Cost of living

JD Sports Fashion - something of a UK retail success story - expects to open more than 200 stores worldwide by January next year.

Tiso owner JD Sports hailed as retail sector 'star performer' as Gen Z digs deep

ONS figures show the median wage including bonuses in Edinburgh saw just a 7.5 per cent increase in the three months to July – below Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation of 7.8 per cent over the same period. Photo: PA/ Joe Giddens

Wages fail to match inflation despite UK real-terms pay steadying

Stock photo of Peter Whitecross Butchers at Dunbar High Street, which has sadly closed its doors after 27 years in business.

Butcher forced to close shop after "hardest year yet"

The limited glimpses of the sun during August was one of the factors behind the dreary sales figures.

Scottish retailers suffer second month of falling sales as spending squeezed

Chris Lawrie, area director for Scotland at Bank of Scotland: 'There are challenges, particularly with continued high prices which many firms are finding difficult to navigate.'

Scottish firms less confident than others in UK as soaring costs take toll

Charity Super.Mkt, the ‘department store for second-hand style, has officially opened its doors in Edinburgh's St James Quarter.

Charity Super.Mkt opens its doors at St James Quarter

Pub giant JD Wetherspoon runs more than 800 pubs across the UK and Ireland, including Dunfermline’s Guildhall & Linen Exchange. Picture: Scott Reid

Tim Martin dispels 'urban myths' surrounding Wetherspoons as sales rebound

The FCA has found that around 400,000 Scots had missed a domestic bill or loan payment in at least three of the previous six months (file image). Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto.

Interview: FCA boss Nikhil Rathi on improving bank support for Scots customers

The Scottish Retail Consortium said the April figures revealed a more pronounced polarisation of performance between food and non-food categories.

Cost of living: Easter sees 'slender but welcome' uplift in Scottish sales

Retail was one of the sectors to see an uptick in confidence in the opening quarter of the year.

Small business confidence rebounds but 'plenty of dark clouds on horizon'

Rathbones has found that 44 per cent of business-owners north of the Border have given their employees regular financial help in the last six months. Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images.

Cost of living: Scottish business-owners supporting employees financially

Primark has become one of the most familiar and successful brands on the high street.

Primark pull: Cash-strapped customers flock to value chain despite price hikes

Following the changes Prezzo will still have 97 restaurants and about 2,000 staff.

Scottish sites hit as Prezzo takes axe to 46 restaurants amid soaring costs

The Scottish Retail Consortium said that once adjusted for inflation, total retail sales by value dipped 0.1 per cent in March.

Scottish retail sales flatline as cash-strapped shoppers focus on essentials

Volunteers involved in the World Care Foundation and State Street food bag and voucher initiative.

Syrian refugees in city receive food vouchers and parcels

AG Barr chief executive Roger White: 'We are now in an investment phase.' Picture: Stewart Attwood

Irn-Bru maker AG Barr enjoys double-digit sales growth and signals end of era
Irn-Bru maker AG Barr has pledged to keep its products “as affordable as possible” after delivering double-digit sales growth in the face of mounting inflationary pressures, while signalling the end of an era with the departure of family member Robin Barr.

Pub giant JD Wetherspoon runs some 840 pubs across the UK and Ireland, including Dunfermline’s Guildhall & Linen Exchange. Picture: Scott Reid

Wetherspoon cheers return to profit as chairman eyes easing of inflation

Jeavon Lolay, head of economics and market insight at Lloyds Bank Corporate & Institutional Banking, said February’s data underlined the economy’s 'relative robustness'.

Number of business sectors in growth mode hits ten-month high

John Lewis has department stores in Edinburgh and Glasgow, above, having closed its Aberdeen store. Further cost cutting is now on the cards across the business. Picture: John Devlin

John Lewis: Bonus blow and huge cost-cutting as retail icon slumps to £78m loss

Best home energy efficient lighting: eco-friendly low-cost bulbs

Best home energy efficient lighting: eco-friendly low-cost bulbs

The Scottish Retail Consortium said total sales grew by 0.6 per cent in February, compared with the same month last year and once prices had been adjusted for inflation.

Scots retail sales rise for fourth month as grocery inflation hits 24-year high

Surgeons Quarter managing director Scott Mitchell: 'The performance showcases that we are an ambitious and forward-looking organisation.' Picture: Ian Georgeson Photography

Edinburgh hospitality firm sees sales surpass pre-Covid peak but profits hit

Back row: Dana Jupp (Library Assistant), Lynn Kinmont (catering team), Brooke McHale (catering team) and Becky Shanks (Library Assistant). Seated: Council Leader, Councillor Kelly Parry and Marie Dickinson (catering team).

Two more Midlothian warm spaces opening

Wind energy is proving vast amounts of green electricity (Picture: Ben Birchall/PA)

Scotland's renewable energy bonanza should lead to cheaper bills

Mairi Spowage, director of the Fraser of Allander Institute: 'Scottish firms have had to weather a number of storms over the past 25 years, and their resilience is once again being tested.'

Scottish firms tested by 'cost-of-doing-business crisis' as exports falter

Margaret Gillan from Tranent who launched the pet foodbank in East Lothian last year, pictured with her dog Oscar.

Woman launches pet foodbank as owners struggle to feed animals

The past couple of weeks have seen results from Britain's big banks, including RBS owner NatWest.

Bank of Scotland owner Lloyds wraps up reporting season 'in some style'
Bank of Scotland owner Lloyds Banking Group has wrapped up the industry reporting season “in some style”, according to at least one analyst, with the revelation that its profits nearly doubled in the closing three months of 2022.

Shoppers hit the high street last month leading to a modest rise in sales but the outlook for consumer spending remains stormy.

Shoppers take advantage of January sales but retail recovery 'deeply fragile'

AG Barr is behind one of Scotland's most famous products, the iconic Irn-Bru soft drink. Picture: Phil Barton

Irn-Bru maker flags higher profits but warns over inflation and return scheme

Andrew McRae, FSB’s Scotland policy chairman, says Scotland’s small business community has endured an 'unprecedented sequence of challenges over the last two and a half years'.

Scottish business group pushes button on biggest 'state of the nation' project

Robin Bulloch is the chief executive of TSB Bank. Picture: Andrew Parsons/Parsons Media

TSB Bank posts higher profits and says borrowers 'coping well', for now

FTSE-100 spirits giant Diageo has a vast portfolio that includes Johnnie Walker whisky, pictured, Guinness stout and Smirnoff vodka.

Diageo cheers stronger sales as 'savvy' drinkers splash out on premium tipples

Alan Cumming plays Robert Burns in dance-theatre show Burn at the King's Theatre during Edinburgh International Festival (Picture: Jane Blarlow/PA Wire)

Council's incompetence may have sealed fate of King's Theatre – John McLellan

Alan Shanks, head of Scotland at Addleshaw Goddard, says Scottish businesses are 'resilient'. Picture: Renzo Mazzolini Photography

'Cost of doing business crisis' overriding concern for Scottish firms - report

ABF’s budget fashion chain Primark accounts for nearly 47 per cent of group revenue.

Primark hails record Xmas week as spending proves more resilient than expected

One of the staff members at North Edinburgh Community Resource Centre having a conversation with a client at its warm bank.

Warm banks bringing the community together during the cost of living crisis

Edinburgh-headquartered Tesco Bank was founded in 1997 and has thousands of people working across its main centres in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle and Reigate.

Thousands of Scottish Tesco Bank workers to get £1,250 'cost-of-living' pay rise

Martin Lewis has given an update to households still waiting to receive a cost of living payment (Photo: ITV)

Martin Lewis reveals the best charities for help with overcoming debt

Martin Lewis with the TV Expert award in the winners' room at the National Television Awards 2022 at OVO Arena Wembley on October 13, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Martin Lewis reveals how to cut the cost of train tickets

The average Edinburgh household is paying almost double compared to last winter.

Capital energy prices almost double

Marks & Spencer is among the major retailers to update investors on its festive trading performance. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Festive splurge: Tesco and M&S hail strong Christmas trading but outlook cloudy

Sainsbury's is ranked as the UK’s second largest supermarket chain, behind market leader Tesco.

Sainsbury’s enjoys bumper festive sales but challenges lie in store for 2023

JD has become one of the most familiar brands on the UK high street while also running a successful online operation.

Younger profile helps cushion JD Sports as festive sales leap ahead

Majestic now operates more than 200 stores across the UK, including 14 in Scotland, and plans to open further sites.

Wine retailer Majestic toasts second-best Christmas performance ever

Greggs has more than 2,300 shops across the UK after opening far more than it closed over the past year. Picture: Greggs plc

Cost of living winner: Greggs sees sales jump 23% after adding scores of stores

Pure Pizza owner Mark Wilkinson outside his Morningside Drive shop.

Takeaway owner offers free pizza to residents

A change to cold-weather payments could see people in Scotland receive less money (Picture: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)

Sturgeon risks short-changing people on cold-weather payments to make a point

The retail sector has endured a stormy 2022 and the outlook for the new year remains mixed.

Scotland's retail sector has 'grounds for cautious optimism' despite headwinds

Many people are having to ration their use of energy to heat their homes (Picture: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Angus Robertson: If you're struggling, there are many places to keep warm

The UK retail sector is now well into the crucial 'golden quarter' for sales.

Cost of living: Fall in UK sales amid festive countdown 'far from catastrophic'

High energy costs have prompted some people to seek warmth in 'heat banks' (Picture: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)

Gap between rich and poor feels like the worst it's been since I was a child

The hospitality and tourism sector, encompassing the likes of pubs, hotels and restaurants, has been facing massive inflationary pressures.

Hospitality and tourism firms hardest hit amid soaring food and energy inflation

Industry experts say the next few weeks are likely to be critical to many retailers' survival.

November rebound in Scottish retail sales offers 'smidgen of hope'

Innes Smith is the chief executive of Scottish housebuilder Springfield Properties.

Scottish housebuilder cautions over profits and reservation activity

The research found that just 38 per cent of adults aged between 50-54 are confident that their retirement provisions will meet their needs, with this figure only rising to 55 per cent among those aged 60-65 years.

Vast majority of over 50s plan on returning to work amid retirement squeeze