Marks boss: Running a business under this government is like ‘going up a down escalator with a rucksack on your back’ March 5, 2024 Marks and Spencer boss Stuart Machin has said operating a business under the current government is like “running up a downwards escalator with a rucksack on your back”.
Matalan turns to AI in ‘retail first’ as it predicts productivity to quadruple March 4, 2024 Matalan launched a Generative AI (GenAI) tool in a "retail first" which it has said will lead to a quadrupling of productivity.
Ted Baker turnaround slows, swallowing £278m revenue loss and sales dive June 14, 2021 Covid-19 restrictions curbed customer footfall and bag sizes, which has sent ripples through fashion brand Ted Baker over the last year as it invested in pandemic turnaround measures. The brand swallowed a revenue loss of £278.5m in the year to 30 January, down 44 per cent as it bagged £352m in total. Ted Baker also [...]
‘Nightmare before Christmas’ for The Works despite new London openings November 9, 2023 Family-friendly retailer, The Works, is expanding its presence in London and opening two new stores in Richmond and Wandsworth this month.
‘Little luxuries’ and warm weather boost card spending September 3, 2024 The summer heatwave, along with the ‘sweet treat economy’ pushed card spending to return to growth in August, although it remained below consumer inflation. Card spending grew by one per cent in August, below the CPIH inflation rate of 3.1 per cent. Almost half of consumers said they continued to spend on small, luxury purchases [...]
Topps Tiles blames lower footfall and weak spending for sales slump April 3, 2024 Topps Tiles has blamed lower footfall in stores and a slowdown in spending on big ticket items for a slide in sales in the first half of the year.
Barclays announces £750m buyback after beating expectations August 1, 2024 Barclays joined other lenders in announcing sizeable returns to shareholders after performing ahead of expectations in the second quarter. In the three months to June, Barclays reported a pretax profit of £1.9bn, more or less unchanged on last year but comfortably ahead of the £1.6bn expected by analysts. The lender’s investment bank and its wealth [...]
Food inflation falls again but business rate hikes could unravel progress November 28, 2023 Increases to business rates and the national living wage could reverse progress made to lower food inflation, experts have warned.
FTSE 100 rebounds from five-week low while Wall Street extends recovery May 14, 2021 London’s FTSE 100 rebounded this afternoon as heavyweight financials stocks lifted the index after hitting a five-week low yesterday. The blue-chip index rose one per cent during afternoon trading, with software firm Sage adding 3.4 per cent after forecasting a year of growth towards the top end of its range. Read more: IPO: London commodities [...]
Natwest: UK government’s stake drops below 20 per cent as privatisation plan accelerates July 15, 2024 The government has offloaded another chunk of its stake in Natwest today and taken its holding in the company below 20 per cent for the first time since the financial crisis.