Breakfast briefing: Pep & Co, UK online retail sales and more

Pep & Co set to increase prices amid lowering pound

Pep & Co is planning to increase prices and give up the £1 t-shirt offers following the decline in the pound amid the EU Referendum vote, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Pep & Co's managing director Adrian Mountford said that the company was losing money on the t-shirt and it had become difficult to maintain prices with the exchange rates.

The discount fashion retailer had offset the currency impact by raising sales and placing larger orders with suppliers in China and India, but it still was not enough.

Approximately 95% of Pep & Co’s products cost £10 or less.

The company is preparing to bring in price brackets for childrens' t-shirts, such as offering items for children 0-7 years of age for £1, and £1.50 or higher for older children.

UK online retail sales boost in 2016

UK online retail has recorded a £133bn spend in 2016 owing to the increase in smartphone shoppers, The Daily Telegraph reported.

According to the data from IMRG and Capgemini, online retail spend rose £18bn, or 16%, on the previous year.

Sales in December via smartphones surged 47%, accounting for 54% of all mobile device sales. However, sales via tablet decreased 3% over the year.

Approximately £25bn was spent online from November 13 to December 24, 2016, which is 16% higher than the previous year.

Greggs reports surge in sales

Greggs has reported that its like-for-like sales for the fourth quarter have increased 6.4%, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Greggs’ like-for-like sales in 2016 increased 4.2%, with a 7% rise in total sales.

The increase in the sales was owing to products such as Fairtrade peppermint tea, sausage rolls and burritos.

The chain now expects its profit to be "slightly ahead" of previous expectations.

The company is set to open around 70 new stores in 2017 and is also planning a delivery service to cater for the office market in the City of London.