Shares in high street retailers cool on Next’s warm weather warning September 30, 2014 SHARES in the UK’s biggest clothing retailers slumped yesterday after industry bellwether Next warned it might have to cut its profit forecast if the warm weather continued. Next said third-quarter sales to date were up six per cent rather than the 10 per cent it had forecast as the mild September weather deterred shoppers from [...]
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, [...]
More changes on the Tesco board as Ken Hanna and Stuart Chambers quit May 5, 2015 It's all-change at Tesco at the moment: following the appointment of Dave Lewis as chief executive and John Allan as chairman, two of the supermarket's non-executive directors have decided to step down. More on this story: Is Sainsbury's about to have its Tesco moment? Ken Hanna and Stuart Chambers, who have served on the board for [...]
FTSE buoyed as Draghi speech reverses trend – London Report November 17, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index turned positive late yesterday after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said unconventional monetary policy measures could include buying sovereign bonds. Draghi also told the European Parliament the ECB will continue to do “whatever it takes” within its mandate to save the euro and that the single currency was irreversible. The [...]
Licence to frack: Government gives green light to 27 new onshore oil exploration sites August 18, 2015 The government has given the green light for 27 licences to explore onshore oil and gas, as it looks to strengthen the UK's nascent shale industry. The Oil & Gas Authority confirmed today that the licences from the 14th Onshore Oil and Gas Licensing Round will be formally offered to companies. Sites located [...]
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 [...]
John Lewis cooks up sales growth thanks to homeware goods December 15, 2013 JOHN LEWIS said a rush for roasting tins and carving trays helped drive sales last week up 1.4 per cent on last year to £149.9m. But this growth has slowed from a whopping 11 per cent year-on-year rise in 2012, which one analyst said could be a symptom of a patchy performance on the high [...]