Weekly outlook, 2-6 November: FTSE heavyweights in spotlight as election day arrives November 2, 2020 It’s election day at last, and while the outcome of Tuesday’s vote in the US will drive the headlines for much of this week and beyond, there’s still a full slate of results and economic updates in store for UK markets. With coronavirus cases now surging at an alarming rate, Boris Johnson has announced a [...]
Consumers warned of Christmas cons as fake goods cases continue to rise December 3, 2018 Shoppers have been warned to be on the alert this Christmas as the number of court cases involving high value fake goods continues to rise. There have been 39 cases involving counterfeit goods worth more than £116m in the last two years, according to new data from KPMG’s Fraud Barometer. The research found that more [...]
Greenwoods becomes latest retailer to close amid high street gloom January 2, 2019 Northern menswear shop Greenwoods has become the latest retailer to close its doors amid tough trading conditions on the high street. The Yorkshire-based chain, which was founded in 1860, has fallen into liquidation with the loss of more than 100 jobs, just 18 months after it was bought out of administration. A notice posted on [...]
Toy retailer The Entertainer posts bumper sales growth in Christmas trading January 18, 2019 The Entertainer toy group has reported strong sales growth over the Christmas period despite retailers facing the most challenging festive trading season in a decade. The family-owned retailer, which sells online and through its stores, said sales for the five weeks to 29 December were up 22.4 per cent on the same period in the [...]
Hong Kong protesters march on shopping centres as Christmas clashes continue December 26, 2019 Hundreds of protesters descended on shopping centres in Hong Kong today in a bid to disrupt business on the third day of Christmas demonstrations. The so-called shopping protests have targeted malls in the financial hub since Christmas Eve, with police firing tear gas to disperse protesters and tourists in the busy areas. Read more: Hong [...]
All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers posts ‘good, not great’ Christmas sales January 9, 2020 Pub chain Mitchells & Butlers enjoyed a solid rise in like-for-like sales over Christmas, but suffered from strong comparative sales the year before. The core three-week festive period saw the firm’s pub chains – which include All Bar One, Ember Inns and Harvester – enjoy comparable sales growth of 5.6 per cent. Read more: Wetherspoon [...]
Novel coronavirus: Meet the writers who penned a book during lockdown December 3, 2021 They say everyone has a book in them, but usually that’s where it stays. Writing a novel is a time-consuming business, a months- or years-long project, often undertaken with little guarantee anyone will ever read it. Every successful author has their ‘origin story’, from JK Rowling scribbling away in an Edinburgh cafe to Dostoyevsky bashing out The [...]
UK grocery sales surge at record level after two months of lockdown May 27, 2020 UK grocery sales rose 14.3 per cent during the 12 weeks to 17 May, the fastest rate since comparable records began in 1994, as Britons adapted to the national lockdown, data from market researcher Kantar showed today. The UK has been in lockdown since 23 March though restrictions are being gradually eased. Of Britain’s big [...]
Super Thursday: Embattled retailers could learn from the Tesco turnaround plan January 10, 2019 It wasn’t only children who traditionally looked forward to Christmas: time was when Yuletide sales could be guaranteed to give a substantial boost to Britain’s retailers. No longer. A slew of dismal results published today showed Christmas figures sharply down for a number of household names including M&S and Debenhams, in what the British Retail [...]
Primark sales sweeten the pill as retailer outperforms Christmas gloom January 17, 2019 Primark today reported a rise in revenues over the festive period as store expansion outweighed a fall in like-for-like sales. The fashion retailer saw UK sales rise one per cent on last year in the 16 weeks to 5 January, defying a downturn in the wider retail market. Read more: Retail sector suffers worst Christmas in [...]