Businessman Ben Dunne is considering banning sugary soft drinks from vending machines across his gym network. In an interview, Dunne said he generates €10,000 a week from vending machines sales. But he added that "drinks with high sugar content are regarded as the new tobacco". "This is not about profit at all costs. I don't believe these drinks are a bit healthy and I am very much in favour of not having them for sale in our vending machines."
IPL Plastics, the Irish based packaging group, said that its revenue decreased by 4.4% to $141.8 million for the first quarter ended 31 March, 2019. The group said it was greatly impacted by negative FX translation movements, which were offset by price increases. Volume growth in its Consumer Packaging Solutions business was positive, but volumes declined in its Returnable Packaging Solutions division, and were broadly in line in Large Format Packaging and Environmental Solutions quarter on quarter.
British online supermarket pioneer Ocado has secured more operational capacity following a fire at one of its centres, after it agreed with partner Morrisons to take back sole use of one of its sites in London. The two companies said on Thursday that Ocado would have sole use of its newest customer fulfilment centre (CFC) in Erith, south east London, until January 2021. Ocado, which has championed online delivery since it was founded by three Goldman Sachs bankers in 2000, suffered a major fire earlier this year at its flagship robotic site in Andover.
UEFA and Pepsi have announced Imagine Dragons as the musical talent to perform live at the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final Opening Ceremony, presented by Pepsi. The Grammy Award-winning rock band will take the stage minutes before kick-off at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on Saturday, 1 June. Named Spotify's most-streamed group for 2018 and boasting a fan-following all over the world, Imagine Dragons will rock the stadium with their signature sound and energy, building an electric atmosphere and getting fans buzzing before kick-off.
JD Wetherspoon on Wednesday reported a jump in sales for the third quarter at its 900 odd pubs in Britain and Ireland, even as Britain's pub operators battled mounting costs. Wetherspoon's comparable sales rose 7.6% during the 13 weeks to 28 April 28, with an 8.4% rise in total sales in Britain and Ireland. Growth for the company comes despite British pub operators battling rising costs from an increase in the minimum wage, higher property rents and a Brexit-spurred slide in the value of the pound. Adding to the pressure, younger Britons are increasingly moving away from pub drinking.
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay about €893 million to resolve most lawsuits claiming it sold defective metal-on-metal hips that had to be removed, according to people with knowledge of the matter. With the agreement, J&J has now resolved more than 95% of the 6,000 cases in which surgeons extracted the Pinnacle implants because of defects that left patients unable to walk and in pain.
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
