy Chocolate?

A Newcastle entrepreneur is hoping to take the market in ‘healthy’ chocolate bars after featuring on a popular BBC programme. Wajeeha Hussain, from Newcastle, spent eight years working at the Nissan plant in Sunderland after graduating from Northumbria University with a degree in computer science.But her true passion lay in making sweet treats, albeit sweets with a difference – healthier chocolate bars which are vegan, dairy free and soy free. Wajeeha has a history of diabetes in her family, so she has concocted a chocolate company called Chocolateeha, which makes bars from raw cacao nibs that have fewer calories. She was working for Nissan as a project manager in Washington when she began working on her business plan. Last July she moved back in with her parents so she could fund her dream, with her dad converting their garage into a base for her business. Wajeeha is having a pop-up event at the House of Fraser store in the Metrocentre on May 28 and 29 as she looks to start & grow her brand.

Chocolateeha

Weather Takes Bite Into Greggs Sales

Greggs shares tumbled on Wednesday after the bakery chain said that March's cold snap had hit sales. The Beast from the East forced the temporary closure of several stores and added to overall weaker trading in early spring. Like-for-like sales slowed to 1.3% in the first 18 weeks of the year, down from 3.5% for the same period in 2017. Although sales this month had rebounded, Greggs warned that full-year profits could be flat as a result. The company's failure to keep delivering annual profit growth sparked an investor exodus, with shares sliding almost 15% to £10.78,valuing it at £1.1bn.  Nick Bubb, an independent retail analyst, commented: "The overall message is that, despite tight cost control, underlying profits for the year are now likely to be only flat compared to last year, which is obviously a bit disappointing."Although one drive who got stuck in the snow on the A1 gained some positive publicity for the company as he delivered food to stranded motorists. 

Greggs Sales

Chocolate Wars

Waitrose is battling allegations of chocolate plagiarism in a hot-tempered dispute between rival factions of posh chocolatiers. The bosses of upmarket Hotel Chocolat have written to the supermarket’s chief executive in fury after it launched a range of bars they claim bear an uncanny resemblance to their own. Hotel Chocolat’s co-founder Angus Thirlwell said eagle-eyed chocoholics first spotted the alleged copycat bars in Waitrose earlier this week and alerted him to the similarity.All the Waitrose bars are roughly the same size as Hotel Chocolat’s and share a distinctive wavy edge that sets them apart from mass-produced bars with straight sides. Thirlwell said Hotel Chocolat had legal protection for its its curved-edge design from the European Union’s intellectual property office.

Chocolate Wars

Rolls-Royce SUV

Rolls-Royce has become the latest luxury car maker to launch an SUV. Chief executive Torsten Müller-Ötvös said the new Cullinan, which will cost more than £200,000, was a "seminal" moment and probably the "most anticipated" Rolls-Royce ever. Bentley and Lamborghini have already launched SUVs, while Ferrari will follow next year. Automotive analysts said Rolls, which is owned by BMW, had to follow suit to keep up with changing consumer demand. The launch of the Cullinan, named after the world's biggest diamond that is part of the Crown Jewels, marks a shift away from the luxury saloon cars that Rolls-Royce is best known for. Mr Torsten Müller-Ötvös told the BBC its target group had changed significantly over the past decade.

RR SUV

Recyclable Cups

It's gradually becoming common knowledge that it's not as easy to recycle your takeaway coffee cup as people may have thought. It's the mixture of paper and plastic in their inner lining - designed to make them both heat and leakproof - that causes difficulties.  There are currently only a small number of specialist plants in the UK able to process the disposable used cups, and as a result, the vast majority of them (more than 99.75%) don't get recycled. In 2011 it was estimated that 2.5 billion coffee cups were thrown away each year and that figure is likely to be higher now. The three biggest coffee retailers in the UK - Costa, Starbucks and Caffe Nero - all provide incentives for customers to bring in their own reusable mug rather than using a disposable cup. However a newly developed recyclable coffee cup could help replace the 2.5 billion disposable cups binned each year.

Recycle Me

Bank Holiday Boost

Retailers and garden centres have enjoyed a much-needed boost from what is set to be the hottest early May bank holiday on record. Asda said sales of paddling pools were up by almost 50% as customers sought ways to keep cool. Waitrose said it has stocked stores for a 200% increase in bank holiday Monday barbecue meat sales. Sainsbury’s was predicting a 600% increase in ice-cream sales compared with the previous weekend and a 280% increase in potato salad sales. DIY retailer B&Q said that each of its flagship stores is likely to sell well over 100 barbecues, 3,000 bags of compost, 6,000 bedding plants, 150 mowers and 125 fence panels over the weekend. Springboard, which measures customer visits across the UK high streets, shopping centres and retail parks, forecast a 3%-4% increase in footfall this bank holiday compared with the same one last year. 

Sunshine Sales

Vanilla Price Rise

The price of vanilla has soared over the last two years, sending a chill down the spine of UK ice-cream makers.  At around $600 per kilo the sweet ingredient costs more than silver. The vast majority of vanilla - over 75% - is grown on the tropical island of Madagascar, off the South East coast of the African Continent.  "The main reason for the high price is that there was a cyclone in Madagascar last March which damaged a lot of the plantations," said Julian Gale, a commodities analyst for IEG Vu.It's not just ice cream: vanilla is popular across sweet foods, alcohol, as well as cosmetics and perfumes. Some ice cream producers are now considering whether it is worth producing vanilla any longer.

Vanilla Price