Four challenges Sharon White must address at John Lewis January 9, 2020 Incoming John Lewis Partnership boss Sharon White will have a big job on her hands when she joins the retailer next month, as this morning’s trading update showed. The department store issued a profit warning today and made the surprise announcement that John Lewis managing director Paula Nickolds will leave the partnership in February. It [...]
Three reasons behind Mothercare’s fall into administration November 4, 2019 Mothercare’s UK retail business is set to collapse into administration, despite a rescue plan implemented last year, the retailer confirmed today. Mothercare has filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators to its 79 UK stores after determining they were “not capable of returning to a level of structural profitability”. So what exactly went wrong? [...]
Pets At Home profit jumps in first half as it eyes top-end full-year earnings November 26, 2019 Pets At Home’s share price surged in trading today after it posted a bumper profit increase and strong like-for-like sales growth for the first half of its financial year. Read more: Short sellers tail off at Pets At Home The figures The retailer enjoyed an 18.9 per cent year-on-year increase in underlying profit before tax [...]
‘Clerical error’ wipes out Dixons Carphone’s sales growth January 21, 2020 Dixons Carphone was left red-faced today as it admitted that its sales growth figure actually represented a decline. The retailer updated the stock market on its Christmas trading figures this morning, telling investors it had enjoyed a two per cent rise in reported sales. However, six hours on Dixons Carphone reversed the number into a [...]
Easyjet boss bullish about package holiday move, despite tumbling profit and ‘difficult’ aviation market November 19, 2019 Easyjet has unveiled a new-look package holiday business just months after the collapse of Thomas Cook, despite profit plunging more than a quarter over the last year. The budget flyer said the new business, Easyjet Holidays, will launch in the UK just in time for customers to pencil in a Christmas getaway, with bookings open [...]
Persimmon profit falls as it tries to tackle quality complaints August 20, 2019 Persimmon has reported a drop in profit for the first half of the year as it spent heavily on schemes to aimed to counter complaints over the quality and fire safety of its homes. The figures Britain’s second largest housebuilder reported a 1.4 per cent drop in pre-tax profit, which fell to £509.3m for the [...]
Men’s fashion retailer Blue Inc victim of high street carnage as it enters administration December 16, 2018 Men's fashion retailer Blue Inc has become the latest victim of the carnage on the high street as it crashed into administration last week. The chain appointed turnaround specialist Begbies Traynor to find a buyer last month after a string of cost-cutting and restructuring measures had failed to take it into the black. However, no [...]
Thomas Cook goes bust: How did it end up like this? September 23, 2019 Britain’s 178-year-old travel firm Thomas Cook officially collapsed into administration in the early hours of this morning after last-ditch rescue talks with lenders failed. The UK’s aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), is now in the process of escorting back home hundreds of thousands British holidaymakers who are abroad after booking with Thomas Cook. [...]
Burberry shares fall as transformation plan takes toll on growth May 16, 2019 Shares in Burberry fell 4.5 per cent this morning after the firm posted broadly flat revenue and profit in the first year of its major transformation plan. Read more: Burberry keeps momentum from China despite trade war fears The figures Revenue remained broadly flat at £2.72bn for the year to the end of March. Pre-tax profit [...]
B&Q owner Kingfisher’s boss to depart as profits slump and stores close March 20, 2019 Kingfisher announced the surprise departure of its chief executive this morning, as a swathe of store closures and a double-digit drop in profits puts mounting pressure on the embattled DIY group. Read more: B&Q owner Kingfisher plans foreign market exit as French sales drag Veronique Laury, who is currently one of six female chief executives in the [...]