This is the most popular brand in the UK (and it’s not even from here) January 19, 2017 Aldi and Lidl have topped YouGov's ranking for the most popular British brands, beating well-heeled rivals John Lewis and Marks & Spencer. Every week last year YouGov asked a group of consumers whether they had heard good or bad news about the biggest brands in Britain – and the German immigrants came out on top. Read more: Aldi bags [...]
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, [...]
New Builds: New homes on sale this weekend in Barking, The City, Hampstead, Canning Town and Blackheath February 10, 2017 360 Barking, Barking From £295,000 This collection of one and two bedroom flats on Cambridge Road is in the heart of a soon-to-be “reinvigorated” town centre in east London. Plans are underfoot to turn its riverside into “Barcelona-on-Thames” and these new homes come with underfloor heating, in-built appliances and access to a garden roof terrace. [...]
Consumers wasted a whopping £13bn of edible food in 2015 January 10, 2017 Consumers threw out £13bn – 7.3m tonnes – worth of perfectly edible food in 2015. That generated 19m tonnes of carbon emissions, equivalent to those generated by one in four cars on UK roads, according to food waste reduction charity Wrap. However, 60 per cent of us believe we waste either no food or hardly any. Wrap has built off its work with [...]
British-made craft gin and English sparkling wine are now top sellers in M&S December 22, 2016 British-made craft spirits and wine are finally having their moment this year. Marks & Spencer declared British gin the spirit of Christmas 2016 after reporting more than a quarter of a million bottles of its eight new gins made in the UK have been sold following their release this autumn. Gin sales increased 150 per cent [...]
Without proper e-commerce investment, Steve Rowe risks making Marks & Spencer fade into obscurity January 8, 2016 Ahead of Christmas, UBS analysts predicted that the retail winners would be those with the strongest online offering. As sales results from the holiday period get reported, the analysts are being proven right, with the most e-commerce and mobile-friendly retailers coming top of the pile in the festive fight. This trend claimed it’s first victim this week, with the [...]
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 [...]
What the analysts are saying about the M&S results: ‘Seismic change’ needed after ‘humiliating’ plans unveiled November 8, 2016 Retail experts have blasted Marks & Spencer's plans for a turnaround – even taking a swipe at the firm's recent collaboration with Alexa Chung – and warned that without "seismic change", the group risks continuing its "terminal decline" to its inevitable conclusion. Marks revealed a massive drop in profits this morning, and outlined plans to close [...]
British Fizz: A group is calling for protected status of English sparkling wine (and not everyone is popping a bottle open) January 20, 2017 Yesterday, the UK Vineyard Association said it was applying for protected status from the EU for English sparkling wine under the name "British Fizz", but a branding expert said the name could be an "unmitigated disaster" for the wine industry. Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status would boost the industry's fast-growing product by giving it recognisable, marketable terms [...]
Crossrail latest: Here’s a look at how the new Paddington Elizabeth Line station is shaping up November 28, 2017 Work on the £14.8bn Crossrail project is drawing nearer to completion, while the 10 stations being built in central London for the Elizabeth Line are nearly finished. And today, Crossrail has unveiled new pictures of how the Paddington Elizabeth Line station is shaping up, which features the installation of one of the capital’s largest ever [...]