New interim CEO for Domino’s as Batchelor leaves early January 31, 2014 Domino's Pizza Group has announced that David Wild, currently the senior non-executive director of the Company, will be appointed as interim chief executive with immediate effect. He will act in an executive capacity for a temporary period until two months after a new chief executive is appointed. Stephen Hemsley, non-executive chairman, commented: I am delighted [...]
Former Matalan boss Darren Blackhurst decides to B&Q-it January 21, 2014 DIY CHAIN B&Q said yesterday it has hired former Matalan chief executive Darren Blackhurst as commercial director as it makes further changes to its management team. The moves marks an unusual step back for Blackhurst, who was a leading contender to replace former Asda chief executive Andy Bond in 2010 and has spent two years [...]
Bottom Line: Price wars can come and go but real estate is permanent March 10, 2014 FOUR pints of milk and a warehouse near Stockton-on-Tees, please. Morrisons’ latest special offers will be welcomed by shoppers and property buyers alike, though the latter have a bit longer to enjoy the spoils of the investment. Cutting the price of everyday groceries doesn’t look like a sustainable strategy on its own for Morrisons, with [...]
London Report: Supermarket slump sees FTSE fall again after Monday’s lift December 17, 2013 BRITAIN’S main equity index fell yesterday, with big supermarket groups hit by fresh signs of a loss of market share, while uncertainty over future US monetary policy also weighed on the market. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed down by 0.6 per cent, or 36.01 points, at 6,486.19 points, retreating after a 1.3 per cent [...]
Seven habits of the most effective digital enterprises May 23, 2014 In an age where most developed economies are experiencing lacklustre growth, digital continues to expand at an ever more rapid pace. E-commerce is booming at double-digit rates in the US, as well as the majority of European countries, and is rising across Asia. However, many companies are struggling to move beyond the experimentation stage of [...]
Brand Index: New banks on the block will find it tough to win custom February 18, 2014 NOT LONG ago, the British retail banking sector was dominated by just a few big brands. That is undeniably starting to change, and yet our research shows that people may say they have a fairly low opinion of the traditional players, but there is also a strong preference for the devil they know. According to [...]
A two-speed high street January 9, 2014 A CLEAR split between Britain’s winners and losers in the battle for consumers’ cash this Christmas emerged yesterday, as three of the biggest retail chains revealed worse-than-expected trading. Poor results from Tesco, Morrisons and Marks & Spencer added to dreary updates from Sainsbury’s and Mothercare, with heavy discounting, weak consumer spending and the rising discount [...]
Arm Holdings announces new chairman January 27, 2014 Chip designer Arm Holdings has announced that Stuart Chambers, current chairman of Rexam and a non-executive director of Tesco, will take over as chairman designate from 1 March. Chairman Sir John Buchanan is stepping down because of a medical condition. Buchanan’s exit marks more change for the Cambridge-based FTSE company. Last March it said goodbye [...]
Kickstarter says hackers stole customer data February 16, 2014 KICKSTARTER, the crowdfunding platform used by thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises, admitted yesterday that US law enforcement had informed it of a major data breach last week. The company said that user’s credit card information had not been accessed, but that some usernames, email addresses and encrypted passwords had been compromised. “We set a [...]
Supermarkets are getting crushed March 13, 2014 Morrisons has plummeted into the red, announcing a £176m pre-tax profit loss, having made a £897m profit a year earlier. The supermarket’s planning a £1bn property selloff over the next three years, in a bid to ameliorate the situation. It’s issued a dire profit warning, too, which has been described this morning on the BBC [...]