You’d think that Royal Mail’s announcement of a
near-doubling of its annual profit, to £321 million for the
year to March, would be cause for celebration. But the
Communication Workers Union is preparing a strike ballot of
workers in London, according to Financial Times, with voting in other parts
of the country possible, because it believes the profit growth
is proof that Royal Mail does not need to continue with its
cost-cutting plans, which could result in redundancies. The
union and other opponents of the government’s plans to sell a
stake of Royal Mail to a private firm also cite the solid
financial performance as proof that partial privatisation is
unnecessary.
Having enjoyed five consecutive quarters of growth,
supermarket chain Asda is “relaunching its home
shopping website by the end of June and is extending its Direct
catalogue and online offer,” reports the Yorkshire Post.
Online merchant The Hut Group, which operates its own
eCommerce brands as well as creates white-label sites for
companies such as Asda and Tesco, is seeking more than £5
million in investment in return for a minority stake in the
business. According to the Manchester Evening News, Barclays Private
Equity and LCD are among the venture capitalists interested.
Stop the press! Michelle Obama has requested a copy of
Boden’s spring/summer catalogue. Yes, apparently this is
worthy of an article in The Telegraph.
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