Heston helps to boost Waitrose January 5, 2012 SUPERMARKET Waitrose said yesterday it had seen Christmas sales jump this year. The shops, part of the John Lewis Partnership, saw a 3.5 per cent jump in like-for-like grocery sales in December. In the week leading up to New Year, total sales rose by 9.7 per cent on last year. Among the big sellers were [...]
Webster to step down as IHG chairman February 5, 2012 DAVID Webster, the long-standing chairman of Intercontinental Hotels Group, is to stand down after eight years at the helm of the world’s largest hotel group. A source close to Webster said that no date had been set yet for his departure, but that he is likely to leave later this year. The owner of Holiday [...]
Laura Ashley and John Lewis see sales slide June 3, 2011 Major high street retailers Laura Ashley and John Lewis have both reported falls in sales over the past four months. Home and womenswear retailer Laura Ashley said total sales fell 4.5 per cent in the four months to the end of May as it closed loss-making stores and refurbished others. Like-for-like sales were down 1.3 [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 20, 2012 Royal Bank of Scotland RBS has appointed Stuart Dean as head of healthcare in the corporate and institutional banking (CIB) team. Dean has worked at RBS for more than 11 years in the bank’s structured finance division in the south of England and London. Before joining RBS, he spent two years at the John Lewis [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 4, 2012 National Savings & Investments The commercial secretary to the Treasury, Lord Sassoon, has appointed James Furse (pictured) as non-executive director on the board of National Savings & Investments. Furse joined the NS&I board on 1 January and replaces Sir John de Trafford MBE, who became NS&I’s chairman on the same date. Furse joins NS&I after [...]
There’s no logic in a punitive tax on bank bonuses February 12, 2012 LET us imagine two bankers. Let’s call them Jocelyn and Alastair. Last year they were both paid £2m. Jocelyn had a basic salary of £500,000 and a bonus of £1.5m. Alastair had a basic salary of £2m and no bonus. Who thinks that Jocelyn should pay more in tax than Alastair? Ed Miliband seems to [...]
John Lewis sales hit by wedding and easter May 6, 2011 Easter and a half-day closure for the royal wedding led to a sharp fall in weekly sales at Britain’s biggest department store chain John Lewis, it said. Sales dropped 9.2 per cent year-on-year to £48.7m in the week ended 30 April, and were down 10.7 percent excluding VAT sales tax. Employee-owned John Lewis, viewed as [...]
FOR THE KITCHEN December 1, 2011 JOHN LEWIS CONNOISSEUR GLASSWARE COLLECTION £20-£35 An affordable way to make your parties stylish. www.johnlewis.co.uk MUJI OLIVE WOOD MORTAR & PESTAL, £14.95 Nifty little vessel for crushing herbs and…whatever else. www.muji.eu TIFFANY & CO MUG, £25 The ultimate receptacle for hot drinks has to be a Tiffany mug decorated with London’s most famous sights. www.tiffany.co.uk SWISSGOLD [...]
Retailers add cheer to gloomy high st December 11, 2011 DEPARTMENT store John Lewis has offered some hope to the ongoing high street gloom by revealing record sales last week as the Christmas shopping season gained momentum. Sales rose by two per cent to £123.5 in the week to December 10, rising 12.5 per cent on a two-year basis as customers snapped up winter clothes [...]
Retailers add cheer to gloomy high st December 11, 2011 DEPARTMENT store John Lewis has offered some hope to the ongoing high street gloom by revealing record sales last week as the Christmas shopping season gained momentum. Sales rose by two per cent to £123.5 in the week to December 10, rising 12.5 per cent on a two-year basis as customers snapped up winter clothes [...]