Christmas day 2015 is looking more and more likely to be a white Christmas as bookies slash their odds October 22, 2015 Everybody dreams of a white Christmas, don’t they? This year, it’s become far more probable that’s what the UK is going to get. The Met Office says “for most parts of the UK, Christmas is right at the beginning of the period when it’s likely to snow. Looking at climate history, wintry weather is more likely [...]
Britons spend less on drinking out in November after Rugby World Cup hangover December 23, 2015 Consumer spending on going out and entertainment fell by eight per cent in November as Britons tightened their belts ahead of Christmas. Households spent £17 less on leisure activities last month compared with October, dragging year-on-year spending down by two per cent overall, according to pub group Greene King’s latest Leisure Spend Tracker. Drinking out [...]
Debenhams’ share price leaps 15 per cent as it shrugs off winter blues to deliver solid Christmas results January 12, 2016 Debenhams' share price leapt 15 per cent this morning, as the struggling department store shrugged off the winter blues plaguing other retailers to beat expectations for the 19 weeks to 9 January. The figures The department store has grown like-for-likes 3.5 per cent on a constant currency basis, or 1.9 per cent as reported, while gross [...]
Boxing day sales 2015: UK shoppers expected to spend over £3bn as John Lewis and Selfridges enjoy strong starts December 26, 2015 British shoppers are expected to spend heavily in this year's Christmas sales, with stores such as John Lewis already boasting of strong trading figures. According to figures from the Centre for Retail Research and vouchercodes.co.uk, around 22m shoppers will spend £3.74bn in sales this festive period – a six per cent increase on last year. Department [...]
Without proper e-commerce investment, Steve Rowe risks making Marks & Spencer fade into obscurity January 8, 2016 Ahead of Christmas, UBS analysts predicted that the retail winners would be those with the strongest online offering. As sales results from the holiday period get reported, the analysts are being proven right, with the most e-commerce and mobile-friendly retailers coming top of the pile in the festive fight. This trend claimed it’s first victim this week, with the [...]
Lessons learned as final parcel of Royal Mail goes on sale June 9, 2015 Last week chancellor George Osborne announced that the government will sell off its remaining 30 per cent stake in Royal Mail, meaning the company will become completely private. There is no immediate timeline for the sale. Currently the market value of the shares is around £1.5bn. Osborne was forthright in saying the transaction would [...]
Big Four fight back: Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco report rising sales after years of stagnation January 15, 2016 Tesco became the third supermarket to reveal better-than expected Christmas results yesterday, in the clearest sign yet that the industry is staging a successful fightback against German discounters Aldi and Lidl. The so-called big four – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons – have been battling to respond to changing shopping habits and reverse the tide [...]
Morrisons adds fuel to the supermarket price war with another round of price cuts January 31, 2016 Morrisons has added fuel to the price war after announcing a further round of cuts in an effort to win back customers and revive sales. The Yorkshire-based supermarket said it will slash the price of 1,072 items, with an average price cut of 19 per cent on fruit and vegetables. The price of a kilo of Morrisons onions, for example, [...]
CBI Distributive Trades Survey: The run-up to Christmas has been less than merry for disappointed retailers December 21, 2015 Sales growth in the run-up to Christmas has been below retailers' expectations, new figures have shown – despite being above average for the time of years. The Confederation of British Industry's (CBI) Distributive Trades Survey showed 43 per cent of retailers said sales volumes in December were up on the same period last year, against [...]
UK weather: Storm Henry to continue the UK’s unsettled weather – but is it worse than usual, or are we just noticing it more because of the names? February 1, 2016 It maybe a new month but the stormy UK weather hasn’t changed its tune Scotland will take the brunt of Storm Henry as it sweeps in from the Atlantic through today and into Tuesday, with an amber warning having been issued for the whole of the country. The low pressure system is rapidly deepening and widespread [...]