Perfecting the art of seduction with bespoke interiors March 28, 2014 Melissa York talks to Julia Reynolds, the saleswoman who makes every viewing a singular experience THE next time you walk into a show home, take a good sniff. It’s likely that a lot of thought has gone into what permeates your nostrils. The days of sales teams brewing coffee or arranging flowers at strategic intervals [...]
Former banker gets saucy on Dragons’ Den February 9, 2014 SPOILER ALERT: A former City worker entered the Dragon’s Den last night and came out smiling, having bagged a £50,000 investment from Piers Linney in return for a 30 per cent equity share in her Indian sauce business, Vini & Bal’s. Vini Aujla, a former investment manager at Lord Rothschild’s RIT Capital, and her husband [...]
Best of the Brokers for 31 January 2014 January 30, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com CARPHONE WAREHOUSE Barclays keeps its “equalweight” rating and raises its target from 270p to 290p following the firm’s plan to open stores in collaboration with Samsung. The broker hopes Carphone will do further deals in the same vein across Europe. PUMA UBS has [...]
Sainsbury says discounters an all-year threat January 8, 2014 SAINSBURY’S chief executive Justin King yesterday conceded the pressure from discounters was an “all-year” rather than a Christmas effect, as the group posted a sharp slowdown in sales over the Christmas quarter. Shares fell 2.4 per cent yesterday after the supermarket posted a 0.2 per cent rise in like-for-like sales in the 14 weeks to [...]
Supermarkets are getting crushed March 13, 2014 Morrisons has plummeted into the red, announcing a £176m pre-tax profit loss, having made a £897m profit a year earlier. The supermarket’s planning a £1bn property selloff over the next three years, in a bid to ameliorate the situation. It’s issued a dire profit warning, too, which has been described this morning on the BBC [...]
Brand Index: New banks on the block will find it tough to win custom February 18, 2014 NOT LONG ago, the British retail banking sector was dominated by just a few big brands. That is undeniably starting to change, and yet our research shows that people may say they have a fairly low opinion of the traditional players, but there is also a strong preference for the devil they know. According to [...]
Shoe repair business Timpson launches its thousandth store January 19, 2014 FAMILY-OWNED shoe repair business Timpson is opening its thousandth shop today in Wrexham, North Wales, as the company’s expansion plans gather momentum. Timpson will be renting the space at a Tesco site, a spokesperson from the supermarket chain told City A.M. The unit is part of a joint venture between Timpson and Tesco. It will [...]
Cranswick stock sizzles as Britons put more sausages in frying pan January 30, 2014 SHARES in pork specialist Cranswick rose more than four per cent yesterday after strong third quarter results prompted analysts to hike their full-year profit forecasts. The FTSE 250 firm, which supplies supermarkets including Sainsbury’s with upmarket sausages and cooked meats, said underlying sales in the three months to 31 December rose by 13 per cent, [...]
Supermarkets look to generate own electricity January 26, 2014 SUPERMARKET chains are increasingly looking to generate their own energy, as a means of securing supply, cutting costs and reducing their carbon emissions. FTSE 100-listed Sainsbury’s “will continue to invest in low-carbon technologies including solar panels for stores and depots in 2014,” a spokesperson told City A.M. The retailer opened two carbon-neutral stores late last [...]
Scottish nationalist failures have spooked business. EU outers beware March 6, 2014 SHELL, Lloyds and Barclays have joined Standard Life and Sainsbury’s in warning about the consequences for their businesses of Scottish independence. Uncertainty for business about the implications of a vote to leave the UK appears to be harming Scottish prospects already, even though opinion polls suggest the risk that Scotland votes to leave the UK [...]