Buy now, fail later? Banks struggle to cash in on Klarna’s success March 27, 2024 Natwest recently confirmed it would axe its buy-now pay-later scheme. Industry experts suggest the move could be a sign of things to come as traditional lenders struggle to gain a foothold in the market.
Opinion-in-brief: Rishi, stop dawdling on business rates October 20, 2021 Business rates raise £26bn a year but the tax is unfairly skewered against the retail sector who pay nearly one third of the tax. Only contribute one fifth to UK GDP. Retailers are paying rates bills linked to rental value 2015 – despite very different market conditions. Unaffordable business rates bills have been cited as [...]
Sales plunge at Gucci owner Kering as 2020 outlook remains unclear July 28, 2020 Luxury group Kering said sales plunged almost 44 per cent in the second quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic, adding it could not provide a forecast for the second half of 2020. The Gucci owner’s revenue was a touch better than analyst expectations, however, with those at UBS citing estimates for a 46 per cent [...]
UK economy: Retail footfall grows but job vacancies flatline August 27, 2020 The UK economy has continued its mixed recovery, with the number of Britons venturing out to the shops rising again but online job adverts staying flat for the third week in a row. Some areas remained in much worse shape than others, with 51 per cent of workers in the art and entertainment sector furloughed, [...]
Labour squeeze shows no sign of cooling before Christmas October 15, 2021 Worker shortages that are threatening to throw a spanner into retailers’ Christmas operations show now signs of cooling. Over the last week, 235,000 job postings were created online, with a noticeable jump in demand for sales and retail workers, research by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) found. The uplift was partly driven by a [...]
British Land boosted by reopening of retail stores July 1, 2020 Real estate firm British Land has reported strong sales as lockdown restrictions on non-essential retail started to ease earlier this month. The pandemic seems to have had little effect on consumer confidence. In the week commencing 14 June, when restrictions started to ease, British Land reported footfall at its English assets was 64 per cent [...]
Burger King plots 200 new UK restaurants as fast food giant eyes whopper £600m London float April 25, 2022 Burger King is eyeing an additional 200 restaurants in the UK over the next four years, after “significant under-penetration” in the country’s market. The burger chain, which has been eyeing a London float since last year, said its adjusted EBITDA nearly tripled to £49.5m. In results for the year ended 31 December, the fast food [...]
Rail strikes: Lynch says government hasn’t spoken to RMT since January July 16, 2023 Rail strike misery looks set to continue for commuters after Mick Lynch, the RMT’s general secretary, said the government had not spoken to him about finding a resolution since the start of the year. Speaking on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday Programme, Lynch said that there has been “no contact. They seem to pick [...]
Wall Street: Stocks up as US winning streak kicks into a higher gear June 16, 2023 US stocks swept higher on Thursday, revving the longest rally for Wall Street in a year and a half into a higher gear. The S&P 500 rallied 1.2 per cent to reach heights untouched since April 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 428 points, or 1.3 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite rose 1.1 [...]
Curry’s report ‘resilient performance against a softer market’ as online tech sales up 29 per cent January 14, 2022 Curry’s have reported a “resilient performance against a softer market” this morning, with peak online sales up 29 per cent in the run up to Christmas.