Clipper Logistics plans London float as it eyes European growth May 6, 2014 LOGISTICS firm Clipper yesterday unveiled its plans to float on the London Stock Exchange, as it looks to accelerate its European expansion drive and take advantage of the growing online retail market. The company provides tailor-made logistics solutions for pure-play online retailers such as Asos and traditional high street retailers adopting multichannel strategies such as [...]
Asos appoints M&S veteran Ian Dyson August 7, 2013 ASOS has replaced one Marks & Spencer veteran with another after hiring the high street chain’s former finance director Ian Dyson as a senior independent director. Dyson will join Asos’ board in October, the online fashion group said yesterday, just weeks after revealing that M&S’s ex-clothing boss Kate Bostock had left the firm. The 51-year-old [...]
Best of the Brokers for 24 March 2014 March 24, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com ASOS UBS has kept its “neutral” rating on the online retailer but lowered its target price to 6,200p from 6,660p after a disappointing update on sales and margins last week. The broker expects the sales slowdown to be reversed in the second half, [...]
Boohoo.com shares hit new low despite 62 per cent leap in sales March 31, 2014 SHARES in Boohoo.com fell briefly below their offer price yesterday for the first time since their market debut, despite the online fashion retailer reporting a jump in full-year revenues. The Manchester-based company had its first day of trading on 14 March and saw shares open at 85p – well above the offer price of 50p. [...]
MPs demand overhaul of business rates March 3, 2014 A GROUP of MPs has waded into the debate on business rates by demanding a complete reform of the current system, calling for a tax based on sales instead of the value of a property. Suggesting a series of reforms that could hit online retailers such as Amazon and Asos, the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) [...]
London Report: Osborne in spotlight as Britons await the 2014 Budget details March 17, 2014 THE spotlight will be on Chancellor George Osborne this Wednesday as he delivers the 2014 Budget. Other economic news includes the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) minutes plus unemployment figures, also on Wednesday, the CBI Industrial Trends survey on Thursday and government borrowing figures at the end of the week. The corporate calendar starts today [...]
UK tech stocks sink as US bubble fears hit market April 7, 2014 LONDON’S tech stocks stumbled yesterday after US jitters surrounding the sector late last week reached the City, having sent Asia’s tech stocks into freefall overnight. The FTSE 100’s three week rise abruptly ended as the index fell 72.7 points to 6,622.84 after a sell-off on a number of blue-chip tech stocks hurt investor sentiment. Microchip [...]
In a field of his own: FarmDrop’s Ben Pugh talks crowdfunding and the future of our food July 27, 2014 In the time it’s taken FarmDrop founder Ben Pugh to discuss his company with me, it crowdfunded £13,000. After just eight days on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube, FarmDrop raised more than its £400,000 investment target. A new way of doing food is, it seems, quite popular. The FarmDrop concept is simple: it streamlines the food [...]
Former M&S merchandising head to return to the high street after Asos fiasco August 20, 2013 Kate Bostock, former fashion head at Marks & Spencer, is returning to the high street next month as chief executive of privately-owned occasion wear retailer Coast, following an ill-fated and short-lived stint as executive director at online retailer Asos. The retailer confirmed the news to City A.M. on Tuesday afternoon. Bostock's appointment to head up [...]
Bottom Line: Time to take stock after an incredible year January 14, 2014 LAST year was huge for Asos. As the online retailer launched both Russian and Chinese language sites and increased sales by 40 per cent from 2012, shares rocketed – climbing 140 per cent in just 12 months and giving the firm a market capitalisation of close to £6bn. That’s huge. If chief executive Nick Robertson chose [...]