Breakfast briefing: Retail news on Game, Asos and Ebay

Game Group considers £200m return to stock market

Video games specialist Game Group is considering a £200m return to the stock market 18 months after OpCapita founder Henry Jackson bought the chain back out of administration. Sources told the Daily Telegraph that an IPO was one of the options being looked at as investors led by the American tycoon seek an exit from the business. The speculation came as Game prepared for the one of the biggest ever weeks in the video games market as games consoles Xbox One and PS4 make their way to the shelves. Insiders said Jackson felt the time was right to sell Game given its solid performance this year. Insiders close to Game claimed that a final decision on a float will be taken by chief executive Martyn Gibbs and his management team.

Asos boss Nick Robertson believes ecommerce will reduce big brands dominance

Nick Robertson, chief executive of Asos, believes ecommerce will lower the dominance of big brands, levelling the playing field and allowing smaller labels to compete on an equal footing in the fashion market, Marketing Week reported. Speaking at The Marketing Society’s Creativity for Commerce conference in London on November 21, Robertson said that the importance of high street outlets is falling as consumers increasingly take to online marketplaces.

Nevertheless, Asos is keen to court the big retail brands, with Robertson claiming that his site can open up a new international market to UK retailers. He also ruled out Asos ever launching a physical store, calling the move ‘counterintuitive’.

Living Wage Foundation to suggest major UK retailers adopt voluntary top-up

Living Wage campaigners want to persuade major retailers to adopt the voluntary top-up to the minimum wage, The Guardian reported. The Living Wage Foundation will be suggesting to Tesco, Marks & Spencer and John Lewis that they can include annual bonus payments and commissions in their calculations to achieve the benchmark pay rates of at least £8.45 per hour in London and £7.45 per hour outside the capital. The foundation said it was necessary to tailor the rules underpinning the standard to reflect common practices in the retail sector, such as the payment of annual bonuses, commissions and shift premiums.

Ebay asked to ban sales of foie gras in UK

Animal rights groups are demanding eBay ban foie gras sales in the UK, the Daily Mirror reported. The online auction giant is one of the few British stores to host sales of the French delicacy - prepared from force-feeding ducks and geese to bloat their livers. Animal activists sprang into action after the Daily Mirror’s expose of the way foie gras is produced by a French supplier. All major UK supermarkets have taken the decision not to sell foie gras. Foie gras production is banned in Britain, but import is not controlled.