Developers confirm a start date for £440m Westgate Oxford shopping area February 9, 2015 Developers have confirmed that construction on a £440m Westgate Oxford retail and leisure scheme will start in spring, after four years of planning. The Westgate Oxford Alliance, a joint venture between Land Securities and The Crown Estate, said the new 800,000 square foot development will expand the existing Westgate in Oxford city centre by adding [...]
German food discounters Aldi and Lidl enjoy premium branding buzz – Brand Index January 13, 2015 In another blow to traditional British grocers in the ongoing supermarket price war, budget food retailers Aldi and Lidl are the highest performing brands in YouGov’s BrandIndex Buzz score rankings for 2014. But there is still good news for some more of Britain’s most loved retailers, such as John Lewis and Marks & Spencer. The [...]
SuperGroup share price falls after surprise exit of chief operating officer Susanne Given February 12, 2015 SuperGroup's share price fell this morning after it revealed chief operating officer Susanne Given has left the company. Her role is being made redundant, with SuperGroup saying her responsibilities would be “absorbed by the executive team”, so the heads of UK retail, IT and logistics will report directly into chief executive Euan Sutherland. [...]
Syria airstrike vote 2015: Here’s how your MP voted December 3, 2015 Last night MPs voted in favour of the UK beginning airstrikes against Islamic State (Isis) with an overwhelming majority of 397 votes to 223, following a gruelling 10-hour debate in the House of Commons. The move was controversial, with huge numbers of people protesting against military intervention. Some Labour MPs claimed they were being intimidated to [...]
Waitrose pulls a Christmas cracker with festive sales January 14, 2015 Things may be bleak for the big four supermarkets, but for the smaller, challenger, businesses initial signs are that Christmas was a real cracker. Waitrose has topped off a strong year, in which it had grown market share to five per cent by December, according to its Christmas figures published today. The John [...]
Samsonite takes off with airport luggage retailer February 17, 2015 SAMSONITE has found a home for its bags after snapping up the airport retail chain Rolling Luggage yesterday from turnaround specialist Rcapital in a £15.75m deal. The Hong Kong-listed luggage-maker said the deal would help to provide a platform for its brands while also giving it a foothold in the booming travel market as airports [...]
Tesco boss Dave Lewis pledges to simplify relationship with suppliers October 6, 2015 Tesco boss Dave Lewis has pledged to simplify the way the supermarket does business with suppliers as part of his efforts to change the behaviour at the group in the wake of its accounting scandal last year. Speaking at the IGD conference in Westminster this afternoon, Lewis announced plans to speed up payments so its [...]
Luke Johnson among mentors for John Lewis incubator scheme April 14, 2014 JOHN Lewis yesterday announced a 12-strong panel of experts, including entrepreneur Luke Johnson, who will help advise and judge the technology start-ups competing to develop the next big thing for its stores. The department store group is setting up a technology incubator called JLAB, with five successful firms given office space and advice to come [...]
Cork blimey! Christmas champagne outsells semi-skimmed milk at Lidl January 4, 2015 Shoppers at budget supermarket chain Lidl bought more champagne than semi-skimmed milk this Christmas, the retailer has revealed. Figures show that savvy customers snapped up so many bottles of Lidl’s £11.99 Comte De Senneval champagne that it knocked the store’s usual bestseller, semi-skimmed milk, off the top spot for the festive season. The champagne has [...]
City Moves for 05 March 2015 | Who’s switching jobs March 4, 2015 Aon Hewitt The talent, retirement and health solutions business has appointed Adrian Mitchell as partner and senior portfolio manager in its delegated consulting services team. He joins from the John Lewis Partnership Pensions Trust, where he was chief investment officer. Mitchell has also held senior positions at Proxima Alfa UK Investments, FF&P Asset Management, JP [...]