Mike Coupe is yet to convince the City that he has a Plan B for Sainsbury’s July 3, 2019 It has been several months since the Mike Coupe dream of a merger with Asda was dealt a lethal blow from Britain’s competition watchdog. But how much has the embattled chief executive changed his tune? Not enough, it would seem, to quell anxiety among investors. Shares in the supermarket giant failed to pick up today [...]
Marks & Spencer shares slip as clothing underperformance weighs on Christmas trading January 9, 2020 Marks & Spencer’s Christmas performance was weakened by poor sales in its menswear business, after the retailer ordered too many skinny jeans in the wrong sizes. The high street chain said it over ordered skinny and slim-fit mens’ trousers, under-bought regular fit jeans and had too many small sizes and not enough medium and large. [...]
Tesco Go: The UK supermarket chain is trialling an Amazon-style version of checkout-free shopping June 29, 2018 Tesco has said it is testing a way of paying for your shopping in-store without going through a checkout, using a smartphone app to scan items and pay online. The app is being tested in a Tesco Express near its headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, which is also one of the retail chain's cashless stores. [...]
O2 revenue rises for third year running as it beefs up customer base February 20, 2020 O2 has posted its third consecutive year of revenue and profit growth as the mobile network continued to expand its customer numbers. Revenue rose 3.8 per cent to hit £6.2bn in the year to the end of December, while operating income was up 2.3 per cent to £1.9bn. The growth was driven by a continued [...]
Sterling sinks after ‘simply shocking’ UK manufacturing data September 2, 2019 Sterling plummeted against the euro and the dollar in response to weak UK manufacturing data as economists warned “there is no clarity whatsoever” surround Brexit. Markets panicked as figures showed output from the UK manufacturing sector sank to a seven-year low in August, sending the pound down against major currencies. Read more: UK manufacturing output [...]
EDF Energy in talks to buy electric vehicle chargers Pod Point October 31, 2019 The French energy supplier EDF is in talks about the acquisition of electric vehicle-charging start-up Pod Point. The company is the latest utilities supplier to branch out into the global automotive sector. Read more: Fiat Chrysler and PSA set to enter 50-50 share swap in $50bn merger Talks about a deal are understood to have [...]
Ofcom to ban firms from selling ‘locked’ mobile phones December 17, 2019 Communications regulator Ofcom has proposed a new set of plans which would prevent phone companies from selling ‘locked’ handsets. BT/EE, Tesco Mobile and Vodafone still sell mobile phones that cannot be used on other networks without being unlocked first, which can cost £10. Read more: MPs say hands-free phones should be banned while driving The [...]
Debate: After Tesco revealed plans to launch a discount chain, can it compete with Aldi and Lidl? | City A.M. July 24, 2018 After Tesco revealed plans to launch a discount chain, can it compete with Aldi and Lidl? Yes – Tim Smith is head of retail at Konica Minolta Marketing Services. One of Tesco’s strengths is having the confidence to observe and learn from the work of other retailers. After investing in the customer journey and looking [...]
Silver linings: Positive investment trends for stock market optimists March 24, 2020 Stocks investors are likely to be feeling battered and bruised at the moment. The coronavirus-induced bear market has seen share prices fall sharply — even the UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index is down more than 30 per cent since the start of the year. Many industries are facing hurdles due to the government’s self-isolation guidelines, [...]
Retailers are hoping for a Christmas miracle November 11, 2019 The crucial Christmas trading season was once relished by high street bosses hoping to fatten their profits before the New Year. But so troubled is the sector that the once ‘Golden Quarter’ of retail has lost much of its shine, being viewed today by many executives as a way of raking in just enough cash [...]