A drop in temperature makes some brands hotter December 1, 2009 WE all like to “make up our own minds” about brands, and recommend to our friends those with which we have had positive dealings. However, rather than being wholly our own self-determined opinions, these recommendations tie in with the seasons much more readily than we might think. Some “seasonal brands” like The North Face and [...]
Debt repayments ruffle feathers at Peacocks November 16, 2009 PEACOCKS, the budget clothing chain that made history with the first hedge fund-backed private buyout, sank further into the red last year. The firm, which also operates the Bonmarché and Fragrance Shop businesses, made a post-tax loss of £7.3m in the 12 months to March. It made a £5.2m loss in 2008. Peacocks took the [...]
Royal Mail locked in last-ditch talks October 19, 2009 ROYAL MAIL was last night in eleventh hour talks with its unions in a desperate bid to avoid nationwide walk-outs which are set to cripple the Christmas post. It is the latest move from both sides to end a dispute over modernisation at the service. Tensions are running so high that there are even fears [...]
Gartmore gears up for acquisitions November 29, 2009 GARTMORE, the City investment house, plans to make strategic acquisitions after it has boosted its balance sheet through its expected £1bn stockmarket flotation. Chief executive Jeffrey Meyer said the firm would look to buy medium-size boutiques whose skill sets complemented Gartmore’s expertise in hedge funds and European equities. Gartmore’s initial public offering is due to [...]
Firth shines in fashionable drama February 11, 2010 Film A SINGLE MAN Cert: 12A Fashion designer – and world’s most stylish dude – Tom Ford makes his directorial debut with A Single Man, and boy won’t he let you forget it. An adaptation of a Christopher Isherwood novel about a day in the life of a college professor named George who is grieving [...]
TRAVEL NOTES October 25, 2009 Christmas in Bora BoraThe weather’s getting cold and the nights are drawing in. Imagine, then, an escape to the South Seas and days spent in over-water suites or beachfront villas, the sun beating down as you watch sea turtles paddle by and, later, seeing the sun set over the island’s dramatic Mount Otemanu. That’s the [...]
TRAVEL NOTES October 25, 2009 Christmas in Bora BoraThe weather’s getting cold and the nights are drawing in. Imagine, then, an escape to the South Seas and days spent in over-water suites or beachfront villas, the sun beating down as you watch sea turtles paddle by and, later, seeing the sun set over the island’s dramatic Mount Otemanu. That’s the [...]
Strong retail sales growth but 2010 outlook uncertain November 9, 2009 RETAIL sales enjoyed their strongest October growth for seven years with retail sales values rising 3.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). But the BRC warned that last month’s strong performance was compared to October 2008, when sales fell 2.2 per cent due to turmoil in the financial [...]
Britain’s last chocolatier sets down a gauntlet for his Kraft successor February 10, 2010 WARTIME is over for Roger Carr. Having held up his head defiantly throughout a five-month hostile bid battle from US food giant Kraft, the former Cadbury chairman is looking considerably more relaxed in demeanour nowadays, though his bruised rhetoric speaks volumes. Carr, in a speech on “Hostile Bids and Takeovers” at the Saïd Business School [...]
Banks push FTSE higher but vaccine worries hit pharma January 5, 2010 THE leading share index ended 0.4 per cent higher on yesterday, hitting a fresh 16-month closing high, as banks and commodity stocks rose, but gains were capped by a fall in drugmakers on concerns over vaccine sales. The blue chip FTSE 100 closed 22.16 points higher at 5,522.50, its highest close since 2 September 2008 [...]