E-cigarettes: British Medical Journal study links vaping to quitting smoking September 14, 2016 The vaping community has been given another boost after a study published by the prestigious British Medical Journal has said the growth of e-cigarettes in England has been associated with a higher rate of successful attempts to quit smoking. Last year, e-cigarettes may have resulted in around 18,000 people becoming long-term tobacco quitters. "Although these numbers [...]
It turns out the location of craft breweries can predict London’s next house price hotspot September 14, 2016 Craft beer may be a hipster phenomenon, but it's worth paying attention to – if only for the fact it may be able to predict where the capital's next area of house price growth may be. A study by EasyProperty has found prices in the areas around London's 50 "boutique" breweries have bucked the post-Brexit [...]
Just Eat delivers new chatbot “coach” to advise customers on takeaways September 14, 2016 Takeaway giant Just Eat will launch a Facebook Messenger chatbot food "coach" as part of an ambitious, tech-focused rebrand in which it is attempting to create "the world's greatest food community". Just Eat's chatbot will be on hand to customers to "bring food discovery to life by engaging with customers to coach and inspire their food choices", the company announced [...]
Tick, tock: Cartier and Montblanc owner Richemont forecasts 45 per cent profit drop as luxury watch demand falls September 14, 2016 Shares in Richemont, the owner of luxury brands such as Cartier and Montblanc, fell this morning as the company forecast a 45 per cent drop in first-half operating profit on the back of a sales slump and lower demand for watches. The figures In a trading update this morning, the Swiss luxury goods retailer said total sales had fallen 14 [...]
Pure Gym Group announces intention to float on London Stock Exchange September 14, 2016 Pure Gym Group has unveiled its IPO plans, after months of working towards a flotation on the London Stock Exchange. The company said this morning it intends to apply for a listing on the main market, and the IPO is "expected to raise gross proceeds of £190m". Pure Gym will use the proceeds to repay [...]
The kids heading back to school drove sales at John Lewis as the warmer weather continued to help Waitrose September 13, 2016 The John Lewis Partnership's sales have been boosted by the summer sun and families stocking up for the start of the school year. In the week to 10 September, sales at John Lewis were up 9.1 per cent on the same period last year, reaching £82.7m. Fashion sales did particularly well, up by 6.8 per cent. Children's [...]
BIS committee chair urges Mike Ashley to leave employment agency Transline Group behind September 13, 2016 Iain Wright, the chair of the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) select committee is pushing Sports Direct's founder Mike Ashley to ditch Transline Group, the agency that supplies workers for his Shirebrook warehouse. The BIS committee said in a report on the working practices at Shirebrook that Transline Group had been misleading in evidence given during [...]
M&S boss Steve Rowe declines to meet MPs to discuss pay cuts for his staff September 13, 2016 M&S boss Steve Rowe has rejected an invitation to meet MPs to discuss the pay changes he is making for his staff and he has refused to accept their suggestion that he should commit to a three-year pay freeze. Some 70 MPs wrote to Rowe last week to complain about the pay changes he is making for employees, [...]
Ikea sales hit a record €34.2bn in the year to August 2016 as company’s focus on food pays off September 13, 2016 The world just can't get enough of meatballs and flatpack furniture – and it's reflected in record sales at Ikea, which the company attributed largely to its focus on food in the last year. The Swedish group's total sales rose to €34.2bn (£28.8bn) in the 12 months to the end of August, from €31.9bn the year before. Total sales [...]
Private equity guru Jon Moulton considered buying BHS and Austin Reed June 2, 2016 Private equity guru Jon Moulton has said he had considered snapping up collapsed retailers BHS and Austin Reed. Moulton told City A.M. that he decided against rescuing the businesses as it was “too hard” to revive them. Speaking about why BHS failed, the Better Capital founder said “tough competitive market with too much traditional retail trading space” led [...]