EMEA Daily: Record Number of UK eCommerce Businesses Close; Russia Plans Amendments to Regulate NFTs

Wave of eCommerce Flops Behind Record 113,700 UK business closures in Q2

The online retail sector that boomed in the United Kingdom during the pandemic has suffered from a wave of closures since the government eased COVID-19 restrictions, new figures show. The number of retail firms shutting down rose 40% year over in in the second quarter. Data showed the number of firms removed from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) register was 113,700 in the second quarter of 2022.

Russia Plans Amendments to Regulate NFTs

The Ministry of Economic Development in Moscow has numerous amendments planned to regulate non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The news came from a meeting of a special working group held on the initiative of the ministry, and the discussions saw participants providing legal definitions for NFTs. It was attended by representatives from the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) and Vkontakte, a Russian social media site, which announced that it wanted to support blockchains and NFTs on its platform.

FinTech Supy Introduces Managed Marketplace to Help UAE Restaurants Simplify Supplier Payments

For restaurant owners and chefs in the Middle East, getting the best price on high-quality ingredients requires engaging with multiple suppliers, each of which has its own invoicing and payment system. This doesn’t help buyers who want to be able to order the same product on a rolling basis and require the flexibility to adjust orders to optimize their procurement process and avoid wasted ingredients. To solve this problem and build trust with restaurants, Dani El-Zein, co-founder of Dubai-based supply chain management software startup Supy, said his company is building a “managed marketplace” to streamline the end-to-end ordering process between restaurants and suppliers.

Tourism Rebound, Luxury Designer Demand Lifts Kering 1H Results

A rebound in travel combined with increased demand for luxury apparel pushed Kering to new financial heights in the first half of 2022, with the company’s revenue for the first six months of the year up 23% from the same period in 2021. Kering’s group revenue — including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and its other high-profile brands — was 9,930 million euros (almost $10.1 billion) from January to June 2022.

Dbank Raises Largest Seed Round in Pakistan at $17.6M

Pakistani FinTech startup Dbank has raised $17.6 million in a seed funding round, the largest ever in Pakistan. Founded in 2021, Dbank is in the process of building a user-centric digital banking system based on ethical banking. Although currently focused on the Pakistani market, the startup has ambitions to expand to other countries in the future.

Inflation Redefines ‘Value’ at McDonald’s, Other Fast Food Chains

McDonald’s is raising its value menu cheeseburger price by as much as 20% in the U.K., the first increase in 14 years, due to rising food costs. The company alluded to similar price increases to come soon. The fast-food price hike comes as the U.K.’s ONS reported that consumer prices for food and non-alcoholic beverage in the country rose 9.8% year over year in June.

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