Marks & Spencer scraps 2021 dividend and warns of prolonged coronavirus disruption April 28, 2020 Marks & Spencer (M&S) has cancelled next year’s dividend in order to save £210m as the retailer warned of prolonged disruption to trading. The high street giant said it was preparing a “never the same again” programme to make permanent changes to ways of working, which will be unveiled when the company publishes its full-year [...]
Weekly outlook, 2-6 November: FTSE heavyweights in spotlight as election day arrives November 2, 2020 It’s election day at last, and while the outcome of Tuesday’s vote in the US will drive the headlines for much of this week and beyond, there’s still a full slate of results and economic updates in store for UK markets. With coronavirus cases now surging at an alarming rate, Boris Johnson has announced a [...]
Tech supermarket Ocado reveals solid sales growth amid physical retail downturn December 13, 2018 Once dubbed the "Microsoft of retail", online supermarket Ocado has shaken off the sector's blues to post strong sales growth in its final quarter of the year. In a trading update for the three months to the start of December, Ocado said it had seen "consistent strong" growth in sales in the region of 12 [...]
Tech stocks drag down Wall Street as FTSE 100 suffers worst month since March October 30, 2020 Sliding tech stocks dragged down Wall Street this afternoon, while the FTSE rounded off its worst monthly fall since March amid a wave of new coronavirus lockdowns. The three main US indexes were on course for their worst week since March as ongoing pandemic-related uncertainty and the looming presidential election sparked market volatility. Read more: [...]
Death of the middleman? The myth of selling straight to the customer October 29, 2020 This pandemic has driven consumers online at a pace no one could predict, with Covid-19 forecast to generate an additional £4.5bn of UK online sales in 2020. Social distancing has set in motion a dramatic shift in how we shop — our business alone saw a more than 230 per cent growth rate in online [...]
Grocery sales surge in lockdown as shoppers go online June 23, 2020 Grocery sales in the UK grew 18.9 per cent in the four weeks up to 14 June, new data has shown, as online shopping and convenience stores continued to attract shoppers through the coronavirus lockdown period. According to data firm Kantar, online sales were the main driver of the rise, increasing 91 per cent over [...]
Marks and Spencer appoints new chief financial officer February 11, 2020 Marks and Spencer has announced the appointment of a new chief financial officer, at a time when the group is trying to revive its fortunes. Eoin Tonge will join from Irish convenience food retailer Greencore in June after his predecessor Humphrey Singer stood down in September last year. Marks and Spencer boss Steve Rowe said: [...]
Pfizer vaccine: ‘A good news day’ for markets, say analysts November 9, 2020 Global stock markets catapulted this afternoon on news that Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine saw a 90 per cent success rate in clinical trials, as analysts welcomed the announcement as a “boost for hopes of a return to normality”. The prospect of a vaccine electrified world markets, with S&P 500 futures hitting a record high and tourism [...]
Marks & Spencer shares rise on coronavirus revamp, despite blow to profit May 20, 2020 Marks & Spencer’s full-year profit sank 21 per cent as it took a £212m hit from coronavirus at the end of March, the retailer revealed today. However, investors pushed M&S’ share price up 4.6 per cent to 89.8p as the pandemic forced the British high street brand into an overhaul to save over £1bn. The [...]
High street suffers biggest ever decline in footfall as Brits obey lockdown May 11, 2020 The UK high street suffered its greatest ever decline in footfall last month as Brits steered clear of shops during the coronavirus lockdown. Retailers were hit with an “unprecedented” 80 per cent plunge in footfall in April, with high streets and shopping centres the worst affected. Retail parks were the most resilient thanks to the [...]