Templeman to head retail body June 2, 2011 Debenhams chief executive Rob Templeman will be announced today as the new head of UK’s leading retail industry body, the British Retail Consortium. He will replace Luke Mayhew, current chairman, in the autumn of this year. Templeman led high street giant Debenhams through its IPO in 2006, and was previously head of Halfords Group, Homebase [...]
Shop prices driven up by food inflation July 5, 2011 WORLD ECONOMY FOOD inflation in British shops rocketed to 5.7 per cent in June from 4.9 per cent in May, a survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) unveiled today. Food costs pushed overall shop price inflation to a 32-month high of 2.9 per cent in June – a dangerous signal ahead of the official [...]
Kesa coughs up £50m to dump Comet November 9, 2011 KESA Electricals was yesterday forced to pay a £50m dowry to offload Comet, its struggling British electricals chain. OpCapita, the restructuring specialist that is buying Comet, paid a headline consideration of just £2 for the loss-making chain. But in reality, Kesa – which is also taking on Comet’s €45.9m pension deficit – is paying a [...]
Kesa coughs up £50m to dump Comet November 9, 2011 KESA Electricals was yesterday forced to pay a £50m dowry to offload Comet, its struggling British electricals chain. OpCapita, the restructuring specialist that is buying Comet, paid a headline consideration of just £2 for the loss-making chain. But in reality, Kesa – which is also taking on Comet’s €45.9m pension deficit – is paying a [...]
Retail experts fear chains will be ignored by Portas May 16, 2011 THE BRITISH Retail Consortium (BRC) has expressed fears that a review of the UK high street by TV’s Mary Portas will favour independent shops at the expense of chains. Portas’s government appointment tasks her with breathing new life into the struggling retail sector. She is known for championing independent shops through her TV shows, but [...]
John Lovering returns to fashion chain Peacocks October 27, 2011 RETAIL veteran John Lovering has returned to the board of the investment group that owns Peacocks, the struggling fashion chain he chaired for six years until 2003, City A.M can reveal. Last month the British high street retailer, which sells discount fashion lines, called in KPMG to conduct an independent business review as fears grow [...]
Spending on high street sank in May June 6, 2011 HIGH street sales plunged back to earth last month, as consumers reined in their spending. April’s sunny weather and extra bank holidays had seen a bounce-back for the UK’s struggling retail sector, yet sales in May were down 2.1 per cent compared to the same time last year, on a like-for-like basis. Total sales, which [...]
No supermarket sweep in sight as sterling falters June 14, 2011 BETTER than expected CPI figures released yesterday saw a temporary reversal in the recent sterling decline. Despite this, the pound remains in a broadly weak position against the major currencies. With investors lacking in any belief that Mervyn King will raise interest rates at any point soon, the pound is struggling to find a taker. [...]
Commodities still driving up food costs June 7, 2011 FOOD prices at UK stores rose again last month, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed today. Food costs were 4.9 per cent higher than in May 2010, up from April’s annualised food inflation rate of 4.7 per cent. Soaring prices of fresh foods were the main driver, with year-by-year inflation jumping to 4.2 per cent, [...]
Retailers enjoy new year boost April 27, 2011 UK retailers hired more than 3,000 new staff and opened 837 new shops in the past quarter compared with the first-quarter of 2010, new research published today shows. In a sign of the sector’s resilience, retail employment rose 0.5 per cent in the quarter compared with the first-quarter of 2010, the British Retail Consortium’s BRC-Bond [...]