After doing better than expected over Christmas, is there a case for being bullish on Tesco? January 15, 2016 Philip Dorrell, partner at Retail Remedy retail consultants, says Yes. Tesco has reached bottom and is now on the way back up. Pre and post Christmas, the supermarket appeared to have the best availability and store operational improvements of all the Big 4. The marketing campaign was solid, back to its roots with a bit of [...]
British Land posts upbeat third quarter as London mayor Boris Johnson approves Norton Folgate plans January 19, 2016 Customers flocking to British Land’s shopping centres and ongoing demand for its offices helped the landlord deliver a strong performance in the third quarter, as the group also revealed that plans for a controversial Shoreditch scheme had been approved. The FTSE 100 property giant said retail footfall rose by two per cent over the Christmas quarter, with Meadowhall [...]
Supermarket bosses have nowhere to hide January 13, 2016 Who said there’s blood on the high street? Retail stocks rose well into green territory yesterday, Morrisons up nine per cent and Debenhams a whopping 16 per cent higher, after both reported a jump in like-for-like sales. Defying City expectations, the pair of troubled FTSE-250 outlets remind us that retail should not be viewed as an [...]
Ted Baker bucks high street trend with strong sales January 8, 2015 Ted Baker defied warm weather which kept shoppers away from high streets as sales surged over the Christmas period. The upmarket fashion group said retail sales rose 22.8 per cent year-on-year in the eight weeks to 3 January. Online sales also soared 66 per cent, boosted by an overhaul of its US website in July. [...]
Londoners opt to stay home following Paris attacks December 10, 2015 Concerns about potential attacks on London have supposedly kept Londoners from dining out in November, according to industry sales barometer, the Coffer Peach Business Tracker. Pubs and restaurants recorded a 1.5 per cent decline in like-for-like sales in the capital, with chain restaurants feeling the biggest impact. In October sales were up 3.5 per cent [...]
Sainsbury’s Black Friday deals: Supermarket will offer big discounts for the first time on Kindle, Dyson, Dolce Gusto, Sony and 13 other brands November 26, 2015 Sainsbury’s is getting on board with Black Friday for the first time, offering major discounts on TVs, tablets and electricals in a bid to get customers spending in the run up to Christmas this year. Kindle, Dyson and Sony are just some of the big name brands on offer among a total of 13 items [...]
Marks & Spencer’s share price rises after it posts first profit increase in four years May 20, 2015 Marks & Spencer has beaten expectations as its returns to profit growth – but its full year results show a mixed performance across the group. Nevertheless investors were impressed with shares rising 1.4 per cent to 593p in mid-morning trade. [stockChart code="MKS" date="2015-05-20"] The figures Marks & Spencer has beaten expectations on its underlying pre-tax [...]
Kantar figures show Aldi and Lidl combined now account for 10 per cent of UK grocery market November 17, 2015 Budget supermarkets Aldi and Lidl now account for 10 per cent of all spend on the British grocery market for the first time since they launched in the country, new figures reveal. The two grocers have stolen market share from the more established supermarkets in a short period of time. Just three years ago, their [...]
Will Waterstones’ e-books dump be a page-turner? October 14, 2015 Waterstones’ announcement last week that it would stop selling e-readers shows the major bookseller’s resilience in the face of growing online market penetration. The move comes after a few years that have seen the retailer dramatically cut its losses and amid hopes that 2016 is the year it finally returns to the black. [...]
Focus@Will, Wunderlist and RescueTime: Four apps to help you focus at work after the festive period December 30, 2015 It's time to swap lazy days, mulled wine and Christmas dinners for early starts, coffees and deadlines. Given this somewhat sour exchange, it's hardly surprising that the post-festive period can send even the diligent employees into a tailspin. If you're one of the many who are feeling lost in a post-Crimbo wasteland, unsure which day of the [...]