The count is in: These are the retail winners and losers for Christmas 2015 (according to Hargreaves Lansdown) January 15, 2016 After a busy few days chock-full of Christmas retail results, we're finally beginning to get a sense of who the winners and losers of 2015's festive period might be. Yesterday, Tesco surprised investors with better-than-expected results, rounding off a solid performance among the UK's traditional supermarket sector – although Asda is still yet to report. Marks & [...]
Stocking up on Christmas booze? Marks & Spencer is the best supermarket for wine – while Morrisons comes second December 1, 2015 Marks & Spencer has retained its crown as the best supermarket wine retailer for the second year running – but if you're stocking up on Christmas booze, you could do a lot worse than head to Morrisons, which came second in the medal table at this year's International Wine Challenge (IWC). M&S came first in [...]
Marks and Spencer, Randgold Resources, Partnership Assurance: Best of the Brokers for 6 November 2015 November 6, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com MARKS AND SPENCER Canaccord Genuity has changed its rating for Marks & Spencer to “hold” with a target price of 570p, after it was briefly “under review” and previously “speculative buy” at 550p. M&S released interim results on Wednesday that the broker thought [...]
Marks and Spencer, Carlsberg, Young & Co Brewery: Best of the Brokers for 13 November 2015 November 13, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com MARKS AND SPENCER RBC Capital Markets liked what they saw at Marks & Spencer’s summer season 2016 clothing preview so much, they made the retailer RBC’s “top pick” with a target price of 700p. The broker said he was encouraged M&S was [...]
Panic Saturday is here: 12.6m Britons hit the shops for busiest day of Christmas shopping as sales start early at M&S, Sports Direct, H&M, Argos and Sainsbury’s December 19, 2015 Brace yourselves, Panic Saturday is here. If you still haven’t bought your Christmas presents, be prepared for crowds. A stampede of last minute Christmas shoppers are bearing down on UK retailers today, making it the busiest day of this year’s Christmas shopping. 12.6 million Britons are forecast to hit the shops, spending over £1.1bn on [...]
There’s nowhere to hide for Marks & Spencer’s shop-floor boy turned chief executive Steve Rowe January 8, 2016 It was only a matter of time before Marc Bolland left Marks & Spencer, and with his tenure at the retailer nearing six years, many will be asking how he lasted as long as he did. Under Bolland, times have been tough: general merchandise has been in decline for 17 of the past 18 quarters, [...]
Warm weather to cool Christmas sales at Marks & Spencer January 4, 2016 The mildest December on record combined with intense competition on the high street is expected to spell a gloomy end of the year for retailers, with Next and Marks & Spencer the first to unveil this week how they fared over the crucial Christmas period. The wet and mild weather, security fears in the aftermath of the [...]
Who’s facing the axe in 2016? Bookmaker offers odds on CEO sackings January 3, 2016 Let's face it; everyone dreads the first day back at work. To keep stress levels especially high at the top, bookies Ladbrokes have been drawing up odds on which CEOs will be clearing their desks by the end of the year. Only two chiefs can afford to relax, according to the firm; Easyjet’s Carolyn McCall and Taylor [...]
Marks & Spencer’s share price climbs as retailer increases dividend despite clothing sales declining again November 4, 2015 Struggling high street giant Marks & Spencer has recorded yet another period of declines in its general merchandise division – but has handed shareholders an incentive to stick with it in the form of a dividend hike. The figures Top line figures suggest there is a slight improvement in performance, with group sales up 1.4 [...]
Steve Rowe: Everything you need to know about the man replacing Marc Bolland at Marks & Spencer January 7, 2016 Marc Bolland is out. After months (if not years) of shareholders and analysts calling for him to leave Marks & Spencer, the former Morrisons man is hanging up his hat on 2 April. Bolland is handing over to Steve Rowe, an M&S lifer. But Rowe is relatively unknown to the wider world. Here's what you [...]