Entertainment pros who thought outside the box January 20, 2013 WHEN Michael Comish and Adrian Letts first met, they prefaced everything they said with “just so you know I’m not stealing your idea, here’s what I think”. They needn’t have worried. What emerged was a concept that seems so obvious now it may leave you pondering that frustrating question: “Why didn’t I think of that?” [...]
Tesco pays to dispose of its Japanese arm June 18, 2012 SUPERMARKET giant Tesco yesterday ended a nine-year attempt to crack Japan’s tough retail market by effectively paying Aeon, the country’s second-biggest general retailer, to take its loss-making business off its hands. The deal, which will allow Tesco to focus on fixing its main British business after a shock profit warning in January, will re-heat speculation [...]
It is never easy to attempt something this fresh December 5, 2012 AS TIM Mason departs and Tesco announces a strategic review of its US venture Fresh and Easy, it is Sir Terry Leahy’s judgement that is under scrutiny. But despite the failure of his American dream, critics should not use hindsight to throw too many brickbats Leahy’s way. It is important to remember both how bold [...]
Businessman who woke up and smelt the coffee February 24, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks to Andrew Rugasira, the Ugandan entrepreneur with a new book and a Good African story to tell THE lives of 14,000 farmers in the Ugandan Rwenzori Mountains have been transformed since Andrew Rugasira had his lightbulb moment in 2002. At the time, he was running a prosperous marketing and events company in [...]
Fighting against the future can only buy so much time January 21, 2013 THE decision by HMV’s administrators Deloitte to honour gift vouchers and to pay proceeds raised for charity singles is a piece of luck for those caught out by the music chain’s crisis. While at first sight this is less heartwarming for the chain’s other creditors, it may in fact be slightly upbeat news for them [...]
Little Christmas cheer for retail January 14, 2013 Chief Market Strategist, Cantor Index THE official retail activity figures, which are posted monthly or at specific times like Christmas, are accurate but often indecipherable to the layman. The small print is where the message is. And the most recent figures suggest that Christmas was great for some, but brutal for others. The situation was [...]
Cameron demands India opens up economy to City February 18, 2013 DAVID Cameron yesterday called on India to open up its economy to British banks and insurers, in return for relaxing UK visa rules for executives from the subcontinent. But the Prime Minister faced difficulty as he waded into the debate over two troubled defence contracts and tried to convince India to hand major infrastructure contracts [...]
Sainsbury’s has top quarter for market share December 4, 2012 SAINSBURY’S has picked up market share in the last quarter, to make it the biggest winner among the overall grocery market, data revealed yesterday. According to figures from market researcher Kantar Worldpanel the supermarket’s sales rose 4.7 per cent and its share rose 0.2 points to 16.9 per cent in the 12 weeks to 25 [...]
Rose will keep up Ocado’s appearances – but little else January 22, 2013 WHEN Sir Stuart Rose dipped his toe back in the retail waters by becoming chairman of Blue Inc and backing The Hut last year, it should have been obvious he had his eye on bigger things. But why Ocado? This column – not to mention several high-profile City analysts – have long taken a dim [...]
Tesco recovery fails to ignite growth in sales June 11, 2012 TESCO reported its fourth consecutive quarter of falling sales yesterday as the grocer’s £1bn recovery plan following its shock profit warning in January struggled to gain pace. Britain’s largest retailer said UK like-for-like sales excluding VAT and fuel fell 1.5 per cent in the 13 weeks to 26 May, only slightly up on a 1.6 [...]