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YELLOW STICKER SHOCK

UK retail giant Marks & Spencer is still suffering from April’s cyber attack

Shares in the British icon have slumped almost 15% since it disclosed the breach.

5/15/25 8:26AM

On Tuesday, Marks & Spencer said that thousands of customers’ personal data was stolen in a cyberattack that’s blighted the company for about a month now. The supermarket giant confirmed that names, contact details, and order histories may have been taken.

Since the 141-year-old company first disclosed the hack on April 22, shares have fallen about 14%, while M&S shoppers have been unable to place online orders since the 25th and contactless payments were down in stores across the UK. Still, a few shoppers are seeing a slight upside of the ongoing issues — the retailer’s famous yellow discount stickers have been generously slapped on more products around the country recently, which some put down to knock-on impacts from the cyberattack.

This is not just food…

Marks & Spencer — or Marks & Sparks, to David Bowie and countless others — has a lot to shout about when it comes to food and drink. Whether it was being the first retailer to introduce “sell-by” dates in 1972, those iconic TV adverts in the mid-2000s, or its famous Colin the Caterpillar cake (accept no substitutes), M&S has cemented itself as a go-to for high-quality snacks, treats, and supermarket staples.

Surprisingly though, at least to some of the SnacksUK team, the company makes a much better margin on its clothing and home sales than its food.

Last year, Marks & Spencer’s clothing and home division was the most profitable part of the business, as it has been for the last three years in a row. Indeed, though food brought in £8.2 billion in 2024, the notoriously tight margins in the grocery game meant that that translated to just £395 million in operating profit. Despite the clothing and home division bringing in half of that revenue figure, it posted operating earnings of £403 million.

For a brand that predates the UK’s current ruling party and first started selling clothes in 1926, M&S is clearly managing to keep up with the latest fashion and homeware trends. Its online presence — cyberattack excluded, of course — has also been impressive, having doubled down on its social strategy after going viral on TikTok with jackets, dresses, and sweet treats.

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American Airlines joins the flock, hiking bag fees amid higher jet fuel prices

American Airlines on Thursday announced that it, too, will be hiking the fees it charges customers to check luggage.

With the move, all four of the major US airlines, which together control about 80% of the US market, have now hiked their baggage fees in recent days amid surging jet fuel prices.

The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

Since late March, JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Canada’s WestJet, and Southwest have hiked their fees. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.

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The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

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Less than a year after implementing them, Southwest is also hiking its bag fees

Southwest Airlines has joined the growing list of airlines opting to hike their bag fees amid sustained higher jet fuel costs.

Starting today, the first checked bag at the carrier — which implemented bag fees less than a year ago — will jump from $35 to $45, and the second from $45 to $55. Southwest quietly disclosed the change Tuesday.

Southwest assigned the decision to “part of an ongoing analysis of the business and against the evolving global backdrop.”

As of Wednesday, jet fuel prices dropped to $4.16 a gallon, per the Argus US Jet Fuel Index, down from $4.81 on Tuesday following President Trump’s ceasefire announcement, which sent travel stocks soaring. Major airlines have shed some of those gains in premarket trading Thursday.

With the move to hike bag fees, Southwest joins JetBlue, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Canada’s WestJet, all of which also boosted fees this month. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.

Three US airlines have already hiked baggage fees. More are likely on the way.