Majestic still upbeat after a dip in sales November 14, 2011 WINE retailer Majestic yesterday said it remained “cautiously optimistic” after its Christmas promotion got off to a good start, despite registering the first dip in sales since 2009. Sales at UK stores open for more than a year fell by 1.1 per cent in the six weeks to 7 November, after two weeks of “disappointing” [...]
THE TIPSTER January 9, 2012 THE retail festive sales reports are in full swing but today sees not just an ordinary update – this is a Marks and Spencer update. Expectations are for good food sales and based on a strong performance from fellow high street staple Next last week, the clothing side is expected to be none too shabby [...]
High street is hit by plunge in customers November 20, 2011 THE UK’s high streets have suffered the sharpest drop in footfall since last December’s freezing weather, new research reveals, painting a gloomy retail picture ahead of the crucial Christmas trading period. Footfall in stores and shopping centres across the country fell by 2.3 per cent between August and October compared with the same period last [...]
Gloomy New Year as shops predict slump December 20, 2011 RETAIL sales are higher now than the run-up to Christmas a year ago, the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) distributive trades survey showed yesterday – the first year-on-year rise since May. But the expansion is not expected to last, with sales set to fall again next month and consumer confidence dropping again, claims researcher GfK. [...]
Onward and upwards in 2012 please December 22, 2011 AS the business year draws to a close, there is one last opportunity to reflect on what has gone before, and to consider what might lie ahead. In the financial world, 2011 will forever be remembered as the year the wheels fell off the euro. The single currency is still intact, but nobody quite knows [...]
His Margins Vanish as Fox mulls live sale December 19, 2011 HMV has warned that tough trading conditions “may cast significant doubt” over its future after reporting widening losses and revealed it is looking to sell its Live music business. The ailing music retailer has appointed Citigroup to find a buyer for its fast-growing music venue and festival business, in its efforts to cut its £163m [...]
HMV turns the music off to open first tech store November 13, 2011 HMV HAS launched its first store dedicated to technology in London’s Square Mile in a bid to reverse its declining CD and DVD sales in the run up to the crucial Christmas trading period. The so-called techshop, located in Land Securities’ One New Change mall near St Paul’s, comes after the troubled retailer’s recent expansion [...]
Early xmas deals boost retail sector November 17, 2011 Early pre-Christmas promotions gave a surprise lift to British retail sales in October, driving up volumes at their fastest pace since June, official data showed on Thursday. The Office for National Statistics said sales volumes including automotive fuel rose 0.6 per cent last month after a 0.5 per cent rise in September and confounding forecasts [...]
Mixed Christmas presents for Scottish January 5, 2012 TOMORROW we play our first home game of 2012 against Plymouth Albion at the Richmond Athletic Ground (3pm kick off), and it will be great to get back to the Athletic Ground following a mixed festive period for the squad. I was very pleased with our victory away at Moseley on Boxing Day. Parts of [...]
THE TIPSTER January 3, 2012 THE last few weeks have been uncharacteristically quiet on the European crisis front – but pessimists may just view this as the calm before the next inevitable storm. The optimistic view could be that surely all of the bad news is getting close to being priced in for the euro and its death has been [...]