Victoria Scholar: Women and youngsters the biggest winners amongst retail traders January 26, 2024 Victoria Scholar on the winners and losers amongst traders, Premier Foods' mince pie success, and much more
Wickes reports lacklustre sales as DIY projects fall from pandemic highs October 27, 2021 Supply store Wickes has seen like-for-like sales slide 1.6 per cent from a year ago in the third quarter to September 25, as fewer people turn their hand to home improvement projects after the end of lockdowns. The Watford-headquartered retailer said that its sales remained 16.3 per cent above 2019 levels, but it hadn’t sustained [...]
Lush lathers up for return to profit amid buy out of US partner April 3, 2022 Soap-seller Lush has bought out its US partner in a bid to almost double its sales in the UK. According to The Financial Times, the high street name is eager to pump cash into rebuilding its UK operations after they took a hit amid Covid restrictions. The retailer returned to profit in its last financial [...]
FTSE 100 drops to October lows on recession fears January 15, 2021 The FTSE 100 sunk into the red today, capping off its worst weekly performance since the end of October amid fresh Covid woes. The blue-chip index closed down 0.97 per cent at 6,735 points after new data showed UK GDP fell 2.6 per cent in November, sparking fears of a double-dip recession. London’s main market [...]
Amazon denies crypto payment method rumours April 14, 2022 Amazon chief Andy Jassy said the company will not be adding crypto as a payment method for the foreseeable future following rumours that the internet behemoth was gearing up for a rollout.
Startup Spotlight: Jnck Bakery May 17, 2023 Jnck Bakery was founded by brothers Sean and Alex Brasill in 2021 as a passion project focused on the UK obesity crisis and lack of healthy food innovation. Seeing an opportunity to create something that makes a positive difference – and tasted good – they created the world’s first HFSS-compliant cookie. Now halfway through their [...]
Plan B: Central London footfall to plummet with businesses in the lurch December 9, 2021 Central London footfall is anticipated to shrink to 50 per cent below 2019 levels following the government’s move to plan B Covid restrictions this winter. Areas like the West End are currently 20 per cent less busy than pre-pandemic levels, with retail experts at Springboard predicting the gap to widen further. Office workers were told [...]
Boohoo woes: Shares collapse as customers return more clothes than expected May 4, 2022 Boohoo faces further woes as the online retailer’s shares plunged after it admitted that consumers were returning items more than expected. Supply chain hang-ups have also led to longer delivery times, to the detriment of the Boohoo’s international proposition, it said on Wednesday. The beleaguered fashion firm recorded a revenue jump of 14 per cent [...]
Fever pitch: Battle for Ted Baker intensifies as new owners set to face post-pandemic high street ‘challenges’ April 4, 2022 Fashion chain Ted Baker has seen its share price boom after kicking off a formal sale process, with a third US private equity proposal. Analysts said the proposal comes as valuations of British companies have fallen in the wake of the pandemic and Brexit. Ted Baker has received an improved proposal from Sycamore, in addition [...]
‘Zombie’ firms set to fail as pandemic leaves 527,000 businesses on cliff-edge July 24, 2020 A record 527,000 businesses were in significant financial distress at the end of June, an increase of 33,000 since the beginning of the year. It represents a seven per cent increase since the start of the year, and nine per cent year-on-year, according to new research from corporate restructuring firm Begbies Traynor. While the coronavirus [...]