Your commercial news round-up: Amazon, Caffè Nero, 5G, AA
updated on 20 January 2022
Reading time: two minutes
Happy Thursday!
It’s time for the LawCareers.Net commercial news round-up. Soon you will find out:
- which tech company is opening its first clothing store;
- which coffee chain is looking forward to better days;
- why 5G is being frowned upon by US airlines; and
- which company has become the latest to act against unvaccinated staff.
- Amazon will open its first clothing store in a Southern California mall later this year. The clothes store will have the technology to help customers choose outfits. Customers will be able to use Amazon’s mobile app to select colours and sizes, try on the clothes and enter a virtual queue for a changing room. “It’s like a magic closet with seemingly endless selection,” said Simoina Vasen, a managing director. The multinational tech company plans to grow its fashion business by attracting a wide range of shoppers with numerous brands. One month ago, we reported Amazon was expanding its Amazon Fresh branches to Chingford, Euston and Wandsworth. It’s Amazon’s world, we’re just living in it!
- Caffè Nero has finally finished refinancing its debt (good news for coffee lovers!). The Italian coffeehouse revealed that it has entered into a new agreement with Carlyle, HSBC and Santander, which will reduce its debt exposure by around 15% while establishing a new growth platform. The coffee shop’s CEO, Gerry Ford, expressed gratitude to its previous banking partners especially HSBC, Santander, Rabobank and Lloyds for their support during a difficult time. Tough times don’t last, tough people do!
- In airline news, 5G wireless service might be causing problems for US airlines. 5G offers mobile phone users wireless technology to deliver peak data speeds and increased availability. However, earlier this week, major US airlines issued safety warnings that 5G could wreak havoc on thousands of flights. The AT&T announced they would “temporarily” postpone turning on new cell towers around runaways at some airports as talks continue to find a solution. The potential interference has led to some airlines calling for the 5G service to be banned within two miles of runways. In the UK, regulators and airlines seem less worried as the Civil Aviation Authority explained that “different national mobile telecommunication strategies may mean that some [countries] have a higher threat exposure than others.”
- The AA responds to covid-19 by reducing sick pay for unvaccinated staff that need to self-isolate. In an internal email to its employees, the AA said that a “period of self-isolation [will be] paid and disregarded from attendance management triggers, so long as you are vaccinated or if not yet fully vaccinated you have had the vaccine as soon as you can.” This means that AA workers who contract coronavirus will still get paid but vaccinated workers are now entitled to increased sick pay. What do you think of companies implementing such terms? Do you agree with them or will it create a two-tier society? What challenges might this cause for firms’ clients?
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