Black Friday hits John Lewis’ Christmas sales January 2, 2015 He may have been a runaway hit, but not even Monty the Penguin could help John Lewis emulate the success of its Black Friday deals during the Christmas period. Sales at the retailer fell 1.4 per cent during the week of Christmas, with sales of electrical goods falling 14.7 per cent compared with the same [...]
Bridge of Spies, Carol and The Good Dinosaur: This weekend’s new film releases reviewed November 27, 2015 Bridge of Spies (12A): Dir: Steven Spielberg ★★★★☆ Steven Spielberg directs Tom Hanks for the fourth time, in the true(ish) story of an insurance lawyer (Hanks) forced to defend a Russian spy (Mark Rylance) caught in New York at the height of the Cold War. His belief that every man deserves a fair trial makes [...]
Dixons Carphone share price falls 5 per cent after JP Morgan broker downgrade makes it the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 January 27, 2015 Dixons Carphone's share price fell as much as 5.6 per cent in early afternoon trade today, making it the biggest faller on the FTSE 100, after a broker downgrade. Morgan Stanley slashed the stock's rating to "underweight" from "equal weight," saying the shares were significantly overvalued and that it was "not a growth business." "While [...]
Retailers should “play Black Friday down”, warns John Lewis boss October 19, 2015 The boss of John Lewis – one of the UK's most vocal supporters of Black Friday – has urged other retailers to “play it down” in future years after the sales bonanza led to havoc on the high street. Although the business reported record sales for the week in which Black Friday (November 28) [...]
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct on target but sales growth slows February 19, 2015 The figures Shares in Sports Direct rose two per cent in early trading as it announced sales and gross profits had risen across the Christmas period – up 2.6 per cent to £771m and 7.6 per cent to £346.9m respectively. However, that was a slowdown compared to the same period last year, when sales grew 11 [...]
Christmas party shoes give Kurt Geiger a boost as sales rise 26pc January 11, 2015 Footwear and accessories retailer Kurt Geiger reported a bumper Christmas yesterday, announcing 14 per cent growth in like-for-like sales for the 2014 festive period. Party shoes led the way, with footwear in its occasion category enjoying an increase in sales of 26 per cent and Kurt Geiger’s handbags proved a popular gift, with sales up [...]
Black Friday UK 2015: Amazon, Currys PC World, John Lewis and Asos to be winners – while AO World, Home Retail Group and Game Digital will be losers November 18, 2015 Black Friday is less than 10 days away (27 November for those who haven't marked it in their calendar/had it tattooed on their forehead) and UK retailers are falling over themselves to get the sales bonanza right. Some, like Asda and fashion brand Jigsaw, have walked away from the discount day. But others are planning to [...]
Christmas quiz 2015: How much do you remember of the year in business, politics and economics? December 23, 2015 Deloitte chief economist Ian Stewart asks some of the trickiest business, politics and economics questions of the year. Answers can be found below. 1 According to the OECD, Mexicans work the longest hours. In 2014, the average Mexican worker put in 2,228 hours, equivalent to a 43-hour working week with no holidays. Which country’s workers [...]
Sainsbury’s axes 500 jobs as part of cost-cutting drive January 13, 2015 Sainsbury's has announced plans to axe 500 jobs as part of a cost-cutting exercise, as the UK supermarket battle continues to heat up. Sainsbury's, which is the UK's second largest supermarket, said the job cuts would be across "all divisions and grades in our store support centres". A consultation on the job losses will start [...]
Cyber Monday 2015 UK: Amazon has some truly pointless, unwanted and awful lightning deals – here’s eight of them November 30, 2015 Is sale season really all it's cracked up to be? Everyone loves bagging a bargain, and what better time to do that than the bonanza time of the year that is Black Friday and Cyber Monday. King of the deals days is Amazon, which far from retreating from the pre-Christmas sales period like other shops (online and [...]