The company, formerly Hermes, also recorded its biggest individual trading week, handling 24.7 million parcels in the week following Black Friday as shoppers snapped up bargains during what the business termed “thrift-mas.”

On its busiest day, 4 December, Evri delivered nearly 3.8 million parcels, averaging 2.7 million deliveries per day during the festive period.

To prepare for the peak period, the firm recruited 9,000 additional couriers and 1,000 employees across other parts of the business.

The company also enhanced customer service, offering improved contact options and new delivery preferences for customers with accessibility needs.

During the key festive period, Evri said domestic parcel volumes rose by 6.9%, while overseas inbound trade surged by 24%, driven by demand for value-oriented online shopping.

Evri CEO Martijn De Lange said: “We continue to see fast growth towards our five-year target to become a billion parcel a year business and the Christmas trading period was no exception with our delivery volumes demonstrating that retailers online offerings fared much better than expected.

“We saw record volumes of deliveries and double digit growth as generous shoppers treated loved ones and friends.

“During a festive season that saw approximately 40 million UK adults doing most of their Christmas shopping online, the investments in our network and customer service paid off – sustaining our yearly average of more than 99% of standard parcels being delivered on time.”

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The cross-party Business and Trade Committee has requested the presence of representatives from the two online giants to appear before them in a hearing on 7 January, Reuters reported.

The committee, chaired by former Labour minister Liam Byrne, is investigating the government’s flagship employment rights bill in the context of protections for British workers.

It is also looking at how to ensure adequate protection against importing poor labour standards, including concerns over forced labour.

Shein’s general counsel for Europe, Middle East and Africa Yinan Zhu and Temu senior legal counsel Stephen Heary has been called to be a witness, an update on the committee website showed.

The hearing comes as it was reported last month that Shein is still waiting for the UK’s financial regulator to approve its IPO after it received challenges about the fast fashion giant’s supply chain.

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The beauty retailer has agreed to pay Chrysalis a “non-material sum”, which is less than 1% of Chrysalis’s stock market value, according to the investor, though the amount was not disclosed.

Revolution said the “confidential” settlement was reached without any admission of liability from either firm and that Chrysalis will not be taking any legal claim forward.

Chrysalis, which invests in public and private companies, said it would take legal action against Revolution Beauty last year, with potential claims for more than £45m.

It bought shares in Revolution Beauty when it floated in July 2021 for over £40m before selling its holding in late 2022 for a fraction of its initial investment at £5.7m.

Revolution Beauty’s crisis began in 2022 when its auditors refused to sign off on its accounts for the previous year, with shares in the firm sent tumbling.

Months later, Revolution found itself embroiled in a battle with Boohoo, which owns more than a quarter of the company’s shares, over demands to replace its leadership team.

The troubles led to the resignation of its co-founder, Adam Minto, as well as former chief executive Bob Holt and chairman Derek Zissman.

When it bought into the beauty retailer, Chrysalis claimed “the original share purchase was made on the basis that information provided to the company by Revolution prior to the company’s purchase of the shares in Revolution, and during the period in which the shares were held prior to their sale, contained misstatements and material omissions”.

Revolution denied the allegations, saying that it “strongly contested” the claims while Chrysalis did not file any claim with the court before the settlement was agreed.

Under new chief executive Lauren Brindley, Revolution Beauty is pressing ahead with a plan to revive the business.

In November, the group plunged into loss in its first half on the back of a 20% sales plunge in what Brindley called  “a year of transformation”.

The beauty brand made a £10.9m pre-tax loss in the half to 31 August, down from a £400,000 profit last year as sales plunged to £72.4m, which it blamed on the planned simplification of its product portfolio, the discontinuation of unproductive SKUs, and “significant” stock clearance activity.

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Introduced in partnership with online pharmacy Phlo and accessed via the supermarket’s website, the Morrisons Clinic service requires customers to complete an online questionnaire that will be used to assess their suitability for their chosen medication.

If approved by Phlo’s healthcare professionals, the prescription will be sent to the customer via Royal Mail Tracked 24.

Conditions supported by the grocer‘s clinic range from acid reflux, acne, erectile dysfunction and hair loss to hay fever, migraine and premature ejaculation. The service also offers contraceptives and products for the menopause, weight loss and period delay.

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Morrisons head of service John Parry said: “We know how frustrating it can be waiting to see your GP for an appointment, so we’re delighted to be launching the Morrisons Clinic.

“Our customers will now be able to order medication for a number of different health and lifestyle conditions quickly and conveniently, all at competitive prices.”

The service is currently only available to customers in England.

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The chief executive said in a LinkedIn post that while the division has been called “worthless, or worse, a huge liability”, the “reality” of a tech investment is that it takes time to pay off.

His comments come as THG shareholders voted in favour to spin off the technology arm at a valuation of £90m.

The division, which has come under fierce scrutiny from city analysts, narrowed its losses from £227.6m to £140.9m in the year to 30 June, despite sales slipping 5% to £671.4m.

Moulding added: “Yes, Ingenuity had a cash burn of c$90m in 2024 as we invest in building out the proposition further, but this has been reducing fast as the business scales.

“This is the reality of tech investment: you build it first and then charge people to use it. You wouldn’t try charging for hotel rooms before a hotel was built, tech is no different.

“Spending endless energy proving otherwise to a UK market devoid of tech businesses is a zero-sum game,” he said, blaming the UK’s “much higher interest rates” and the “dwindling capital pool” of the London Stock Exchange.

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Around 89% of investors backed the LookFantastic and MyProtein owner’s divestment of its technology arm at a valuation of £90m on Friday.

Ingenuity, which employs about 3,500 people, provides technology to support the online operations for retailers including the likes of The Range and Holland & Barrett. It also has 13 warehouses across the UK.

THG launched a funding round to raise £95.4m and has secured a debt funding of £55m, which it said will be used to fund Ingenuity until its operations are no longer lossmaking.

THG said in November: “The demerger simplifies THG’s business model as a free cash-flow generative consumer, beauty and nutrition group, with an improved balance sheet, capital expenditure and cash-flow profile.

“The board believes that there is a significant opportunity to create value for shareholders by demerging Ingenuity into a separate private company with no public listing or other trading facility for the Ingenuity shares.”

The technology division narrowed its losses from £227.6m to £140.9m in the year to 30 June, despite sales slipping 5% to £671.4m.

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The Sports Direct owner said it “respects the views of the independent shareholders” after 63.77% voted against the appointment of Mike Ashley and restructuring expert Mike Lennon as directors to the fashion retailer’s board on Friday (20 December).

In a new statement this morning ( 23 December), Frasers wrote: “We will put forward a highly qualified candidate in due course and fully expect boohoo’s board to uphold their commitment without hesitation or delay.”

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The vote was set to culminate the battle between the Sports Direct owner and Boohoo, which have spent past two months in a public spat.

Frasers publicly criticised Boohoo’s management and called for a leadership overhaul in response to the company’s deepening financial woes.

Following the vote last week, Boohoo Group chair Tim Morris said: “I would like to thank our shareholders for their support of the Board. We remain focused on delivery of our Business Review with the objection of unlocking and maximising value for all shareholders.”

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Frasers, which holds a 27% stake in Boohoo, had sought to appoint Mike Ashley as CEO and Mike Lennon as a director. The proposals also called for the removal of Boohoo’s executive chairman, Mahmud Kamani, as part of a broader plan to restructure the struggling fashion retailer.

Some 63.77% of shareholders voted against the appointment of Mike Ashley as a director, while 36.23% supported the proposal. Similarly, 63.76% rejected Mike Lennon’s appointment, while 36.24% voted in favour.

The total number of shares voted represented 81.10% of Boohoo’s issued share capital, with a small percentage withheld.

Boohoo Group chair Tim Morris said: “I would like to thank our shareholders for their support of the Board. We remain focused on delivery of our Business Review with the objection of unlocking and maximising value for all shareholders.

CEO Dan Finley added: “Our Group is a dynamic business, with great brands and extremely talented people, underpinned by best-in-class infrastructure. Since my appointment, I have hit the ground running, taking immediate and decisive actions to maximise and unlock value for all shareholders.

“I am super energised to realise the significant opportunities I see for this business. I continue to believe this group is materially undervalued. Our most important work is ahead of us, and we will drive value for all shareholders.”

The vote comes after weeks of back and forth between the two retail heavyweights.

Frasers publicly criticised Boohoo’s management and called for a leadership overhaul in response to the company’s deepening financial woes.

The Debenham’s owner’s board had raised concerns over governance and potential conflicts of interest, particularly in light of Frasers’ significant stake in Boohoo and its ownership of rival retailer Asos. Independent proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis also recommended voting against the proposals, adding weight to Boohoo’s position.

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The deal moved forward on 17 October when N Brown’s independent directors and Bidco, a company controlled by Alliance, reached an agreement on a cash acquisition. The Alliance family, which holds 53.4% of N Brown’s shares, will now acquire the remaining shares.

This morning (20 December), the acquisition was officially cleared by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), fulfilling the necessary regulatory condition for the deal to proceed, though the Court Sanction Hearing and Effective Date are both scheduled to take place in February.

“N Brown and Bidco are pleased to announce that … the FCA gave the requisite approval to the acquisition and, as such, the FCA change in control condition has been satisfied,” the two companies said in a statement.

Under the terms of the acquisition, the Jacamo and Simply Be owner’s shareholders — including Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group with a 20.3% stake — will receive 40p per share in cash. Alternatively, eligible shareholders can choose to receive one unlisted ordinary share in Bidco for each N Brown share they own.

Joshua Alliance, joined his father, Lord Alliance, on the group’s board as a non-executive director in December 2020 when N Brown floated on London’s junior exchange, Aim. With a 6.6% stake currently, he will now acquire the entire remaining share capital.

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The products were designed to align with the German sporting giant’s aesthetic, featuring sporty, casual and streetwear elements, as well as patterns such as cow print.

The collection, which features 15 options across menswear and womenswear, includes dresses, shirts and scarves and was created in just three weeks.

Traditionally it takes an average of three to six months from the moment a collection is designed to the moment it hits the shelves. But through faster production and delivery methods like its ‘Test and React’ model, Asos has reduced this time significantly.

The model allows the online fashion giant to place orders in small batches, so they can be produced faster. They can also quickly reorder the latest trends using AI and data-driven predictions.

It currently accounts for 10% of own-brand sales at the retailer and will be expanded to 20% next year to help it remain relevant to its young trend-obsessed shoppers.

Asos head of business and product Aayush Agarwal said: “Customers come to Asos looking for on-trend own brand products and the most relevant partner brands.

“This Asos Design Adidas collection takes this to the next level by creating incredibly on-trend own brand products to style up a partner brand collection. This is only possible under the Test & React model, which enables us to do this at speed.”

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