Supermarkets investigate working conditions after Channel 4 report
Aldi has suspended its orders from an apple packing plant in Kent run by FW Mansfield after a Channel 4 undercover investigation filmed workers in squalid accommodation.
Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer have launched investigations after the report, which also showed Romanian workers under highly-pressurised working conditions.
Channel 4 reported the Gangmasters Licensing Authority is conducting an investigation into the agencies that supply Mansfields with workers. The agency featured in Channel 4's report is Pro-Force.
Source: Channel 4 News
Apple boss declines to issue Watch sales figures
Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, dodged questions about the sales performance of the Apple Watch yesterday in an interview at a Wall Street Journal event.
"This is competitive information," Cook offered as an excuse for not answering the question about the company’s new product, which went on sale in April.
However, he disclosed that streaming service Apple Music, which was launched in June with a three-month free trial offer, now has 6.5 million paying subscribers.
Source: Engadget
Oprah Winfrey buys $43m Weight Watchers stake
US media personality Oprah Winfrey is investing $43m (£27.4m) to buy 10 per cent of dieting company Weight Watchers.
Weight Watchers initially approached Winfrey, 61, about a partnership, and she began using the company's weight-loss program two months ago, said a spokesperson for the former talk show queen.
Winfrey plans to publicly document her experiences on the programme and appear in ads, following previous endorsements by singers Jennifer Hudson and Jessica Simpson. She will also join Weight Watchers' board of directors.
Source: Reuters
In case you missed it...two longer reads
Winners revealed: A night of celebration at the Marketing New Thinking Awards
Always #LikeAGirl, the powerful campaign that captured the female empowerment zeitgeist, has swept the board at the inaugural Marketing New Thinking Awards in association with Sky Media, scooping the Grand Prix and three category gongs.
Diversity marketing needs to be more than skin-deep
As marketing – and the world at large – continues to face rapid change, marketers will need to reframe the issues of diversity and inclusion, transitioning from a moral matter of representation to a problem-solving necessity. Time for the #DiversityRevolution, writes Rebecca Coleman.
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