A class of their own: The head of Redington is on a mission to stop money from being a taboo subject June 18, 2018 "Let's play a game,” says Rob Gardner, opening up his bag of tricks. A jumble of colourful building blocks spill out onto the table in front of me. He tells me to make as many towers as I want, as high as I want. “I can’t believe I’m being paid to do this,” I [...]
Big win for Wincanton as it inks four-year warehouse deal with Ikea December 21, 2016 Supply chain solutions group Wincanton has won the contract for Ikea's warehouses in London, the group announced today. Shares in Wincanton rose 2.34 per cent at the open. The agreement, which will run for four years, will see Wincanton lease and fit-out the warehouses on behalf of the Swedish furniture giant. Ikea's London warehouses occupy a combined [...]
Ikea scores fifth year of sales growth in the UK November 29, 2016 Ikea has announced its fifth year of sales growth in the UK, and has broadened its market share. The furnishings retailer's UK sales hit £1.72bn in the 2016 financial year, increasing 8.9 per cent on last year. Its market share jumped by 0.5 percentage points to 8.2 per cent. Read more: Flatpack-loving foodies push Ikea sales to [...]
Property fund Pradera, backed by UK private wealth partnership LJ Partnership, buys 25 Ikea retail parks across Europe in €900m deal March 8, 2017 A retail property fund and asset manager has agreed a €900m (£780m) deal for 25 Ikea retail parks across Europe. Pradera, which is backed by UK-based private wealth partnership LJ Partnership, is buying centres in eight countries across the continent as part of the deal. The retail parks, situated next to Ikea stores, comprise around 500 [...]
Welcome to the 5g revolution: Mobile technology is transforming data, now brands need to catch up March 20, 2018 Mobile data usage has been rising rapidly over recent years, driven ever upwards by the availability of high-quality content and the widespread adoption of the apps that deliver it. Consumer expectations are rising in parallel, as we all expect to stream music, watch films, and share video content through our phones at all times, without [...]
From rollable TVs to mind-reading hats, here are some of the best (and weirdest) new gadgets from CES 2018 January 10, 2018 Televisions If there’s one constant in this world, it’s that everybody wants a bigger television. All human endeavour, the cumulative effort of generations, is geared towards inventing ever larger screens capable of displaying more pixels at higher resolutions and in new, never before seen colours, so that Fiona Bruce looks as good as can be. [...]
Swedish design creatives in Malmo and the surrounding Skane region are challenging Stockholm for the crown October 2, 2017 For ancient history buffs, it’s Rome or Stonehenge; for foodies, it’s Le Marais or Tuscany; for design nerds, home is Sweden. There’s something about its laidback charm, its rustic, uncluttered décor that’s universally appealing. But there’s a feeling that its capital, Stockholm, has lost a little of its moxie. Sky-high property prices and an ultra [...]
Ikea sales hit a record €34.2bn in the year to August 2016 as company’s focus on food pays off September 13, 2016 The world just can't get enough of meatballs and flatpack furniture – and it's reflected in record sales at Ikea, which the company attributed largely to its focus on food in the last year. The Swedish group's total sales rose to €34.2bn (£28.8bn) in the 12 months to the end of August, from €31.9bn the year before. Total sales [...]
These are the world’s 50 most valuable brands of 2017 September 25, 2017 Apple and Google have once again take the two top spots in a list of the world’s 100 most valuable brands, according to rankings by consultancy group Interbrand. Five UK firms made into into the 2017 best global brands list. These were Burberry, HSBC, Land Rover, Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker. This is the fifth consecutive [...]