JD Sports shares drop after top investor Pentland slims down stake December 11, 2019 Shares in JD Sports fell as much as nine per cent this morning following reports majority shareholder Pentland has slimmed down its stake in the company. Read more: Competition watchdog ploughs ahead with investigation into JD Sports Pentland, a brand management firm and retailer, is said to have offloaded 24m shares priced at 740p each. [...]
Debenhams strengthens board as department store implements rescue plan December 10, 2019 Beleaguered department store Debenhams has appointed the former boss of Argos as a non-executive director in order to strengthen its board as it implements a turnaround plan. John Walden, who was chief executive of Home Retail Group until it sold Argos to Sainsbury’s in 2016 and is currently chairman of Naked Wines, has been appointed [...]
Brands that put staff and customers first see popularity soar April 1, 2020 As Britain settles into its second week of lockdown, daily life has become almost unrecognisable. The retail industry has been hit hard as a direct result of enforced closures and decimated consumer demand, leading many businesses to issue profit warnings, withhold rent and lay off staff. However, there are brands who have reacted well to [...]
Kurt Geiger: Customers will remember retailers’ coronavirus response April 17, 2020 Businesses that protect employees and support the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic will be rewarded by customers when the crisis is over, according to Kurt Geiger’s chief executive. “Customers will remember who has done the right thing, and who maybe hasn’t, and we want to be on the right side of that when we come [...]
Travis Perkins suspends dividend and delays Wickes de-merger March 20, 2020 Builders’ merchant Travis Perkins has suspended its dividend due to coronavirus uncertainty. The company also announced its intention to delay its long planned de-merger of DIY retailer Wickes. However, the group announced in its trading update a strong balance sheet with cash deposits of £185m. Boss Nick Roberts said: “Our highest priority is the health [...]
A digital tax is no way to reward our innovative online retailers July 28, 2020 Throughout lockdown, the advantages — indeed, the essentiality — of online retail became clear. Now, Rishi Sunak is rumoured to be mulling over a new online sales tax. Advocates for this new tax, such as SportsDirect owner Mike Ashley and Tesco boss Dave Lewis, believe that the existing business rates system creates an uneven playing [...]
Debenhams to give councils ultimatum on business rates February 26, 2020 Debenhams is set to give councils an ultimatum in a bid to secure business rate cuts as it works out which of its stores are next for the chop. The beleaguered department store chain will tell councils that a failure to cut its rates bills could cause them to shut the Debenhams in the area, [...]
Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley tees off in bidding war for American Golf October 5, 2018 Sports Direct owner and retail tycoon Mike Ashley is set to expand his business empire further, as it suggested he has tabled a bid for Britain's largest golf retailer American Golf. Ashley is among a number of interested parties in the American Golf takeover, including JD Sports Fashion, sources told Sky News. Deloitte, who is advising [...]
Tackling the virus will require big changes to lives and businesses March 23, 2020 Annual General Meetings don’t normally count as part of one’s social life, no matter how entertaining Mike Ashley’s are. But new rules on social distancing mean that a gathering of directors and shareholders is hard to justify. The London Stock Exchange and other City institutions are right to push for a change to the Companies [...]
Mike Ashley is now the high street’s emperor August 12, 2018 Events around House of Fraser moved so fast on Friday morning that people could have left their house to the news that the retailer had collapsed into administration and would have got to work in time to hear it had been rescued. Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct swooped to the department store’s aid, paying £90m for [...]