Christmas 2014: Amazon delivering until December 24, while Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser and Asos face capacity problems December 16, 2014 Worried you've left it too late to order Christmas presents online? You need to get your skates on if you want to avoid paying for special delivery, but some retailers are offering premium services up to the last minute. A new survey of retailers has found a number of businesses that promise to deliver [...]
Amazon Black Friday deals deliver busiest day ever as shoppers surge online ahead of Cyber Monday November 29, 2014 It's not even Cyber Monday yet, but Amazon has clocked up its busiest ever day of sales in the UK thanks to Black Friday, selling 64 items every second yesterday. Shoppers ordered more than 5.5 million items such as TVs, tablets and toys with huge price reductions, beating last year’s Black Friday sales of four [...]
The Big Short interview with director Adam McKay: “Outrage with banks comes naturally… they’re street hustlers” January 22, 2016 The Oscar-nominated director of financial film The Big Short, Adam McKay, wasn't afraid of throwing the cat among the pigeons when I caught up with him yesterday. On the eve of his latest film's release he launched a stinging attack on Wall Street, branding bankers “street hustlers” and labelling the SEC’s response to the crisis “disgusting”. [...]
More bad news for retailers: Consumers to send back £223m-worth of unwanted Christmas presents January 6, 2015 Retailers have started to report their Christmas performances, and while online growth is something that many of them will trumpet proudly, the rise of etail presents a growing challenge for the sector. This year will see record levels of unwanted gifts being returned to retailers, with one estimate putting the total amount being sent [...]
Labour leadership race: Party gives positive reaction to Corbyn’s candidacy June 4, 2015 Many politicians and commentators from across the political spectrum have welcomed the addition of Jeremy Corbyn to the Labour leadership race, standing on a "clear anti-austerity platform". As Corbyn announced his candidacy on Wednesday, he said: This decision to stand is in response to an overwhelming call by Labour members who want to see a [...]
French PM Manuel Valls laughs off Andy Street’s faux pas and promises cheap Aspirin for Denis MacShane October 6, 2014 Sacre Bleu, a few short days after John Lewis chief Andy Street’s “France is over,” faux pas and the French PM Manuel Valls was in town, speaking at the Guildhall to a packed-out City audience yesterday. Orating in his mother-tongue (let’s hope everyone remembered their GCSE French), Valls said he thought Street had “drunk too [...]
Content isn’t just for Christmas: Reflections on 2014’s seasonal ads December 21, 2014 One of the wonders of Christmas is the gift of giving, and brand marketers have been wrapping up content in abundance this Christmas. For the major retailers, it’s no longer simply about occupying the most television airtime over the festive period. Content now starts with YouTube and Facebook, becomes amplified through Twitter and is spun [...]
Dixons Carphone expects to hit £80m cost savings faster October 8, 2014 High Street giant Dixons Carphone said yesterday it expected to reach its cost savings target earlier than previously forecast, following the £4bn merger of Dixons Retail and Carphone Warehouse two months ago. The FTSE 100 retailer said at the time of the merger it would save around £80m in annual costs from 2016–17. Speaking to [...]
City Moves for 22 October 2014 | Who’s switching jobs October 21, 2014 Vue Entertainment Alison Cornwell joins the entertainment company as chief financial officer. She has previously held leadership positions at Disney, Sparrowhawk Media and Alliance Films. She was appointed to the British Film Institute’s board of governors in 2013. Holdingham Charles Harman is to join the strategic intelligence firm Hakluyt’s holding company as chief executive officer, [...]
Online frenzy drives growth at John Lewis ahead of Christmas December 8, 2013 JOHN Lewis posted a 1.8 per cent rise in sales to £144.5m in the week to 7 December, boosted by another record performance by its online business. Johnlewis.com sales rose 22 per cent compared to the same week last year – a second consecutive week in which the site has taken over a third of [...]