Cosmetics giant Coty confirms GHD takeover October 16, 2016 American cosmetics giant Coty has announced a £420m takeover of British-based hair products manufacturer GHD. Coty – whose brand portfolio spans Rimmel, CoverGirl and OPI – said that GHD's high-performance lines of hair straighteners, hairdryers, curlers and other appliances would "further strengthen" its position in the professional hair category. Coty's chief executive Camillo Pane said: "Not only do [...]
Christmas adverts 2015: Sainsbury’s Mog the Cat has already beaten John Lewis’ Man on the Moon as most shared November 13, 2015 The Sainsbury's Christmas 2015 advert starring Mog the Cat might have been 18 months in the making, but the supermarket is already reaping the rewards. Because in just over 12 hours since it was launched (the specific time of 7:10pm last night) Mog's Christmas Calamity has already been shared more times than John Lewis' Man on [...]
John Lewis Christmas advert 2015: Why is it such a big deal? A short history of the most anticipated campaign of the year November 6, 2015 John Lewis has launched its Christmas ad for 2015 today, to much anticipation. Entitled Man on the Moon, the advert follows the well-trodden path of pulling at your heart strings in the hope that John Lewis might get you to loosen your purse strings. The retailer has spent £1m on the production – once again courtesy of design [...]
John Lewis Christmas advert 2015 review: Why the Man on the Moon leaves me feeling out in the cold November 6, 2015 John Lewis knows a thing or two about building anticipation around its Christmas ad campaign. Over the past four years (since 2011's The Long Wait) the department store has ensured it dominates the festive season by shrouding its big-budget ad in secrecy – but with just enough hints leaked to get us consumers frothing at [...]
Summer retail spend still strong following the Brexit vote September 15, 2016 Retail sales edged downwards in August following the nation's bumper spending spree in July – but sales were more than six per cent higher than last year, indicating consumers were still happy to spend after the Brexit vote. Excluding fuel, sales fell 0.3 per cent month-on-month in August, but sales were up 6.2 per cent on last year, [...]
Move over Mog and Man of the Moon: Science says we loved Harvey Nichols’ “gift face” more than the Sainsburys and John Lewis Christmas adverts in 2015 December 15, 2015 Move over Mog and Man on the Moon, it's Harvey Nichols' "gift face" Christmas advert which really connected with us and made us feel something this festive season. If you haven't seen it, the ad features a recreation of the day itself and the less than inspired gift giving which takes place on it, urging us [...]
M&S retail boss wrote to former chancellor George Osborne to defend benefit cuts for staff November 4, 2016 M&S management wrote to former chancellor George Osborne this summer as the business was under siege for cutting staff benefits. In an internal memo seen by City A.M., the retail director of M&S, Sacha Berendji, told staff he wrote to Osborne responding to criticism about cutting premium pay rates for staff. Read more: M&S shells out £100m for pension changes [...]
Black Friday 2015 UK deals: Amazon, John Lewis, Tesco, Currys PC World, Ebay, Carphone Warehouse and Asos sales are here November 26, 2015 Retailers up and down the UK are offering massive savings as part of the Black Friday sales. This year Black Friday will happen on Friday 27th November. However, some retailers have already started their week of deals. Outlets including Amazon, Argos, Very, Ebay have been running hundreds if not thousands of deals throughout the week. Others like Tesco, John [...]
Watch: John Lewis Christmas advert 2015 – The Man on the Moon, with Aurora’s cover version of Oasis’ Half The World Away November 6, 2015 [custom id="181"] The wait is over. Christmas is officially here. John Lewis has revealed its latest festive advert. Called Man on the Moon, the tearjerking ad shows a young girl – Lily – watching an elderly man who sits alone on the moon. After a few failed attempts to contact him, she finally manages to get a [...]
Christmas adverts 2015 – Sainsbury’s Mog the Cat reviewed: When it comes to John Lewis vs Sainsbury’s, this year it’s no contest November 12, 2015 Last year Sainsbury's surprised everyone by becoming a contender to steal the crown from John Lewis for best Christmas ad. This year, there is no contest. The 3:30-animation of Mog the Cat doing what only the Judith Kerr creation can (causing mayhem, naturally – or in this case, a Christmas calamity), bests its department store [...]