Latest news with #Diggle
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Royal children's favourite Jellycat sparks fury by culling 100 loyal independent retailers as part of 'brand elevation strategy'
It is the viral British plushie brand which has won the hearts of the royal family 's youngest generation - as well as proving a magnet for thieves. Prince William has described Jellycat's sought-after soft toys are his children's 'currency', while rare designs can sell for thousands of pounds online. But the London-based brand's decision to ban around 100 independent retailers from stocking the toys threatens to damage its cuddly reputation, according to marketing experts. Among stockists who have been told Jellycat will no longer supply them is children's clothing shop Puddleducks. It has been trading for 34 years in the village of Diggle near Oldham, selling a Jellycat range for almost two decades. Owner Alison McCabe regularly places orders with the firm worth thousands of pounds, with the brand representing nearly one-third of its sales. So she was shocked to receive an email from Jellycat containing details of what it described as 'the next stage in our brand elevation strategy'. To provide a 'great experience' for 'every customer' the firm's email said it would now be working with 'over 1,200 independent retailers across the UK'. Devastatingly it went on: 'Sadly, we're not able to extend this support to everyone.' The firm said it understood the decision to end its relationship with Puddleducks would be 'disappointing news' but that it was 'final and not open to negotiation.' 'I couldn't believe what I was reading,' Ms McCabe told the Daily Mail. 'We've stocked Jellycat for 19 years, before all the hype started - I just thought they were really nice products. 'So it really hurts to be told we're not good enough for them any more. 'There's been no communication at all. 'If Jellycat wanted us to display the toys in a different way we could have had a conversation. 'Instead it's just "thank you and goodbye" - it's ridiculous. 'It's small retailers like this which have got Jellycat where they are now.' In total Jellycat has pulled the plug on around one in 12 stockists. They also include Bo Peep Boutique in Lincoln, which said on social media it was given 'no ifs or buts, no guidance, no reasons'. Meanwhile Rumours gift shop in Whitby, North Yorkshire announced the 'sad news' on Facebook. 'This is obviously extremely disappointing, having supported the company for over two decades, since they first started up,' it wrote. 'It's a sad day that we can no longer be referred to as "The Jellycat Shop".' As the resulting backlash spread through social media – where Jellycat has a strong presence – the firm responded to a string of negative ratings on Trustpilot by suspending reviews on the site. Professor Anthony Patterson, from Lancaster University Management School's department of marketing, said Jellycat's decision to slash its stockists was 'a clever way to maintain exclusivity' - but risked leading to 'customer frustration'. 'The real casualties here are the independent retailers who've faithfully stocked Jellycat for years, building customer relationships around the brand, only to find themselves suddenly cut loose in favour of "selective partnerships",' he added. 'For smaller toy shops that relied heavily on Jellycat sales, losing such a significant revenue stream could be the difference between staying open and closing their doors permanently.' Influencer marketing consultant Scott Guthrie said Jellycat would enjoy higher profit margins by directing more customers online - but risked damaging its brand. 'Jellycat toy sales have surged in part thanks to the sense of community it has fostered, including Gen Z posting TikToks of their collections and love for the brand,' he said. 'The break with stockists - many who have long supported the brand - may negatively impact this sense of community, with a potential knock-on effect of denting Jellycat's brand equity.' Jellycat insists it is a 'big supporter' of small businesses and stresses that 1,200 independent stores will continue stocking its toys. Initially it said they had been 'carefully' selected for the 'amazing in-store experience that they lovingly create', while saying it wished the shops on which it had pulled the plug 'all the best for the future'. However as the furore escalated, it yesterday shifted its position on the cull, saying: 'We are very sorry about this and the hurt it has caused for those retailers and their customers.' But it insisted cutting around 100 stockists would help it 'give better service' to those that survived the cutback, and therefore help customers. 'We are also increasing supply as fast as we can without compromising our high quality and production standards,' it added in a statement.
The Herald Scotland
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Buzzcocks on how punk went from Glasgow ban to Bellahouston
On Saturday though a star-studded lineup of the scene's progenitors - Stranglers included - will headline Bellahouston Park, capacity circa 35,000. Buzzcocks were there from the beginning, as Britain's youth turned to spiky hair and safety pins, and they'll be there in Glasgow on Saturday when the combat boots are dusted off by the city's elder punks. Read More: Who better, then, to chart the journey from banned to Bellahouston. Guitarist and last suriving original member Steve Diggle tells The Herald: "We brought the Sex Pistols to Manchester when it (punk) was kind of unknown, really. "That's where we all met, the next day me, Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley plugged into an amp and a terrible beauty was born, to quote Yates. "A couple of weeks later we opened for the Pistols in Manchester, we got reviewed and that put it on the map. So we were there right at the beginning. "We were doing that in Manchester and The Clash and the Pistols in London and we got to know them well, there was a connection between us because all of this was kind of new at the time. "The landscape was kind of dead, really, you had prog rock bands but they'd run their course and nothing was happening for a few years. "Suddenly you got this excitement, and everybody came alive." The Britain into which punk was birthed was one of high inflation and unemployment, of industrial unrest and a shifting political climate. It was famously referred to as "the sick man of Europe", with unemployment reaching 5.5% in 1978, the year the first Buzzcocks album was released. Diggle says: "Britain was black and white and grey - it was just boring, you know? "I was coming up to 20 and you kind of wanted some excitement. I'd been playing guitar since I was 17 and for three years I'd been trying to write songs and all that stuff and then suddenly this punk rock thing happened. "It hit the country like a carpet bomb, it was an explosion of the imagination - people thought things were possible, including ourselves, it was like an exchange between the bands and the crowd. "There wasn't any rivalry then, because we all started at the same time so if I run into a member of The Clash, or the Pistols, or The Jam we know where we come from so there isn't any rivalry. "It was great, we'd put a record out and they'd acknowledge that, then we'd acknowledge theirs. "It seemed like every week a single from one of those bands was coming out, it was a magical time." The poster for the punk all dayer (Image: DF Concerts) As punk was booming in the UK a similar thing was happening across the Atlantic with bands like The Ramones, Dead Kennedys and Television. However, Diggle doesn't feel there was a great deal of cultural overlap. He says: "The Ramones released their first album just before we released Spiral Scratch (the first Buzzcocks EP) and that was kind of a big influence, that first Ramones album was great. "I think it inspired The Clash and really everybody, it was fast and furious and straight to the point - all the music was direct in those early days. "So we had The Ramones and in the past MC5, Iggy Pop, The Suzies and all that stuff, and obviously The Velvet Underground. "But me and Pete grew up as kids of the 60s really, with The Kinks, The Beatles, The Who. "So we were aware of the American part but this was more of a British thing, all those bands were very British and thinking about things more over here, the stuff we were all going through at the time. "Actually when we first went to America, The Ramones came to see us. We got off the stage and they were all there, and they were kind of saying, 'we do that straight ahead stuff but you guys take it somewhere else' so they loved that about the Buzzcocks." Buzzcocks in 1978 (Image: Newsquest) British punk also carried a more political bent, though Diggle's band were less overt than contemporaries like The Clash. He says: "The Buzzcocks sang a lot about the human condition, you know? "There were political ones, Joe Strummer loved my song 'Autonomy' on the first album. "We had distorted guitars and we had that attitude, we had things like 'Orgasm Addict' (which was banned by the BBC). "The Clash were a bit more externally political but a lot of my songs are political underneath. Songs like 'Why She's A Girl From A Chain Store', we had a lot of complexity with it as well, we had a bit of existentialism about us. "It wasn't as simple as going 'the government's wrong', it was dealing with other complexities as well. We knew the government was wrong but it's not a case of thinking the crowd is so simple they don't understand those kind of things. "When we all started it was all under this umbrella of punk, initially no-one could particularly differentiate between any of them. "But then as we kept making albums each band got its own identity, so even within that movement we were all different." Though bands like The Clash and the Sex Pistols had their pop chops too, Buzzcocks were perhaps the most melodic of the first wave bands. Their influence can be heard in the lineage of punk and its offshoots, from Nirvana and Green Day to Supergrass and the Manic Street Preachers. L-R. Steve Diggle, Steve Garvey, John Maher, Pete Shelley (Image: Fin Costello/Redferns) Diggle says: "It's quite amazing, at the time you're just making a record you don't think you'll be inspiring other people. "It's a great compliment, Nicky Wire from the Manic Street Preachers said 'when we started we were playing 'Autonomy'. REM, U2, Pearl Jam, Nirvana and loads of other bands you've probably never heard of will say 'we used to do a Buzzcocks song when we were starting out'. "You can hear a lot of echoes of Buzzcocks in other people's records, Green Day and people like that, which is not something we ever set out to do." The group has somewhat come full-circle, and will once again play alongside the Sex Pistols at the 'punk all-dayer' at Glasgow Green on June 21, as will The Stranglers, The Undertones, Skids and The Rezillos. Punk's not dead, as they say, though admittedly some of those groups' former members are. Diggle says: "They still do Shakespeare and he's a lot older than us, so we've got time! "We were supposed to headline Hyde Park twice and were banned because we were a punk band, but we've gone full-circle here. "It'll be a great day playing with all those bands. It's still alive and well, you know? Still rolling on." The Punk All Dayer takes place at Bellahouston Park on Saturday, June 21. Tickets are available here.
Gulf Today
11-03-2025
- Gulf Today
Ryanair passengers stranded in Spain after air traffic controllers go home
A Ryanair passenger who was among a planeload of people stranded overnight in Bilbao says air-traffic controllers at the Spanish airport went home rather than waiting an extra 15 minutes for the diverted aircraft to take off. An airport spokesperson says the flight plan 'exceeded operational hours'. Sara Diggle was aboard Ryanair flight RK3209 from Malaga to Manchester late on Saturday evening. About an hour into the flight, as the aircraft was passing the Spanish city of Bilbao, the captain diverted due to a medical emergency. The aircraft, which was flying north at 36,000 feet when the decision was made, turned and landed at the Basque airport half-an-hour later. Such diversions are common. After the passenger has been taken off the aircraft, the normal policy is to refuel and continue the journey. The aircraft was refuelled and prepared to continue to Manchester, expecting to arrive in the early hours of Sunday morning. But Ms Diggle said they were told that air-traffic control staff "refused to wait 15 minutes to see us off". 'They went home so we were unloaded, left high and dry to make our own arrangements for hotels,' she added. Because of strict rules on crew hours, the pilots and cabin crew had to rest before continuing. The aircraft finally took off at 1pm on Sunday and arrived at Manchester 14 hours behind schedule. A spokesperson for the airport operator Aena, said: 'I can confirm that the flight to Manchester departed on Sunday, at 13.01 local time. It didn't depart the night before because the flight plan exceeded the operational hours of Bilbao airport.' Ms Diggle had previous experience of a late-night medical diversion – and this time took appropriate action when the overnight stop was announced. 'We unfortunately got diverted to Bordeaux last year after multiple medical issues on board so knew best to just make our own arrangements and not wait around a shut airport. 'There were no taxis, just ones arranged for the crew. We walked to the nearest airport hotel and checked in. 'I got a text at least to advise what time the flight would leave Bilbao. Others got nothing – I assume that's because they didn't register their mobile or didn't book direct. 'The cabin crew were great – not their fault but were very empathetic to the passengers.' Make your own arrangements Under air passengers' rights rules, travellers delayed overnight are entitled to be provided with hotel rooms, transport from and to the airport and meals. But if an airline does not have a presence at the airport, passengers may have to make their own arrangements and claim back the expenses incurred. A spokesperson for Ryanair said: 'This flight from Malaga to Manchester diverted to Bilbao after a passenger became ill onboard. The aircraft was met by medics upon arrival and this passenger was offloaded and transported to a nearby hospital. 'Passengers were notified of the diversion and advised of their options. Despite Ryanair's efforts to arrange accommodation for passengers, availability was limited, and passengers were advised that they could arrange individual accommodation that they could claim back receipted expenses on 'This flight departed for Manchester the following day.' The Independent has asked Enaire, the Spanish air-navigation provider, for responses.
The Independent
10-03-2025
- The Independent
Ryanair passengers stranded in Spain after late-night diversion and air-traffic controllers went home
A Ryanair passenger who was among a planeload of people stranded overnight in Bilbao says air-traffic controllers at the Spanish airport went home rather than waiting an extra 15 minutes for the diverted aircraft to take off. An airport spokesperson says the flight plan 'exceeded operational hours'. Sara Diggle was aboard Ryanair flight RK3209 from Malaga to Manchester late on Saturday evening. About an hour into the flight, as the aircraft was passing the Spanish city of Bilbao, the captain diverted due to a medical emergency. The aircraft, which was flying north at 36,000 feet when the decision was made, turned and landed at the Basque airport half-an-hour later. Such diversions are common. After the passenger has been taken off the aircraft, the normal policy is to refuel and continue the journey. The aircraft was refuelled and prepared to continue to Manchester, expecting to arrive in the early hours of Sunday morning. But Ms Diggle said they were told that air-traffic control staff "refused to wait 15 minutes to see us off". 'They went home so we were unloaded, left high and dry to make our own arrangements for hotels,' she added. Because of strict rules on crew hours, the pilots and cabin crew had to rest before continuing. The aircraft finally took off at 1pm on Sunday and arrived at Manchester 14 hours behind schedule. A spokesperson for the airport operator Aena, said: 'I can confirm that the flight to Manchester departed on Sunday, at 13.01 local time. It didn't depart the night before because the flight plan exceeded the operational hours of Bilbao airport.' Ms Diggle had previous experience of a late-night medical diversion – and this time took appropriate action when the overnight stop was announced. 'We unfortunately got diverted to Bordeaux last year after multiple medical issues on board so knew best to just make our own arrangements and not wait around a shut airport. 'There were no taxis, just ones arranged for the crew. We walked to the nearest airport hotel and checked in. 'I got a text at least to advise what time the flight would leave Bilbao. Others got nothing – I assume that's because they didn't register their mobile or didn't book direct. 'The cabin crew were great – not their fault but were very empathetic to the passengers.' Under air passengers' rights rules, travellers delayed overnight are entitled to be provided with hotel rooms, transport from and to the airport and meals. But if an airline does not have a presence at the airport, passengers may have to make their own arrangements and claim back the expenses incurred. A spokesperson for Ryanair said: 'This flight from Malaga to Manchester diverted to Bilbao after a passenger became ill onboard. The aircraft was met by medics upon arrival and this passenger was offloaded and transported to a nearby hospital. 'Passengers were notified of the diversion and advised of their options. Despite Ryanair's efforts to arrange accommodation for passengers, availability was limited, and passengers were advised that they could arrange individual accommodation that they could claim back receipted expenses on ' This flight departed for Manchester the following day.'
