London Report: Tesco’s woes and miners’ China fears drag down market September 22, 2014 SHARES in giant retailer Tesco tumbled yesterday 11.5 per cent to 203p – their lowest in 11 years – because of fears that first-half profits were overstated by around £250m, dragging down the FTSE 100. The blue-chip index was off 64.29 points, 0.94 per cent, at 6,773.63 points. Supermarket rivals Morrison and Sainsbury’s were hit [...]
Sainsbury’s and John Lewis’ Christmas adverts beaten by Shakira in 2014 most-shared ad list November 19, 2014 Move over Sainsbury’s, step to the side John Lewis. Neither brand has taken the mantle for the most shared ad of 2014. Marketing technology company Unruly has scoured the web and has identified Activia’s collaboration with Shakira as the most identified advert on the web. The yoghurt company teamed up with the Colombian [...]
Peppa Pig maker Entertainment One splashes cash on US deal as finance boss Giles Willits talks expansion plans January 6, 2015 Giles Willits is sitting in the boardroom of Entertainment One’s offices in west London with a family of Peppa Pig cuddly toys gazing up at him. The British TV phenomenon – Peppa Pig, that is – is one of the production group’s most successful exports. But today pigs are forgotten and the group’s jolly finance [...]
FTSE buoyed as Draghi speech reverses trend – London Report November 17, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index turned positive late yesterday after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said unconventional monetary policy measures could include buying sovereign bonds. Draghi also told the European Parliament the ECB will continue to do “whatever it takes” within its mandate to save the euro and that the single currency was irreversible. The [...]
Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda cut petrol prices in latest battle in supermarket price wars September 29, 2014 Supermarkets clearly love the smell of diesel in the morning. Forget Brand Match promotions, in the latest battle between supermarkets in the long-waged war over low prices, the front of the petrol pumps re-opened. From tomorrow, Tesco and Sainsbury’s will slash fuel prices by up to five pence per litre while Asda will cut up [...]
Is Waitrose boss Mark Price right that the Big Four supermarkets are “20 years out of date”? October 22, 2014 James McGregor, director of Retail Remedy, says Yes. Mark Price is correct that structural shifts in retail are a far bigger threat to the Big Four (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons) than Aldi and Lidl. Yes, the discounters are a problem, but they’re not the big problem. The main issue is that people’s grocery shopping [...]
Morrisons exec is charged with insider dealing September 29, 2014 MORRISONS’ former treasurer and head of tax has been charged with insider dealing ahead of the retailer’s £216m tie-up with Ocado last year. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said yesterday it had charged Paul Coyle with two offences of insider dealing. He will now face criminal proceeding and is set to appear before Harrogate Magistrates’ [...]
March of the discounters: Sainsbury’s share price rises as it promises £150m price cuts November 12, 2014 Newly-installed Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe has taken the bull by the horns, promising a £150m "investment" in price cuts in order to compete with increasingly powerful discounters such as Aldi and Lidl. Investors were clearly impressed: shares rose four per cent as the market opened. The supermarket posted results showing its worst first-half performance [...]
The Riverlight development in Battersea’s Nine Elms is welcoming residents November 13, 2014 Visitors to Riverlight, a new housing development on the south bank of the Thames, are confronted by a rather extraordinary, large artwork in the lobby. It layers towering elm trees, cranes from the docks, industrial waste and six, serrated glass towers lining the river bank. “History in the Making” by Royal College of Art [...]
Intertek leads the way as FTSE buoyed by data – London Report October 29, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index yesterday rose to its highest level in nearly three weeks on the expectation that the US Federal Reserve would signal that it was in no rush to raise interest rates. However, late last night – after the London close – investors elsewhere in the world were betting that a US rate [...]