The nightmare before Christmas: Aldi and Lidl hammer Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco October 21, 2015 Britain's biggest supermarkets are facing a crunch Christmas as the pressure from German discounters Aldi and Lidl is ramped up, with experts warning of a bloody battle for this year’s festive season. The German duo have both seen growth rates return to over 17 per cent in the past three months, according to data from [...]
The nightmare before Christmas October 20, 2015 Aldi and Lidl hammer British supermarkets BRITAIN’S biggest supermarkets are facing a crunch Christmas as the pressure from German discounters Aldi and Lidl is ramped up, with experts warning of a bloody battle for this year’s festive season. The German duo have both seen growth rates return to over 17 per cent in the past [...]
UK house prices: First-time buyer market cools in the run-up to Christmas November 27, 2015 Britain first-time buyer market has cooled over the last three months following this summer’s record number of sales, new research shows. New buyers completed 28,100 sales in October, which was down 8.5 per cent compared with July’s eight year high of 30,700, according to figures released today by estate agents Your Move & Reeds Rains. [...]
Black Friday 2015 UK: Police asks retailers to extend bargains day to a week in a bid to stave off the chaos of last year at stores like Tesco and Asda November 11, 2015 Perhaps Asda was right to step back from Black Friday. Police have called on retailers to put into place a better strategy for dealing with the huge numbers of shoppers expected to storm high streets and supermarkets on 27 November. The National Police Chiefs' Council has urged retailers to deploy more staff and security to help [...]
Shop prices fall in November as retailers gear up for Black Friday frenzy December 2, 2015 Shop prices fell by 2.1 per cent in November, with clothing and electricals leading the way as competition intensified ahead of Black Friday. Non-food prices fell by 3.3 per cent year-on-year, according data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen, which was an acceleration on the 2.7 per cent decline recorded in October. November [...]
FTSE 100 index edges higher, despite falls in mining stocks December 29, 2015 The FTSE 100 index opened slightly higher on the first day of trading after Christmas, despite falls in mining and oil stocks that had rallied in the build-up to the festive period. The UK's top blue-chip index opened 0.24 per cent up at 6,271 points, led higher by Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Berkeley Group. Read more: FTSE 100 [...]
Christmas adverts: John Lewis, Sainsburys, Burberry & Marks and Spencer beaten by Universal for most shared festive ad of all time November 2, 2015 It's that time of year already. John Lewis is poised to unveil its Christmas advert on Friday (8am if you're really keen) and once again will be launching in on social media first, followed by a grand pushing out to TV audiences at the weekend. It has become an iconic start to the festive period, [...]
Cranswick results sizzle as Asia goes mad for British pork November 30, 2015 Pork producer Cranswick put in far from its wurst performance in the six months to the end of September, after it posted a 9.9 per cent rise in revenues. The figures It's been a sizzling summer for Cranswick, which said revenues jumped to £529.1m during the period, up from £481.5m during the same period last year. Adjusted profits before tax [...]
Poundland’s share price plummets as profits slump against “exceptional period last year” while 99p Stores conversion begins November 19, 2015 Poundland's share price plummeted more than 20 per cent this morning as it revealed a slump in first year profits. The figures Poundland's total sales rose 5.6 per cent on a constant currency basis, but like-for-likes were down 2.8 per cent. However it was the EBITDA and pre-tax profits that really took a hit, with [...]
Falling demand for diamonds and the weak South African rand weigh on Petra Diamonds’ revenues January 25, 2016 Petra Diamonds, the FTSE listed miner, announced revenues for the last six months fell 28 per cent, as a result of falling diamond prices, and a weak South African rand. The figures Revenue fell 28 per cent to $154m (£108m) in the six months ending December, down from $214.8m the year before. This includes the $10.5m sale of a 23.16 [...]