Tortilla, Virgin Wines, BrewDog, 888, Entain, labour issues, costs etc.:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

A further illustration of how much tech (and getting it right) can matter over the weekend when we tried to buy a scarf.

It was sixty quid.

More by a factor of ten than I feel comfortable in spending on neckwear but, as it was a gift, I was prepared to go along with it and delivery charges would be determined at checkout.

So off to checkout we went but, when informed that the delivery cost was £505.00 and the total cost therefore £565.00, we found ourselves howling ‘ow much?’ and had an uncomfortable moment when my impatient clicking of the PayPal and ‘pay here’ buttons could have already sealed a purchase.

But it seemed as though we had avoided that particular disaster and, in a spirit of relieved bonhomie, I pinged the ‘contact us’ address along with a screenshot and a question as to what was going on.

‘Decimal point in the wrong place’, was the reply. And they were apparently wondering why sales had dried up. We may still make the purchase though I’m sorely tempted to knit the thing myself. On to the news:

LANGTON EMAIL:

The Free Email is now written in short form. Extended versions of many stories (after the ellipses) are in the Premium Email. Reply to this email if you would like to upgrade.

Prices for the Premium are £395 for one subscription, £695 for multiple, £995 for very large subscribers, all plus VAT. Or sign up for easy in, easy out monthly option per subscriber HERE

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=87YUG2Z5W7PSN

PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Labour issues:

The Telegraph reports that ‘the Government is plotting hospitality “boot camps” to get unemployed people back to work and help the nation’s pubs and bars fill over 100,000 vacancies.’ It is not clear how motivation, which is particularly important in a service industry in a way that it is not in widget manufacture, will be instilled….

• See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out.

Consumer squeeze:

The Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) has released a report showing 76% of lower income households are reducing spend on eating and drinking out, with 68% reducing the amount of food and drink consumed eating out….

• See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out.

The ONS reports that one in 20 adults reported running out of food and being unable to afford to buy more as prices have risen. The ONS said renters are most likely to be adversely impacted by rising housing costs. These are often younger consumers….

Technology:

CGA comments on tech saying that its new research (alongside tech provider Zonal) ‘reveals growing consumer interest in digitalisation of hospitality experiences.’ It says ‘some 71% of people now prefer to use technology either exclusively or in tandem with human interaction – in comparison, back in 2020 just 43% of consumers had used apps or other solutions to order and pay….’

• See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out.

Older consumers.

KAM reports on older consumers saying that, for this cohort, ‘comfort, or more importantly, lack thereof, seems to be the biggest turn off from pubs, bars and restaurants…’

Inflation:

The Office for Budget Responsibility has suggested that inflation may be becoming somewhat entrenched. It says rising prices are becoming “persistent” and “embedded” as the problem moves from commodity items and energy to service costs.

Brexit. BrewDog CEO James Watt has said that Brexit has been an “unmitigated disaster”. He says ‘it’s just made things so difficult. He adds ‘it now means we’re having to do things like use our facility in Germany to make beer for some of these places [in Europe], when we would have wanted to make that beer in the UK….’

Other news:

The Daily Mail reports that ‘the post-work pint is facing last orders with six in ten now dodging the end of day drinks, claiming it ‘boring’ or ‘non-inclusive’….

Chairman of The Fulham Shore, which has just been purchased by Japan’s Toridoll, has told The Daily Telegraph that ‘chain restaurants are going out of business because they are overcharging and for “not very good” food…

COMPANY NEWS:

Tortilla has updated on trading for its H1 saying that group revenue increased by 22.0% to £32.7m (H1 2022: £26.9m) and the company generated ‘continued industry outperformance with Group LFL revenue increasing by 8.4% (adjusting for FY 2022 VAT benefit)…

• See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out.

Virgin Wines has updated on trading for its year to end-June saying ‘performance during the Period was in line with expectations, with total revenue for the year of £59 million and adjusted PBT of no less than £0.5 million….’

• See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out.

Brewdog CEO James Watt plans to turn the brewery and pub chain into one of the world’s top five beer brands…

Historic London restaurant Simpson’s in the Strand is reported to be auctioning off some of its assets…

Starbucks has opened its 400th store in Saudi Arabia.

Bone Daddies reports revenue up 57.5% YoY to £17.3m in the year ended 30 September 2022, with the company operating 9 sites in London….

Per MCA, North Brewing Co director John Gyngell aims for the company to have a 20-strong UK estate….

Monster Beverage has won court approval to acquire Bang Energy owner Vital Pharmaceuticals (VPX Sports) out of Chapter 11 for $362m….

HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, has said that she believes ‘the door is ajar’ for the Government to scrap the tourist tax after consistent lobbying by trade groups…

The Unite union states that nearly one thousand Gatwick Airport workers are set to take eight days of strike action over two weekends at the end of July and the beginning of August….

The Times reports that Uber has revealed that it generated £3.4 billion of revenue in the UK last year….

Coach holiday company Caledonian Leisure has reported that turnover exceeded £40m in the year to end-December 2022.

OTHER LEISURE:

888 reports the GB Gambling Commission ‘has expressed its concern regarding the ongoing HMRC investigation into GVC’s activities covering the time the individuals proposed to the Board by FS Gaming were in senior leadership positions at GVC, and that it is in close dialogue with HMRC regarding its ongoing investigation….’

• See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out.

Entain has announced the acquisition of Angstrom Sports, a specialist provider of US sports forecasting and data analytics…

• See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out.

Times reports that ‘a record number of people are paying to use Netflix, the streaming service is expected to reveal this week, after it began a crackdown on password sharing and released a cheaper tier with adverts.’

Twitter has revealed that it has lost almost half of its advertising revenue since it was bought by Elon Musk for $44 billion last year.

Disney CEO Bob Iger has accused writers and actors who are preparing to strike of not being ‘realistic’ with their expectations. Iger said ‘they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive.’

ITV has abandoned its bid for All3Media, the owner of Gogglebox and The Traitors tv shows. Bankers at JP Morgan have been called in to run an auction of All3Media, which is jointly owned by Warner Bros Discovery and Liberty Glo.

FINANCE & MARKETS:

The CBI reports that making the most of 27 green growth ‘prizes’ could deliver a £37-57 billion boost to GDP by 2030, equivalent to between 1.6% and 2.4% of GDP.

The UK has signed a deal with 11 Asia and Pacific nations. The deal may add 0.08% to UK GDP in ten years. In terms of scale, Brexit is thought to be costing around 4% of UK GDP. The CBI says the deal has ‘the potential to drive export-led growth in critical sectors, like services and green tech.’ Manufacturing could face stiffer competition at home.

Rightmove has reported that house prices have fallen for the second month running this month. It says prices were down by 0.2 per cent on June.

Sterling weaker at $1.3086 and €1.1657. Oil lower at $79.16. UK 10yr gilt yield down 2bps at 4.43%. World markets heading lower on Friday. London set to open down around 33pts as at 6.30am.

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

• See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out.