BUSINESS BRIEF

From the archive, first published Tuesday 17th Jan 2006.

Wage chasm

THE gender pay gap is more of a "chasm", with women earning an average of 27 per cent less than men, a new report claimed.

Most women were unhappy with their pay, but two out of three never asked for a wage rise, a survey found.

Grazia magazine said its poll of 5,000 workers also showed that women worked longer hours than men, with two out of five only taking half an hour or less for lunch.

The official gap between the pay of full-time working men and women is more than 17 per cent, rising to 38 per cent for part-timers.

Booze boast

MANAGERS of the second-largest chain of off-licences in Britain have pledged to open a new store every week after clinching a £63.5m buyout deal.

They are keen to grow Bargain Booze from its network of 560 stores -concentrated in the West Midlands, Cheshire and the North West - to challenge market leader Threshers.

Monsoon flood

CLOTHING retailer Monsoon said tough trading conditions had left it with a glut of stock at the start of its winter sale.

Monsoon, which also owns Accessorize, reported a five per cent increase in like-for-like sales for the six weeks to January 7, but said this was a result of "significantly higher than planned" stock levels in the sale.

Image rethink

TRAVEL firm Thomas Cook confirmed a review of its UK operations was under way amid reports it could be about to sell tour operator Club 18-30.

Archive Home