Retail round up - The Friday papers
JJB Sports lawyers threaten Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley with legal action,Northern food shoppers are the least healthy, survey finds,Motorists being 'ripped off' by petrol above £1,supermarket claims,M&S accused of hypocrisy over suppliers...
The Telegraph
The controversy surrounding a £1.5m personal loan from Mike Ashley to Sir David Jones deepened last night when lawyers acting for JJB Sports, the retailer chaired by Sir David, wrote to Mr Ashley alleging defamation.Herbert Smith, JJB’s lawyers, also demanded a public retraction and apology from Mr Ashley, founder of JJB’s rival chain Sports Direct, over comments he made relating to the loan.Mr Ashley’s lawyers at Mishcon de Reya are understood to have written to JJB threatening to report the retailer to the Financial Services Authority over a statement it made earlier this week. The spat centres around differing claims over the timing of the loan, made in the second half of 2007. Full article.
Northerners eat far less fruit and veg than those in the South, according to figures from an in-depth analysis of regional supermarket sales.
Those living in the North East and Scotland are the most unhealthy in the country, while those in London and the South are the healthiest, figures from mySupermarket.co.uk indicated.The website analysed more than 250,000 shopping baskets of its customers – who buy Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Ocado groceries via its website – and found that in the South customers spent £523 a year on fruit and vegetables, and £124 on snacks and cakes.Full article.
Petrol prices have failed to fall despite a drop in the price of oil, sparking accusations that motorists are being 'ripped off' by retailers. The price of crude oil – the key determining factor in the price of petrol – has fallen from above $140 a barrel a year ago to $66.6 this week.
However, the price of petrol, which hit a peak of 119.9p a litre for unleaded last year has not fallen far enough, the supermarket chain Asda said, as it accused its rivals of "ripping off" customers.Full article.
The Times
Marks & Spencer was accused of hypocrisy yesterday when it emerged that the retailer shared suppliers with Primark, only a day after it attacked the discount fashion industry over subsistence wages.Sir Stuart Rose, the executive chairman of M&S, told its shareholders on Wednesday: “You cannot sell a T-shirt in the UK for £2 and pay the designer and pay for the raw materials and pay the manufacturer and pay the rents and pay the rates and pay the carriage and pay the insurance and pay the freight — and pay a fair living wage to the person who made it. I won’t sell a T-shirt for £2." However, Associated British Foods (ABF), the owner of Primark, cast a shadow over M&S’s ethical stance by confirming yesterday that it shared some suppliers with its upmarket rival. John Bason, the group finance director of ABF, said: “Sometimes people think Primark sources from people different to everyone else on the high street.” Full article.
