West End braced for £150m pre-Xmas spree December 18, 2014 SHOPPERS are set to splurge £150m across London’s West End stores this weekend, as they make a last minute dash for Christmas presents. The New West End Company predicts £300m will be spent on Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street over the coming five-day period.
Asos UK sales soar but half year profit is cut by 10pc April 1, 2015 Asos' share price soared more than six per cent this morning after releasing a bullish statement for the rest of the year. The figures Asos has reported a rise in group revenue for the first half to 28 February, with group sales climbing. 14 per cent. UK retail sales soared 27 per cent but profit before [...]
The selfie stick: A short history of this year’s most popular Christmas present January 6, 2015 It's been mirthlessly mocked, dubbed "the wand of Narcissus" and generally cited in descriptions of the downfall of society. But nobody could have predicted just how much the selfie stick – a small, articulated monopod with a clever bit of plastic attached that can reach where human arms can't – would catch on. In fact, [...]
Supermarket price wars: Sainsbury’s and Asda kick off new cost-cutting battle January 6, 2015 Asda and J Sainsbury fired the latest salvo yesterday in the supermarket price war, with Tesco also expected to launch a round of price cuts tomorrow as the big four battle it out to win over shoppers’ loyalty. Walmart-owned Asda pledged to spend £300m lowering prices in the first quarter of 2015 as part of [...]
Sky and TalkTalk join the list of bidders circling Telefonica’s O2 January 20, 2015 EUROPEAN pay-TV broadcaster Sky has been named among the growing list of parties interested in bidding for Telefonica’s UK mobile network O2, which was spurned by BT before Christmas in favour of a £12.5bn bid for rival EE. Talks between Telefonica and Sky, as well as interest from UK value player TalkTalk, were first reported [...]
Santa rally continues as European markets rise December 19, 2014 Is this a Christmas miracle, or merely a sign of a touch of festive merriment among investors? In looks like yesterday's "Santa Rally" will continue into today, as European equities markets rose in morning trading. The FTSE 100 was up 0.7 per cent in mid-morning trading, while the Dax rose 0.3 per cent and France's Cac 40 [...]
YouTube ranking: John Lewis, Sainsbury’s, Burberry and Marks and Spencer have the best Christmas ads of 2014 December 2, 2014 It’s only the second day of December, but we've already been treated to a sneak peak of the joy ahead for the Christmas season via the medium of advertising. This year, retailers battled it out with penguins, soldiers and celebs in a bid to get the public into the festive spirit and spend their pennies- although [...]
Black Friday consumer finance demand boosts Arbuthnot Bank January 15, 2015 CONFIDENT consumers boosted growth at Arbuthnot Banking Group in the fourth quarter, spurring extra lending in its Secure Trust Bank (STB). STB’s loan book grew “materially” to more than £600m, with retail and automotive finance leading the expansion. Black Friday – the day of mass retail discounts before Christmas – saw a 1,300 per cent increase in [...]
Royalty comes to the City but did the Duke sit on the non-Royal privy? July 16, 2014 We had a royal visitor in the City yesterday as the Duke of Edinburgh headed to Fishmongers’ Hall to congratulate the winner of the annual Race for Doggett’s Coat and Badge. The race is thought to be the world’s longest running annual sporting event (next year it’ll celebrate 300 years) and sees six [...]
The John Lewis Monty effect? Devonshire Square p-p-p-picks up a penguin for one day only December 4, 2014 We're not sure if it’s the John Lewis effect or just a coincidence, but it seems one’s Christmas party isn’t complete these days without a troop of live penguins. This week, it was Devonshire Square, which rolled out the ice carpet for the Antarctic’s best export – hosting a group of the animals in [...]