Marks & Spencer smartens up: Marc Bolland says turnaround plan is finally working as profit rises May 20, 2015 Marks & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland was cautiously optimistic yesterday that the high street stalwart had turned a corner towards recovery, as the retailer posted its first profit rise in four years. The retailer, which has been battling to revive its clothing arm, reported a 6.1 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to [...]
M&S chairman Robert Swannell is leaving December 13, 2016 Marks and Spencer's chairman Robert Swannell is retiring in 2017, the company announced this morning. He will continue in his role until a replacement is found. Vindi Banga, senior independent director at M&S, will be leading the search for a new chairman. Swannell said: “A year ago we chose Steve Rowe as our chief executive. Steve [...]
Marks & Spencer patches up sales at clothing arm March 29, 2015 Marks and Spencer is expected to report an improvement in sales at its general merchandise arm as the retailer recovers from its recent warehousing debacle and thanks to fewer clothes being left on the shelves. Citi, joint broker to M&S, expects the high street chain to report a 0.1 per cent decline in underlying sales [...]
Retailers’ share prices dragged down as Next sinks January 4, 2017 The retail sector is getting a hammering today after Next posted a sales slide for the Christmas season. Next's share price has tumbled 11 per cent in morning trading, and following it downwards are Marks and Spencer, which has fallen five per cent, and Primark-owner Associated British Foods, which is down 3.84 per cent. Read more: Retailers [...]
M&S needed a roar from Rowe, but all it got was a whisper May 26, 2016 It was Steve Rowe's opportunity to deliver something big. Analysts had forecast it, and, most importantly of all, M&S' customers were expecting it. But the man from Croydon adopted the softly-softly approach that you might expect of a lifer rather than the more radical path that newcomers tend to take. There was no Dave Lewis-style [...]
Retailers rocked by sales shocker May 6, 2016 The high street has suffered its sharpest drop in sales since the credit crunch as retailers battle erratic weather, increasing competition from online rivals and jittery consumer confidence. Like-for-like sales fell by 6.1 per cent in April compared with the same month last year, according to BDO’s latest monthly tracker, published this morning. The accountancy [...]
Marks & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland pockets £600,000 bonus after retailer’s first profit rise in four years June 4, 2015 It's not just shareholders who will be pleased that Marks & Spencer finally returned to growth last year. Marc Bolland has pocketed a bonus worth nearly £600,000 for the high street retailer's green shoots, which reported its first rise in profits in four years last month. Bolland received a bonus worth £596,000 on [...]
Black Friday 2015 UK: John Lewis & Marks and Spencer’s best deals on kitchenware, homeware and furniture including Sony TVs, Le Creuset pans and Dyson vacuum cleaners November 26, 2015 Like it or not, it appears Black Friday is here to stay, and us Britons can't get enough. It's estimated that we will spend as much as £1.9bn on 27 November, with Visa expecting £721m to be spent online. Peak shopping times will be between 6pm and 7pm, as commuters go shopping on their mobiles. Homeware will account [...]
Retailers’ share prices stung by the rise in the national living wage in the Autumn Statement November 23, 2016 Retailer's share prices are suffering this afternoon after chancellor Philip Hammond said the national living wage would rise in April next year. The national living wage hourly rate will increase from £7.20 an hour £7.50 an hour in 2017, Hammond said. Read more: The National Living Wage is going up again next April The change [...]
FTSE 100 index opens up led by Glencore, Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Marks and Spencer November 4, 2015 The FTSE 100 opened marginally up this morning, led higher by mining companies, as Glencore reported it was reducing the size of its net debt. The UK's top blue chip index was up 0.44 per cent at 6,411 points. Glencore, the mining giant, which has been struggling to reassure investors worried about the size of [...]