Marks & Spencer boss Alan Stewart jumps ship for Tesco after sales drop July 10, 2014 Alan Stewart, chief financial officer at Marks & Spencer, is leaving the struggling retailer for supermarket giant Tesco, it was announced yesterday. Stewart will fill former Tesco CFO Laurie Mcllwee’s shoes at the retailer, where his pay packet is set to rise from £579,000 to £750,000 a year. Mcllwee stepped down from his role at Tesco [...]
Former Apple boss quits role at Monsoon after two years February 18, 2015 Monsoon chief executive John Browett has quit after two years in the job to pursue other opportunities. The former boss Dixons Retail has had an eventful few years after leaving the electricals giant in 2012 to join Apple as head of retail. However, his stay at Apple’s US headquarters was short-lived and he [...]
Dave Lewis: Tesco banks on first outsider in its 95-year history. Will he make a difference? July 21, 2014 Tesco’ incoming boss Dave Lewis will have no easy task on his hands when he takes the reins at the UK’s biggest retailer and the world’s third largest chain in October. But while he lacks the Tesco genes that Philip Clarke had from spending 39 years at the grocer, Lewis makes up for it in [...]
Hotel Chocolat co-founder Angus Thirlwell on how he built a chocolate empire July 12, 2015 Europe is awash with chocolatiers and the British consumer is spoilt for choice. So the idea that someone could set up a chocolate company with £10,000 and take it from startup to a market-conquering beast in just a decade seems a little far fetched. But that is what Angus Thirlwell and his business partner Peter [...]
Dave Lewis: Tesco share prices jumps as investors bet on new CEO’s strong Unilever record July 21, 2014 Investors have been reassured by the appointment of Dave Lewis as Tesco's new top dog. Despite a profit warning, Tesco's shares sprang up by as much as three per cent as markets opened. Part of that can be explained by the coming departure of CEO Philip Clarke. While he will continue to serve in his [...]
City A.M.’s Quiz of the Year – how well do you remember 2014? December 24, 2014 Did Russell Brand (and/or Nigel Farage) really say that? Was Tesco's profit overstatement really that big? Did North Korea actually start dictating the films that Hollywood releases? Surely the Scottish referendum wasn't that close… It's been quite a year and, after all the highs and lows, we're about ready for some festive fun. But before you [...]
WPP sales are up, but chief executive Martin Sorrell is cautious about the year ahead April 23, 2015 The world's biggest advertising firm had a good first quarter, but warns that clients are giving away less business. The figures During the first three months of 2015, like-for-like sales went up by 2.5 per cent for WPP, mainly driven higher by a strong performance in North America. Revenue was also up 8.3 per cent [...]
British Land buys up Surrey Quays plots in Canada Water for £135m March 2, 2015 Developer British Land said yesterday it has bought the last of the sites for its £2bn regeneration project in Canada Water – paying £135m for Surrey Quays Leisure Park from Aviva Investors. The FTSE 100 developer has quietly amassed over 50 acres of land in Canada Water over the last five years and is spending [...]
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 [...]
Retailers slammed for “dodgy” discounting practices in super-complaint to CMA April 21, 2015 Retailers could face an investigation into their discounts and promotional activity after consumer campaigning group Which filed a “super-complaint” to the Competition and Markets Authority. Which claims retailers are “confusing consumers with tactics that exaggerate discounts and manipulate shoppers”, arguing they create “the illusion of savings that don't exist”. The complaint comes on the [...]