Breakfast briefing: Retail news on Lidl, Gucci and more

Lidl secures £1m deal with Scottish food companies

Scottish Gourmet and William Sword have made a contract agreement of approximately £1m with Lidl, with products from both the companies to be sold across Lidl’s 92 stores in Scotland, Scotsman reported.

The food company Scottish Gourmet has landed a contract worth more than £750,000 to supply five products namely haggis, neeps and tatties for Lidl’s ready meal range, McKinlay’s.

William Sword has secured a £250,000 deal to supply Lidl with two varieties.

Gucci Ireland Ltd revenues increase €3.9m

Gucci Ireland Ltd revenues have increased €3.9m (£3.28m) last year owing to the opening of new store at the Kildare Village, the Irish Independent reported.

The firm recorded pre-tax profits of €41,336 in the 12 months to the end of February this year with a 190% increase in revenues. However, the company’s gross margin reduced from 52% to 38% last year.

The firm’s directors stated that "a significant proportion of our sales performance is linked to the level of tourism in Ireland".

"We continue to work towards increasing our market share by focusing on the achievement of an organic growth on the existing store network, providing an excellent retail experience to our customers and optimizing the merchandise available for sale, along with investing in our store portfolio".

JD Sports warehouse investigation reveals worse staff conditions

JD Sports warehouse was investigated by Channel 4 News to reveal “worse than prison” staff conditions, with many earning lower than minimum wage and being threatened of being sacked, Daily Mail reported.

The investigation which took place at the Kingsway Business Park facility in Rochdale found that many new workers were employed through an agency called Assist Recruitment.

The staffs are provided with 'zero hours contracts' which can be dismissed instantly without prior notice. They are paid a minimum wage of £7.20 per hour.

MP Ian Wright said he was “disgusted” by the revelations and he wants the company to explain itself in front of MPs.

JD Sports told Channel 4 News: “Our people are never "sacked on the spot". In any cases of serious misconduct, thorough investigations take place”.

“We take the overall treatment and wellbeing of our employees very seriously and we are extremely disappointed to be faced with allegations of line managers behaving in an offensive and bullying manner.”