Portmeirion pre-tax profits on target after bumper revenues January 21, 2013 PORTMEIRION Group, the china-maker best known for its Botanic Garden pattern and collection by Sophie Conran, said full-year profits are likely to be in-line with forecasts after enjoying a strong Christmas trading period. The Aim-listed manufacturer said it expects to report revenues for the year to 31 December 2012 of over £55m, around three per [...]
Morrisons buys Jessops stores for expansion February 3, 2013 WM Morrison, the supermarket chain, has bought seven former Jessops outlets from the collapsed specialist camera chain’s administrators PwC. The UK’s fourth largest grocer plans to convert the sites into M Local shops as it begins its assault on the fast-growing convenience store market this year. Four of the former Jessops stores are in London [...]
Never knowingly in line with the rest of the pack January 2, 2013 LAST year we waved goodbye to Comet and JJB Sports as 2012 saw the shutters pulled down on the high-street stalwarts for the last time. Those two – along with Game – didn’t even make it to the crucial Christmas sales period before calling it a day, but as January rolls round again and store managers [...]
Shoppers delay their Christmas gift purchases December 19, 2012 RETAIL footfall fell sharply in the week to 16 December compared with last year, but improved on the previous week as trading gathered pace in the run-up to Christmas. Shopping centres suffered the worst decline in visitors, with footfall plunging 4.3 per cent on a year ago, the BRC-Springboard Footfall Monitor showed, while out-of-town footfall [...]
Germany sees employment rise despite crisis across Eurozone January 31, 2013 GERMAN employment soared in December, despite the devastating repercussions of the Eurozone crisis. Official statistical body Destatis yesterday revealed that 291,000 more German residents were in employment in December 2012 than during the same month a year before, bringing the total to 41.8m. Unemployment declined 77,000 as well, bringing the total to 2.25m, or 5.3 [...]
The good, the bad January 10, 2013 THE DIVIDED state of the UK retail sector was brought into sharp focus yesterday as an upbeat Tesco and Shop Direct claimed victory in the Christmas retail wars, while Marks and Spencer suffered the fallout of a worse-than-expected festive period. Following muted performances by rivals Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, a resurgent Tesco revealed its strongest sales [...]
Why Tesco’s cracking results took the Christmas crown January 10, 2013 HOW to find a clear winner in the Christmas battle of the supermarkets? Not from the headline figures, it seems, after straightforward data releases from Sainsbury and Tesco descended into a furore over the small print. Tesco reported like-for-like sales growth of 1.8 per cent over Christmas. Sainsbury reported like-for-like growth of 0.9 per cent. [...]
Mothercare knocked by poor performance in home market January 17, 2013 MOTHERCARE, the baby and maternity products retailer, suffered a decline in sales in its third quarter, as recent improvements to its UK arm failed to pull in the Christmas sales. The group, which has over 1,300 stores worldwide including 269 in the UK, said UK like-for-like sales fell 5.9 per cent in 13 weeks to [...]
Twelve days to save Christmas as HMV falters December 13, 2012 THE FUTURE of HMV was thrown into doubt once again yesterday after the music entertainment retailer warned it is likely to breach its banking agreements at the end of January, sending shares tumbling 40 per cent. The company said weak market conditions had created “material uncertainties” for the business, after a worse than expected start [...]
Waitrose smashes Christmas sales records January 3, 2013 WAITROSE yesterday toasted record trading in the run-up to the New Year after the grocer said aggressive promotions on products such as champagne and its Brand Price Match campaign helped to lure customers from rivals. The upmarket supermarket, which is owned by John Lewis, said like-for-like sales rose 5.4 per cent between 18 December New [...]