23rd August 2022
Bite-sized business news from the UK and beyond
Good morning Here’s a cautionary tale on the dangers of work socials. A 28-year-old employee at audit giant PwC is suing the company after he suffered a serious head injury during a work event involving a drinking game called “pub golf”. Michael Brockie, from the Reading office, said PwC owed him a duty of care and that he drank so much alcohol that after 10pm he has no memory of events and was later found lying in the street after falling.
Today's stories
Euro hits new low
End of an era at John Lewis
EUROPEEuro hits new low
Other stories to keep you in the loop
Average pay for FTSE 100 chiefs jumps by 39% to £3.4m
Key UK mortgage rate passes 4% for the first time since 2013
Barristers vote to escalate strike action over pay
British Airways to cancel thousands more flights
PlayStation sued for £5bn in the UK over ‘rip-off’ games
Adidas CEO steps down amid struggles in Asia
Apple employees fight back against return-to-office order
Elon Musk subpoenas former Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey as he tries not to purchase company
Usain Bolt moves to trademark signature victory pose
RETAILEnd of an era at John Lewis
What happened?Yesterday was the final day of John Lewis’s ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ promise as the department store acknowledged that consumers have changed the way they shop. First introduced in 1925, the retailer pledged to refund customers the difference if they find the same item on sale elsewhere cheaper within 28 days. What changed?The promise didn’t apply to online shopping which, in an age of ecommerce, makes the slogan outdated. Almost a third of non-food sales are done online and high street retailers have been losing market share to the likes of Amazon for years. What’s replacing it?John Lewis says that instead it will invest £500m in keeping prices low, a 25% increase on 2021. It will also expand its ‘Anyday’ value range which was introduced last year and has clocked up sales of over £125m so far. The company is expected to launch a new marketing campaign in the coming weeks. It’s already registered a string of potential slogans with the Intellectual Property Office, including “John Lewis: Life is beautiful”, “For the joy of life: John Lewis” and “John Lewis for all life’s moments”.But how much will ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ be missed?In reality the pledge was rarely used by shoppers – less than 1% - with it being little more than a marketing ploy. MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis says that it gives an arguably false impression that John Lewis is cheap as only a minority of consumers are price sensitive enough to care which allows John Lewis to charge what it likes to everyone else.
Stat of the day
Available office space in London has reached 31 million square feet, the highest level in 15 years
Interesting links from around the web
6 ways to cope with financial stress
The winner of the best joke award at Edinburgh festival fringe
The joys and challenges of switching to a four-day week
