Morrisons hands over Kiddicare to private equity group Endless July 14, 2014 Supermarket chain Morrisons confirmed yesterday it has sold its Kiddicare business to private equity group Endless Capital for £2m. The Yorkshire-based grocer bought the online baby products retailer in 2011 for £70m as part of its bid to build its online presence. However, the company announced in March that it had taken a £163m writedown [...]
5 retailers who’ve suffered warehouse woes June 23, 2014 Retailers have had their fair share of misadventures with their warehouses in recent years. The fire at Asos’ distribution centre in Yorkshire is the second time the retailer has suffered damage to one of its warehouses. An explosion at the Buncefield oil depot near to its former site in Hemel Hempstead in 2005 [...]
Morrisons’ sale of floundering Kiddicare could come this week July 9, 2014 Morrisons is said to be on the brink of a deal to sell struggling maternity wear outlet Kiddicare to turnaround investor Endless. The likely sale, which has not yet been formalised, was reported by Sky News yesterday with the suggestion that an announcement could come as soon as the end of this week. Kiddicare was [...]
Retailer share prices are crashing. Here’s what you need to know about the sell-off June 5, 2014 An unexpected profit warning from online retailer Asos has investors very worried about the health of the sector generally. Asos shares opened more than 40 per cent lower after it announced that it had been forced to slash its full-year profit margin guidance. The key paragraph comes from CEO Nick Robertson: The resultant higher mix [...]
Inflation is zero, but retailers and manufacturers are charging you more for less April 14, 2015 Consumer price inflation may be at zero for the second month in a row, but new research suggests the goods we buy are getting smaller while prices are edging up. Take your Tetley's Blend of Both tea, for example. If you bought that in Sainsbury's a few months back it would have been £2.55 for [...]
Ocado sales soar as Morrisons site gathers pace March 12, 2014 Online grocer Ocado has reported a jump in retail sales of 18 per cent to £218m, for the 12 weeks to 23 February. Average orders per week rocketed 18 per cent to over 155,000. Tim Steiner, chief executive officer of Ocado, commented: We are pleased with the continued growth in our business. We remain committed [...]
London Report: FTSE ends on a high on strong economic data July 2, 2014 Britain’s top share index hit a one-week high yesterday, with upbeat economic data from the US and China improving investor sentiment and boosting cyclical sectors such as banks and miners and carmakers. The FTSE 100 index closed 0.2 per cent firmer at 6,816.37 points, after climbing to a high of 6,829.49, the highest level since [...]
Ocado’s growth slows but first profit is in sight March 12, 2014 ONLINE grocer Ocado yesterday said it was on course to report its first ever annual profit this year after strong first quarter sales. Retail sales rose 18 per cent to £218m in the 12 weeks to 23 February. However, this was below what analysts were expecting and a slowdown on the 20.1 per cent growth [...]
Analyst Views: Has Ocado’s performance in the first quarter changed your outlook? March 12, 2014 CLIVE BLACK | SHORE CAPITAL Fundamentally we remain of the view that it is a distinctive business model in that it doesn’t work when it comes to earnings. The share price remains anomalous to our minds and the read across to other highly rated online retailers is spurious in our view. JAMES GRZINIC | JEFFERIES [...]
Sainsbury’s online boss promoted February 27, 2014 Sainsbury’s has promoted the head of its £1bn online business Jon Rudoe to the operating board, as the supermarket chain ramps up its online efforts. Sainsbury’s said the move reflected “the rapidly growing importance of online and digital sales channels,” with Rudoe taking over all responsibility for IT. Before joining Sainsbury’s in 2011 Rudoe was [...]