Analysts to the fore in big sectorial shakeups September 9, 2014 ANALYST of the year The role of the analyst has become increasingly important at such an uncertain time in the economy, when everyone is looking for guidance. With the UK retail sector in turmoil over the decline of Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s, Waitrose and especially Tesco – caused mainly by the rise of the German discounters – their views [...]
The financial A to Z of Scottish independence – CNBC Comment September 15, 2014 A new, independent Scotland might flummox a foreign visitor. So it’s lucky this financial A to Z has turned up – even if some say it’s a parody of the Better Together campaign. A: Alex – Scotland’s official unit of currency, though largely superseded by an informal bartering system, where one barrel of oil [...]
Ocado share price dives on half-year results July 1, 2014 Online grocer Ocado has seen its share price drop 4.7 per cent after releasing half-year results for the 24 weeks ended 18 May. The fall comes as the company announced it was on track for its first ever annual pre-tax profit. The company swung back into the black with pre-tax profits reaching £7.5m compared to [...]
City AM awards: Business of the Year nominees announced September 7, 2014 I have great pleasure in introducing the first of our shortlists for the annual City A.M. awards. As ever, the awards have attracted nominations from all sorts of diverse businesses and people who have done great things during the course of the past year, a year of recovery in the UK. We have taken on [...]
Let’s get cracking | Six of the best Easter eggs April 15, 2014 Fortnum & Mason’s hand decorated milk chocolate egg Billed as a “work of art in chocolate”, this oval marvel was hand-crafted in England. Available with a pink or blue ribbon, the egg is filled with chocolate treats. £39.95 fortnumandmason.com Harrod’s milk chocolate easter egg with dolly mix The deep groove detailing that runs down the [...]
Supermarket price wars: Money can’t buy me love…or can it? July 24, 2014 As another CEO falls on his multi-million pound sword this week; the convenient simplification of the problem into pricing and the rampant value-retailer onslaught seems to deliver a somewhat myopic view of the task facing the brooding monoliths that are the big retailers. While Mr. Clarke was seemingly handed a metaphorical deuce to seven [...]
The Bottle Opener: Why you shouldn’t overlook Rioja October 14, 2014 There are perks to being the Bottle Opener, and this is definitely one of them. I’m relaxing in the late Autumn sun, gazing across a rich vineyard down to the river Ebro. With me are two charming fifth generation descendants of the founder of one of Rioja’s great houses, and we are tasting some magnificent [...]
Bottom Line: As the going gets tough, Justin King gets going June 11, 2014 There was a lot of back-slapping at Sainsbury’s yesterday, with Justin King talking up his successor, and his successor lavishing praise on the soon-to-depart chief executive. “When Justin started at the business we were serving 14m customers a week, and now we’re serving 24m a week. That’s a great achievement,” enthused Mike Coupe. King insists the [...]
Cream of the crop: Gu founder James Averdieck talks Australia and rural fantasy September 28, 2014 It's the kind of story you wouldn’t necessarily believe: someone cooked up the idea of a chocolatey pudding company while sitting in a coffee shop in Belgium, eating brioche. But for James Averdieck, founder of Gu, that’s exactly what happened. Back in 2003, he was a marketer for dairy company St Ivel, working in Belgium [...]
Too big to succeed? How Tesco’s new leader can take on the toxic retailer July 21, 2014 The last-minute cancellation of his “40 years at Tesco” party suggests that Philip Clarke’s departure came as a big surprise. But in truth, his future at Tesco had been looking increasingly bleak for months. The man himself conceded as much in March, with his surprise statement at a conference that his days as chief executive [...]