High street retailers steal share of physical entertainment market from Amazon January 25, 2016 Sales of physical DVDs, CDs and video games may be dropping but bricks and mortar stores are still holding their own after taking market share from the likes of Amazon in the quarter. According to Kantar Worldpanel figures, high street retailers took 68 per cent of spend on physical entertainment in the 12 weeks to 20 [...]
Here’s some of the best (and weirdest) new technology from CES 2017 January 11, 2017 Audio The Doppler Labs Here One wireless earphones returned to CES this year. A more practical alternative to the rather silly Apple AirPods, they’re controlled with an app via Bluetooth and can bionically enhance your hearing in a given direction or block out external sounds, as well as the usual music playback features. If you’re [...]
Shoppers spent over £2bn using Visa cards on Black Friday November 29, 2016 UK shoppers spent more than £2bn using Visa cards on Black Friday this year. The figure was up 13 per cent on last year's, and half of the spend was made online. Visa said that there has also been a strong uptake in contactless payments, across all age groups. Among those aged between 55 and [...]
Morrisons may not be the most obvious partner for Amazon, but there is method behind the marriage – and it could mean trouble for Asda, Tesco and Ocado March 1, 2016 Only one pound out of every £10 that Britons spend on groceries drops into Morrisons’ tills. Not a bad ratio, you might think, but like its bigger rivals (over £6 in every £10 is spent in Tesco, Sainsbury’s or Asda), Morrisons has been struggling with a declining market share. The Bradford-headquartered supermarket is not the [...]
US bookshop chain Barnes & Noble blames election for sluggish sales November 22, 2016 US bookshop chain Barnes & Noble is hoping it can sell more books now the distraction of the US election is over. The company has had another losing quarter, this time it says because of the race for the White House sucking up too much of everyone’s time. “We did experience sluggish sales, which we [...]
Tech entrepreneurs are flocking back to Europe: We want to do it our own way, in our own place October 6, 2016 From Dropbox to Spotify to Deliveroo, it is undeniable that Europe now truly has startup success stories to contend with Silicon Valley. This trend has been bolstered by a wave of European tech entrepreneurs moving back home from the US, bringing with them the knowledge and the culture we so desperately need to foster our [...]
This is how much money Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Twitter make every second January 28, 2016 Earnings season is upon us, and it's been a mixed bag: Facebook announced its revenues increased 51.7 per cent in the three months to the end of December, while Apple said its sales growth had slowed for the first time in a decade. It can be hard to keep track of it all, cutting through the hype [...]
London set for biggest IPO in six years as warehouse giant plots 2017 float January 12, 2017 London is set for its biggest float in more than half a decade, City A.M. can reveal. Private equity giant Blackstone is aiming to list warehouse business Logicor, which is valued at around €13bn (£11bn), on the London Stock Exchange in 2017. Sources told City A.M. the initial public offering (IPO) could come in the first [...]
Bill Gates tops US rich-list as Trump plunges October 4, 2016 Microsoft founder Bill Gates has retained his position as the richest person in the US for the 23rd year running. The latest Forbes ranking of the richest Americans put the tech entreprenuer top with a net worth of $81bn (£62bn). Meanwhile, US presidential hopeful Donald Trump took a hit, with his personal fortunre dropping around $800m, [...]
Another huge win for post-Brexit UK: Snapchat sets up international HQ January 10, 2017 Snap, the newly formed parent company of huge hit messaging app Snapchat, has chosen to set up its international headquarters in the UK in another boost for a post-Brexit UK. The multi-billion-dollar valued firm which is expected to go public this year will book its UK sales here, and those from countries where it has no [...]