Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
Could old Bruce Millers music shop on Aberdeen’s Union Street soon be brought back to life?
Plans have been lodged for work on the old Bruce Millers music shop, which could ultimately give the long-vacant Aberdeen institution a new lease of life.
Local hospitality firm PB Devco, which owns The Howff pub under the store and the Motif beer garden to its rear, has lodged proposals for the unit.
Bosses want permission to clear it out, making it “accessible”.
And blueprints indicate this is for a “potential retail or commercial use” in the future…
Read more in today's Press and Journal.
Retail price inflation eases to 4.3% in November
Prices in early November were 4.3% higher than a year earlier, down from the 5.2% inflation in October and from the peak of 9% inflation recorded in May, according to the latest data from the British Retail Consortium and NielsenIQ.
Annual shop price inflation is now running at its lowest level since June 2022.
Food price inflation fell to 7.8%, down from 8.8% in October and marking the seventh consecutive month of decline. Food price inflation is now less than half its peak rate of 15.7% in April and the lowest since July 2022.
Non-food inflation fell to 2.5% in November from 3.4% in October, continuing a downward trajectory from a peak of 5.8% in May.
However, looming cost pressures threaten to push inflation back up again next year, the BRC warned.
Jo Malone reveals opening date for Aberdeen Union Square store
Jo Malone will open its new store in Aberdeen next week.
The luxury brand will open its doors in Union Square shopping centre after relocating from Loch Street, near the Bon Accord Centre.
Jo Malone, best known for its fragrances, scented candles and diffusers, previously said it had made the decision to move due to “a larger space within a higher traffic shopping centre.”
The well-known brand first arrived in the Granite City in 2010 and opened in Loch Street, part of the Bon Accord Centre.
The existing team of six members of staff will all transfer to the new store.
Strike under way at Shell’s St Fergus gas plant
About 150 Kaefer contractors have started a week of strikes at a pair of Scottish gas plants operated by Shell.
Unite the Union said it blamed Shell “who funds any deal” for the dispute at St Fergus gas terminal, near Peterhead, and Mossmorran natural gas liquids facility in Fife, after Kaefer failed to make a cost-of-living payment.
The union said it had “no option” but to take action in response.
The strikes will end next Monday but there is also an overtime ban lasting 12 weeks after members returned a 75% “yes” vote to industrial action.