Supergroup’s sales warm up from the cold December 12, 2012 SUPERGROUP said the colder weather helped to boost sales of its trademark coats and hoodies in the run-up to Christmas, despite reporting a near one-third drop in half-year profit that sent its shares tumbling yesterday. The Superdry owner posted a pre-tax profit of £13.9m in the six months to 28 October, down 31 per cent [...]
Cranswick profits jump as pig prices passed on to customers November 26, 2012 CRANSWICK, the sliced meat and sausage-maker, yesterday reported a 21 per cent rise in half-year profits as it succeeded in passing higher pork prices onto its customer. The Yorkshire-based group warned last month that UK prices were at a three-month high and would continue rising because of high livestock feed prices and the introduction of [...]
Online shopping is masking the birth of hybrid retailers January 15, 2013 THE fall of yet another iconic British retailer, HMV, does little to assuage fears that the high street in its current form is in terminal decline. The statistics are bleak. According to a survey by PwC and the Local Data Company, 32 stores closed each day in July and August 2012. Over one gloomy five [...]
Concrete Returns? December 10, 2012 CONCRETE returns are expected from Travis Perkins when it updates shareholders tomorrow. The builders merchant recently joined forces with Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd to supply materials for 6,300 new homes. Shares are just off their five-year highs, and a positive update may encourage traders to dig in and lift prices to a level not seen since [...]
Credit Insurance Explained November 1, 2012 JULIE PALMER BEGBIES TRAYNOR The Christmas trading period is a “Russian Roulette” quarter for retailers, Julie Palmer, a partner at law firm Begbies Traynor explains. “The retailer has to decide to what level they are going to stock their stores, which places heavy demand on their cash flows to fully stock if the suppliers won’t [...]
Debenhams to open 17 stores as sales pick up October 25, 2012 DEBENHAMS yesterday revealed it is to open 17 UK stores next year and announced its first Christmas campaign in six years as the department store group posted a 1.6 per cent rise in like-for-like sales. Chief executive Michael Sharp said the group plans to lure shoppers and bolster sales during the crucial Christmas trading period [...]
Debenhams to open 17 stores as sales pick up October 25, 2012 DEBENHAMS yesterday revealed it is to open 17 UK stores next year and announced its first Christmas campaign in six years as the department store group posted a 1.6 per cent rise in like-for-like sales. Chief executive Michael Sharp said the group plans to lure shoppers and bolster sales during the crucial Christmas trading period [...]
Thorntons pins hopes on Xmas as its sales melt October 10, 2012 HIGH STREET chocolatier Thorntons is banking on a much-needed Christmas boost to its turnaround strategy, as store closures led to a decline in sales over the past year. In the fourteen weeks to 6 October trading was in line with expectations, with total sales falling by one per cent year-on-year to £46m, hit by the [...]
Thorntons pins hopes on Xmas as its sales melt October 10, 2012 HIGH STREET chocolatier Thorntons is banking on a much-needed Christmas boost to its turnaround strategy, as store closures led to a decline in sales over the past year. In the fourteen weeks to 6 October trading was in line with expectations, with total sales falling by one per cent year-on-year to £46m, hit by the [...]
Google and Microsoft unveil Nexus and Windows Phone 8 October 29, 2012 GOOGLE and Microsoft both unveiled challengers to the iPhone yesterday ahead of the crucial Christmas shopping period. Although Google’s proposed New York launch event was blown off course by Hurricane Sandy, it still announced a new smartphone and 10-inch tablet to its Nexus range yesterday, adding to the seven-inch device it unveiled earlier in the [...]