Your commercial news round-up: Black Friday, advert bans, harvest, Gails

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Have you been staying up to date with the commercial news this week? Black Friday has seen a slowdown in shop price rises and several adverts have been banned over greenwashing. Meanwhile, UK farmers are facing poor harvests due to climate change and Gails Bakery is set to expand after a good year for sales.

• Black Friday deals have led to a slowdown in shop price rises in November, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The trade association found that prices rose by 0.6% last month compared with November 2024, which is down from 1% in October. The BRC noted that electricals, fashion items, and health and beauty products were the most discounted. CEO of the BRC, Helen Dickinson, explained: “Black Friday deals began earlier than normal [this year] as competition between retailers hit fever pitch.” The surge in spending follows months of cautious consumer behaviour. In October, Office for National Statistics (ONS) data found that sales fell by 1.1%, which was a more significant drop than expected and the first decline since May. Head of retailer and business insight at market researcher NIQ, Mike Watkins, stated: Bottom of Form“Retailers will need to keep any price increases as low as possible in the run up to Christmas, in order to entice shoppers to spend.”
   
• Elsewhere in the world of retail, adverts for Nike, Superdry and Lacoste products have been banned over misleading claims around sustainability. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) pulled the adverts for the use of the word “sustainable”, which weren’t backed up by evidence. It warned that sustainability claims need to be well substantiated. For example, Nike said that its advert, which promoted tennis polo shirts with the tagline "serve and ace with Nike… sustainable materials", was generally highlighting claims about the wider sustainability of the business and other products that use recycled materials. However, the ASA ruled that Nike failed to include qualifying details. Meanwhile, Superdry's advert promoted a "wardrobe that combines style and sustainability". The ASA said its claims were "ambiguous and unclear", while Superdry argued that it didn’t suggest all products were sustainable. Lacoste promoted its kids’ range as “sustainable clothing”, citing efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. However, the watchdog noted that there was insufficient evidence to show the clothing has “no detrimental effect on the environment”.
   
• UK farmers lost £800 million in production in 2025, marking one of the worst harvests on record. With three of the five poorest harvests occurring since 2020, concerns are growing that climate change is making crop cultivation increasingly financially risky, according to the Guardian. The UK had the hottest and driest spring on record this year and the second hottest summer. This led to a 20% drop in production of wheat, oats, spring and winter barley, and oilseed rape, according to the analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU). ECIU data also showed that food prices for climate-sensitive products (butter, beef, milk, coffee, chocolate) have risen by 15.6%, compared to 2.8% for others, due to droughts and extreme weather globally.
  
  Green farming schemes, such as planting winter cover crops, are helping to combat the problems. However, the sustainable farming incentive closed in March, leaving many UK farmers struggling financially. Head of land, food and farming at ECIU, Tom Lancaster, said: “There is an urgent need to ensure farmers are better supported to adapt to these climate shocks and build their resilience as the bedrock of our food security. In this context, the delays [by ministers] to the relaunch of vital green farming schemes are the last thing the industry needs.”
   
• Bakery chain Gails is set to open 40 new outlets after sales rose to £278 million in the year to the end of February. Sales in its retail arm rose by almost 23%, more than double the growth rate of its wholesale division, which supplies supermarkets such as Waitrose, Ocado and Amazon. Despite this, its pre-tax losses widened to £7.8 million, up from £7.4 million the previous year. Gails’ director cited rising staff and energy costs as large spending areas. It also spent £51 million on store pre-opening costs, with 36 new stores opened. A spokesperson said: “We are pleased to have delivered strong year-on-year growth. This performance is underpinned by the increasing demand for high-quality, nutrient dense food, and by the support of the communities we serve. We will continue to build on this momentum by growing with purpose and remaining committed to improving access to good food.”

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