The Crafters Emporium will shut its shop on Sheep Street, Bicester in October – less than a month after it closed its site in Faringdon on June 30. 

The announcement was made in a letter to crafters last week, just days after The Enforcement Agency repossessed the company’s remaining shop on Cornmarket Street, Oxford due to unpaid rent. 

The business is now expected to file for insolvency after reports of crafters who sold stock in the store being left out of pocket by thousands of pounds. 

Crafter Miss Peachy, who joined the store in May, said she hadn’t been paid for any of her stock that had been sold since she teamed up with the company, leading to her collecting all of her items from the Oxford store on July 3. 

She claimed that the items were still on display when she arrived and that the company owners are still asking her to pay rent for July, despite all of her items having now been removed. 

Magdalena Bialas, who sold her handmade crafts in the Oxford and Bicester shop, said: ” Since at least August, I’ve had to chase my payments every single month.

“I still haven’t received my December payment.

“It’s definitely not cheap to be there — they take a really high commission on sales, and the rent for the space isn’t small either.

“I honestly feel like they’ve lost control of the situation and ended up in a cycle they can’t get out of.”

In 2023 the company reported a total of £319,818 in capital and reserves, meanwhile in 2025 it reported a total of £489,550.

The business announced the closure of their Faringdon store last month after six years in the town.

Natasha Martell opened her second Crafters’ Emporium, with another store in Didcot, which opened in October 2019 with a range of local artisan crafts people providing gifts.

An announcement regarding that store has not yet been made and it is believed to be open at this time. 

The Crafters Emporium specialises in handmade crafts, with crafts and gifts from more than 50 crafters across the UK.

Artists are picked by the shops directors and go through a selection process to have their work in the shop.

The Crafters’ Emporium has declined to comment.

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Efekta Education has appointed Matt Fisher as Chief Technology Officer, adding a former Microsoft and Amazon technology leader to its senior team.

Fisher joins the education technology group with nearly 20 years of experience at Microsoft, Amazon, Auth0, Daydream and Adventr. He will lead technology strategy and product development as Efekta expands its AI-based learning platform.

His background includes building products for large-scale use, with a focus on applying emerging technology to consumer and business services. At Microsoft, Fisher co-created Codie, a multilingual AI assistant designed to help developers access coding knowledge in their own language.

He will oversee further development of Efekta’s teaching and learning platform and work with the leadership team on the company’s use of AI in education.

Fisher has also maintained close links to higher education. Alongside his commercial roles, he has served as an Adjunct Faculty Member in Brown University’s engineering department.

Efekta operates in a crowded market for AI tools in education, where companies are competing to persuade schools, governments and employers that software can tailor lessons more closely to individual learners. Its systems are designed to support teachers as well as students, reflecting a wider debate in the sector over whether AI should supplement classroom teaching rather than replace it.

Scale is central to Efekta’s pitch. The platform has taught more than 24 million people in 179 countries and is used by more than 4.5 million active students, 3,000 corporate clients, tens of thousands of teachers and government partners.

The company was spun out from EF, the private education group also known as Education First. That heritage gives Efekta links to one of the largest private education businesses in the world as it seeks to build direct relationships with public and private school systems, publishers, governments and employers.

Leadership build-out

Fisher’s appointment comes amid a broader expansion of the leadership structure. Earlier this year, Efekta named Stefania Giannini, the former UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education and former Italian Minister of Education, as President of Government Relations and Research.

The business has also formed an advisory board chaired by José Manuel Barroso. The group includes figures from education, policy and technology, underscoring Efekta’s effort to strengthen ties with institutions and governments as scrutiny of AI in classrooms grows.

For education technology companies, senior hires with product and engineering experience have become increasingly important as customers seek evidence that AI systems can be deployed reliably and responsibly. Providers face pressure to show that their software can improve learning outcomes while fitting into existing teaching structures.

Fisher set out his view of the opportunity in education in a statement released by the company.

“Education represents one of the most important and exciting opportunities for AI to create meaningful impact,” said Matt Fisher, Chief Technology Officer, Efekta Education. “I’ve spent my career building technologies that help people learn, connect and achieve more. What attracted me to Efekta is its clear vision for using AI to enhance learning, support teachers and make high-quality education accessible to more people around the world. I’m excited to join the team as we continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in personalised learning.”

Stephen Hodges, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, said the appointment reflects the next stage of Efekta’s growth.

“Matt brings a rare combination of deep technical expertise, product vision and leadership experience. He has spent nearly two decades building technologies at scale and turning ambitious ideas into products that deliver real impact for users. His experience across AI, engineering and product development will be invaluable as we continue to expand our platform and deliver transformative learning experiences for students, teachers and institutions around the world,” said Hodges.

Primark has introduced new lower prices across hundreds of women’s, men’s, and children’s clothing lines as part of its ‘Iconic Value’ era, aiming to reinforce its reputation as the go-to high street destination for affordable fashion.

Matt Houston, chief customer officer at Primark, said: “Value matters to customers today more than ever and for more than fifty years customers have trusted us as the destination on the high street for great value fashion at prices you cannot find anywhere else.

“We want to continue to lead the way in shaping what affordable fashion looks like and give our customers the confidence that they can always trust Primark for the very best prices but without compromising on quality or on style.”

The retailer said its new pricing structure will stay in place through its 2026 Autumn and Winter collections, allowing shoppers to pick up lower-priced items without sacrificing quality, fit, or style.

Primark said the changes reflect customer priorities.

A survey commissioned by the company found that nearly half of UK shoppers (46 per cent) prioritise value for money when buying clothes for their family, with six in 10 saying good value is the most important factor in their shopping decisions.

The company also said customers can expect to see innovative fabrics, as well as improvements to fit and durability across the new lines.

To help shoppers identify the lower-priced items, Primark stores will feature prominent ‘Iconic Value’ signage on relevant products.

The new pricing comes into effect today (July 20).

Ted Baker plots comeback after disappearing from high streets

Ted Baker is plotting a major return to the high street almost two years after its disappearance from UK town centres.

The fashion brand is set to open its first new standalone UK store later this year, nearly two years after all its British locations closed following the collapse of its UK store operator, No Ordinary Designer Label.

The closures marked the end of the brand’s 36-year presence on the high street.

A spokesman for Authentic Brands Group, which owns Ted Baker, said the first standalone store will open “very soon”.

(Image: Jam Press/Ted Baker)

The brand has already begun a gradual return to physical retail through boutique concessions in Selfridges, including its latest opening at Selfridges Birmingham in the Bullring.

A similar concession was launched at the Trafford Centre in Manchester in May.

After the collapse of its UK store operator in March 2024, all 46 Ted Baker stores across the country closed by August, resulting in hundreds of job losses.

Following these closures, Authentic Brands Group relaunched the Ted Baker UK website in November, resuming online sales of menswear, womenswear, and accessories while searching for a new operating partner.

Ted Baker was founded in Glasgow in 1988 and rose to become one of Britain’s most recognisable fashion labels, operating around 550 stores and concessions worldwide at its peak.