B&M eyes more stores as sales jump by a third May 28, 2015 Bargain retail chain B&M has hiked its store expansion targets after reporting a near 30 per cent jump in revenue in its first year as a public company. The company, which sells everything from toys to electrical goods and furniture, yesterday said sales jumped 29.5 per cent to £1.6bn in the year to 28 March, [...]
John King steps down as CEO of House of Fraser February 18, 2015 HOUSE of Fraser chief executive John King has stepped down after eight years at the helm of the department store chain, with chief operating officer Nigel Oddy taking his place. King joined House of Fraser in 2007 just after its was bought by a consortium of investors called the Highland Group which included retail entrepreneur [...]
Britain should vote for Brexit before the inevitable Eurozone meltdown February 23, 2016 Despite David Cameron’s embarrassing imitation of Oliver Twist in Brussels last week, his negotiations ended up mired in the minutiae of trivial amendments to the UK’s relationship with Europe. Small restrictions to child benefit and vague wording about exemption from a common currency and “ever closer union” are the thin gruel that our hapless Prime [...]
Apple Pay: How does it work and is it any quicker? A guide for the new contactless payment system July 15, 2015 Apple Pay has finally arrived in the UK. Well, sort of. If you have the right iPhone and the right bank and you shop in the right place and if the sun is shining at just the right angle – then you can use Apple Pay (okay, we made the bit about the sun up). [...]
BHS confirms new chief executive is Darren Topp as the retailer makes transition to new owners March 17, 2015 BHS has confirmed Darren Topp as its interim chief executive, following the departure of long-standing head Richard Price. Topp has been at BHS for six years, and steps up from his current role as chief operating officer with immediate effect. The change at the top comes just days after the department store chain [...]
London Collections: Men – the lowdown on the latest menswear trends June 4, 2015 The Breton Stripe is a summer classic. Get the long-sleeved T-shirt from Ralph Lauran at mrporter.com, £110, the chinos from AMI at mrporter.com, £155, the Steve McQueeninspired shades from Persol at davidclulow.com and the “Classic Batchel” shoulder bag from The Cambridge Satchel Company, £130, cambridgesatchel.com Sketches: Emma Hopkins LC:M – aka London’s men’s [...]
Retailers’ woes in focus after a festive slump – London week ahead January 4, 2015 RETAILERS’ woes will be centre stage this week as J Sainsbury, Tesco, WM Morrison and Marks & Spencer update the market after what is expected to have been a relative slump in trading over the festive season. Tesco’s trading announcement on Thursday will be of particular interest, as new chief executive Dave Lewis will outline [...]
Travel caterer SSP wins £500m deal to open 29 outlets at Oslo airport November 16, 2015 Travel catering giant SSP has won a £500m contract to run 29 shops, cafes and restaurants at Oslo Airport Gardermoen in Norway. The FTSE 250 franchise operator, which made its £1bn stock market debut last year, said it has secured a contract spanning five years for retail and seven years for the food and beverage, with [...]
M&S share price suffers after downgrade ahead of third quarter results January 5, 2015 Marks & Spencer shares fell over three per cent in mid-afternoon trading after a downgrade by investment bank Societe Generale and as it prepares to report third quarter sales figures later this week. The British retailer started the new year on the back foot after analysts at Societe Generale took the stock rating from "buy" to [...]
The best places to find Cyber Monday deals 2014: John Lewis, Tesco, Asos, Marks and Spencer, Game, Samsung, Halfords and Morrisons December 1, 2014 Beleaguered shoppers are still nursing their bruises and retailers are still fixing up their stores following UK's biggest-ever "Black Friday", yet the deals keep on coming. Tomorrow is "Cyber Monday", the internet's biggest shopping day of the year when online retailers offer consumers another chance to grab a bargain as the Christmas shopping season [...]