ITV’s share price rises as broadcaster beats advertising sector woes May 10, 2018 ITV’s share price climbed 3.2 per cent this morning as the broadcaster revealed growth in advertising and revenues from its production arm ITV Studios. The figures Total external revenues at Britain’s biggest free-to-air broadcaster grew five per cent to £772m, with all parts of the business contributing. Revenues at ITV Studios were up 11 per [...]
Walmart acquires India’s largest online shop Flipkart in $16bn deal | City A.M. May 9, 2018 The US retail company Walmart is making their way into the Indian online shopping market after acquiring Bengaluru-based e-commerce company Flipkart in a $16bn (£11.8bn) deal. Walmart will invest $16bn in Flipkart, which is India’s largest online shop, for the controlling stake of more than 77 per cent. This includes buying out SoftBank, which is [...]
The future of UK supermarkets is big data and personalisation May 9, 2018 The proposed merger of two supermarket giants, Asda and Sainsbury’s, has been hailed as one of the new “forces of UK retail”. But in a rush to point out that the combined chain would have nearly a third of the UK supermarket sector, one key factor has been ignored: Amazon. Amazon recently launched its online [...]
Walmart takes on Amazon in battle for Indian Flipkart with $15bn bid May 7, 2018 Walmart is set to take on Amazon to buy a stake in India’s biggest online retailer Flipkart, in a deal worth $15bn (£11.06bn). Reports today say that the American retailer will buy three-quarters of Flipkart’s shares at a valuation of just under $20bn. Sources close to the deal told the Financial Times that Walmart boss [...]
Morrisons earnings preview: Grocery chain faces uphill battle amid Asda-Sainsbury’s merger May 7, 2018 Grocery chain Morrisons is set to announce its first quarter trading results on Thursday, and the company may have a lot to prove. Analysts at Barclays forecast sales growth of 1.7 per cent, below the company’s figures for the fourth quarter of 2017. If so, it would be the lowest sales growth since the end [...]
Amazon eyed buying Waitrose but was held off by John Lewis Partnership May 6, 2018 Amazon considered an acquisition of Waitrose last year, but was blocked from entering formal talks, reports suggest. A senior executive at the online shopping giant’s UK arm pushed for a meeting with the John Lewis Partnership but was “shut down” by the board, the Sunday Times reported today. The tech company’s acquisition of Whole Foods [...]
The sour notes from the Sainsbury’s boss show that business must do better May 4, 2018 “We’re in the money.” Lyrics made famous by Ginger Rogers and 42nd Street, more recently appropriated by Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe in an unguarded off-mic moment at ITV. But whereas the musical focused on the travails of those trying to make it on Broadway in the depths of the Great Recession, for Coupe it came [...]
Buoyed by Sainsbury’s and BP gains, London’s FTSE 100 continues its rallying march May 1, 2018 The FTSE 100 is continuing its strong performance today, inching past yesterday’s 7545 highs to 7549 and extending its 10 per cent late-March reversal into May. The slip in sterling as well as a drop in UK manufacturing activity have helped buoy the London market, as have Sainsbury’s shares which have continued to rally in [...]
Store wars: Sainsbury’s and Asda mega-merger heats up race to become Britain’s ultimate supermarket superpower April 30, 2018 The race to become Britain’s ultimate supermarket superpower grew suddenly more interesting over the weekend as Sainsbury’s and Walmart-owned Asda revealed they are in merger talks to become Britain’s largest grocer. The two supermarkets, which have both lost market share, are seeking to join forces in a bid to topple Tesco, the current market leader [...]
Google exec Sergey Brin urges caution over future of AI April 28, 2018 One of Google’s top execs and president of Alphabet Sergey Brin has raised concerns about the AI revolution in a letter to Alphabet’s shareholders. In his annual letter sent to shareholders of Google umbrella organisation Alphabet yesterday, Brin said that “new questions and responsibilities” had been raised about the potential of AI. It comes after [...]