Random House agrees merger with Penguin October 29, 2012 PEARSON and German media giant Bertelsmann have agreed a deal to merge their respective book publishing units Penguin and Random House, creating the world’s largest company of its kind as they grapple with a growing threat from digital book sellers such as Amazon. The firms have inked a deal despite a late bid from Rupert [...]
Waitrose and budget stores winning sales April 24, 2012 UK CONSUMER habits are becoming increasingly divided, accordingly to new retail data that shows higher-end and budget retailers growing market share while those occupying the middle ground lose out. Kantar Worldpanel figures for the 12 weeks to 15 April 2012 showed upmarket supermarket Waitrose increasing market share from 4.3 per cent to 4.5 per cent [...]
Fortnum and Mason’s chief Aspinall quits April 16, 2012 FORTNUM AND MASON’S chief executive is to step down after seven years at the helm of the Queen’s grocer “to pursue new challenges.” Retail veteran Beverley Aspinall will leave her post at the world-famous food emporium, at the end of May, the company said in a statement. Aspinall, 52, who joined the luxury retailer in [...]
Revisit the very swinging 60s March 22, 2012 DANISH STYLE SOFA £449 FROM MADE This olive green Scandinavian-inspired sofa will add an air of effortless cool to your living room. made.com 60S STYLE PHONE £99 FROM JOHN LEWIS In an age of mobile phones, all landlines are pretty retro. Go the whole hog with this bright orange number. johnlewis.com CHROME ARMCHAIR £325 FROM [...]
John Lewis sales lifted by rain July 22, 2011 John Lewis reported higher weekly sales as wet weather drove shoppers to its shops and its summer sale stimulated trade. Department store sales increased 3.7 per cent to £59.9m in the week to 16 July and were up 2.1 per cent excluding VAT sales tax. “Continued mixed weather helped drive a solid final week for [...]
John Lewis sales lifted by rain July 22, 2011 John Lewis reported higher weekly sales as wet weather drove shoppers to its shops and its summer sale stimulated trade. Department store sales increased 3.7 per cent to £59.9m in the week to 16 July and were up 2.1 per cent excluding VAT sales tax. “Continued mixed weather helped drive a solid final week for [...]
Olympics to boost London businesses March 7, 2012 THE OLYMPICS will lead to a business boom for London as the city is showcased to heads of states who will use their visit as a diplomatic opportunity, insisted the Department for Transport’s London director Jonathan Sharrock yesterday. Deloitte director Mark Naysmith said: “Two weeks before the Athens Olympics the smell of fresh paint lingered [...]
Patron saint of retailers says co-ops won’t work for everyone January 29, 2012 RESPONSIBLE Capitalism. Moral Markets. Whatever you call it, the debate raging around executive pay and “predator” business shows no sign of dying down. All political parties have tried to claim the issue as their own, but they have struggled to articulate what a fairer form of capitalism might look like. Enter John Lewis, the patron [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 1, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES STAFF AT JOHN LEWIS BRACED FOR BONUS CUT The John Lewis Partnership is next week expected to announce the first cut in its staff bonus for three years as high street turmoil takes its toll on the employee-owned retailer. Analysts who track the group’s weekly sales figures forecast a pay-out of 12-14 per [...]
Daisy to buy Wordlwide for £28m April 13, 2012 The FTSE 100 edged down in early trading as investors digested data showing a slowdown of growth in China’s economy. Official figures released overnight showed that China’s economy grew at its slowest rate in almost three years. Gross domestic product increased by a rate of 8.1 per cent in the first quarter, down from 8.9 [...]