Retail news round-up on June 26, 2014: Wiggle nears potential IPO, Shoppers to spend more than £110m on plastic bags, Morrisons launches its grocery delivery service in north London and more

Wiggle pedals towards possible stock market listing

Online cycling retailer Wiggle could be heading for a potential IPO as investment banks Nomura and Numis Securities line up to take the company to market, according to Sky News. The online sports retailer’s private equity owner Bridgepoint is understood to have chosen the investment banks to work on a possible flotation, which could take place as soon as this year. It was said that the company has not made a final decision or mandated IPO bankers and is still examining whether to list at all or look at other options, including a sale.

Shoppers to spend over £110m each year on plastic bags

Shoppers are likely to spend more than £110m a year on plastic carrier bags once the 5p charge is introduced in 2015, according to Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Every household in England will pay £5 each year on plastic bags from retailers. The Telegraph reported more than 2.2bn bags will be bought annually between 2015 and 2018..

Morrisons brings online grocery delivery service to whole of north London

Beleaguered supermarket chain Morrisons has expanded its online grocery delivery service across north London in its latest move to snap up a share of the fast-growing online grocery market, The Guardian reported. The service forms part of the retailer’s plan to boost falling sales and profits by breaking into home deliveries and convenience stores. It is also slashing thousands of prices to make Morrisons more competitive with discount supermarket rivals such as Aldi and Lidl.

British government warns retailers to compensate victims of Rana Plaza disaster

The Government is writing a letter urging British retailers to pay compensation for victims of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh last year, The Guardian reported. The international development minister Alan Duncan is personally writing to several retail companies after he was alarmed that a number had not made any contribution to the ILO fund.

 

 

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