Argos owner hires head of trends Alexei Cowan to lead brands from mini fridges to middle class August 20, 2014 Argos and Homebase have never been considered bastions of good style. With its belly button jewels and novelty mini fridges, we would almost go as far to say Argos is where trends go to die. But owner of both brands Home Retail Group (HRG) has a plan afoot. Concessions of middle-class taste-machine Habitat started the [...]
Best of the Brokers for 15 September 2014 September 14, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com JD WETHERSPOON Investec has kept its “buy” rating, but upped the target price to 885p from 870p. The broker says full year results were just ahead of expectations, and that cash generation remains strong, while the current year has started well with a [...]
Argos boosts Home Retail Group September 11, 2014 HOME Retail Group yesterday reported a ninth successive period of growth at Argos, but said the group’s full-year result will depend on the all-important Christmas trading period. Sales at Argos were up 1.4 per cent to £901m for the 13 weeks to 30 August, while like-for-like sales grew by 1.2 per cent. Higher sales of [...]
UK housing recovery lifts Laura Ashley sales June 12, 2014 British fashion and homeware brand Laura Ashley posted a 0.7 per cent rise in like-for-like sales for the first 19 weeks of the year to 8 June as customers kitting out their homes with the retailer’s floral accessories and furnishings. Total sales were down 0.9 per cent as the group closed three stores in the [...]
City Moves for 22 August 2014 | Who’s switching jobs August 21, 2014 RBC Global Asset Management The asset management arm of Royal Bank of Canada has appointed Clive Brown as chief executive and managing director of RBC Global Asset Management International. He joins from JP Morgan Asset Management, where he was global chief operating officer and chairman of Asia. Brown has also previously worked as chief executive [...]
Britain’s biggest companies call on Westminster for fundamental business rates reform September 16, 2014 Some of Britain's biggest businesses including Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Tesco, General Motors and Tata Steel have called on the government to rip up the current business rate regime claiming the current system is “a critical problem for all of British business”. The controversial tax delivers around £25bn to the Treasury every year, but [...]
Homebase plans 15 updated stores September 25, 2013 Homebase, Britain’s second-biggest home improvement retailer, said yesterday it is seeing evidence of success from its costly store refit programme and aims to expand it to 15 of its outlets by year end. The company, owned by Home Retail Group, aims to stand out in a crowded market with a refurbishment programme costing £1m per [...]
Home Retail Group to open new smaller Argos stores in London April 30, 2014 HOME Retail Group announced yesterday it will trial two new formats of its Argos stores as well as extend its new digital concept stores and ramp up its home delivery offer as the retailer continued to turn itself around. The group, which reported a 27 per cent rise in full-year profit yesterday, said it will [...]
Home Retail’s sales jump as Duddy departs March 13, 2014 HOME Retail Group’s outgoing chief executive Terry Duddy will leave the company on a high after reporting strong full-year sales yesterday across both of its businesses and raising full-year forecasts. Sales at Argos leapt 5.2 per cent to £526m in the eight weeks to 1 March, with same store sales growing by the same amount [...]
Home Retail shares jump in wake of higher profit expectations March 13, 2014 Home Retail has seen its shares rise by 6.5 per cent after the company reported higher sales and increased profit expectations. Home Retail reported an increase in like-for-like sales at Argos of 5.2 per cent to £526m for the eight-week trading period for the financial year ended 1 March 2014. The group reported an increase [...]