Tough at the top: Will the FTSE giants fall from grace? March 26, 2015 From dividend cuts, to the accounting scandals just waiting to happen, SVM’s Colin McLean talks to Annabelle Williams about the potential pitfalls facing the UK market. The last few years have been tough for the UK’s biggest companies, as FTSE giants from supermarkets and banks, to insurers and oil majors, have come under pressure. [...]
Amazon UK opening Shoreditch studio to boost fashion business November 23, 2014 Amazon is planning to step up its assault on rival online fashion retailers such as Asos and Next with the opening of a 46,000-square foot fashion photography studio in Shoreditch next year. The move comes as Amazon has been boosting its fashion efforts, signing up more than 100 brands in 2014, including Hugo Boss and [...]
Retail data to show UK spending boost from Black Friday – London Report December 7, 2014 Black Friday is expected to have added a healthy boost to November’s retail sales, which the British Retail Consortium is due to announce tomorrow. Howard Archer, of Global IHS Insight, said: “While consumers are always keen to take advantage of bargains, particularly in the run-up to Christmas, the desire for bargains has undoubtedly been heightened [...]
Shazam joins billion dollar startup club after $30m funding round January 21, 2015 Music recognition service Shazam has closed a $30m (£19.8m) round of investment valuing the London-based firm at over $1bn (£659m). It makes Shazam one of just a handful of tech startups to emerge from the UK with a $1bn price tag attached. The new investment will be used to expand the service into new markets [...]
Inflation falling after price wars over Christmas – London week ahead January 11, 2015 CONSUMER price inflation figures for December, due out tomorrow, will shine a light on to what extent falling oil prices and intense retail competition have boosted spending power in the UK. Analysts says the fall in inflation is likely to have been tempered by the fact that there was more retail discounting than usual in [...]
Asos shares are crashing on chief’s warning March 18, 2014 Asos has reported retail sales up 26 per cent year-on-year in the first two months of 2014 and is, it says, confident of hitting sales of £1bn for 2013/14. But shares have crashed over 20 per cent this morning, following chief executive Nick Robertson’s warning that the company's earnings margin will shrink this year to [...]
Brits spend £2,000 on online goods December 11, 2014 PEOPLE in the UK spend an average of £1,968 online on goods from the likes of Amazon, Tesco and Asos every year, far more than people in the US, France or South Korea. Australia followed in second place with an average spend of £1,356 and the US came in third with an average spend of [...]
Expansion costs knock a fifth off profits at Asos April 2, 2014 ASOS boss Nick Robertson admitted yesterday that launching in China had been tougher than anticipated after start-up losses in the country and investment in expanding warehouses elsewhere dragged first half profits down by 22 per cent. The online fashion retailer made a pre-tax profit of £20.1m in the six months to 28 February compared with [...]
The UK has the most valuable online shopping market in the developed world December 12, 2014 The UK spends more money per head online than any other developed country, with the average Brit spending £2,000 per year on the likes of Amazon, Asos and John Lewis. In the UK, 59 per cent of people said that they had use online shopping at least once a week to buy products, according to [...]
Shares plunge as Asos ramps up investment March 18, 2014 ASOS shares plunged eight per cent yesterday after the online fashion retailer said it will ramp up spending on warehouses to meet growing demand at the expense of short term profits. Chief executive Nick Robertson said it will lift capital expenditure this year to £68m from the £55m previously forecast as it accelerates its investment [...]