Stephan Shakespeare: Could Mike Ashley bring in customers to save Debenhams? December 9, 2020 Customers of Mike Ashley’s Fraser’s Group are typically more likely to consider buying from struggling department store Debenhams, YouGov research has revealed. It has been a tough year for retail but Debenhams has been hit particularly hard, with several of its stores closing their doors in May. Now, liquidators have been brought in to start [...]
Covid-19 brings Arcadia into administration, but Topshop’s brand has struggled for years December 2, 2020 Retail group Arcadia, owner of British high street giants Topshop and Dorothy Perkins, hired administrators this week after the coronavirus pandemic “severely impacted” sales. The retail empire, which is owned by controversial businessman Sir Philip Green, failed to secure extra funding to pay its debts despite the Black Friday sales period. While the pandemic created [...]
Shakespeare: Walkers’ ad fails to flavour up Christmas amongst new customers November 25, 2020 By the end of November most brands have released their Christmas adverts, and this year is no exception. One brand keen to be known for their festive feature is crisps manufacturer Walkers, whose advert this year features viral YouTuber LadBaby, Gary Lineker and others. The advert sees Christmas carols turned into “Sausage CaROLLs” as a [...]
B&M sales benefit from lockdown loophole, but fails to grow customer base November 18, 2020 B&M benefits from being classed as an essential retailer due to stocking food and household goods, meaning stores have been allowed to remain open during lockdowns – an issue that has been widely discussed in the media.
Shakespeare: Monzo’s tough year doesn’t improve with new card November 4, 2020 Monzo has had a tough 2020 so far. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the challenger bank has laid off employees, doubled its losses, and faced difficult questions about its viability as a “going concern”. October proved to be no exception. New data from YouGov BrandIndex shows that Monzo’s latest attempt to launch paid-for accounts adversely affected [...]
Guinness brews up strong brand performance with alcohol-free beer October 28, 2020 Global drinks company Diageo recently announced an alcohol-free version of Guinness in Britain and Ireland, with a global rollout set for 2021. “Guinness 0.0” will initially go on sale in supermarkets and off-licences, with pubs and restaurants to follow later in the year. Data from YouGov Plan & Track indicates that the move, in conjunction [...]
Shakespeare: Lockdown pups give Pets at Home a boost October 21, 2020 Last month, in the face of the coronavirus, Pets at Home reported glowing results making it the best-performing UK retail stock of the quarter. The pet shop and veterinary services provider said it expected full-year underlying profits to be ahead of current market expectations. Pets at Home said that while strong merchandising sales had helped [...]
Shakespeare: Cineworld – and cinemas in general – take a reputational hit after closures October 14, 2020 At the start of October Cineworld, the world’s second biggest cinema operator, confirmed it will temporarily close all of its UK and US cinemas having struggled to draw in visitors without a stream of new films. Since Cineworld announced closures, Vue confirmed at the weekend that their screens will shut three days a week while [...]
Uncle Ben’s purchase consideration increases after rebrand October 6, 2020 Following the global protests over the killing of George Floyd in June, Mars Food was one of several FMCG giants that promised to review its brands that could be seen as racially insensitive, with Uncle Ben’s coming under close attention. When the brand first entered the market over 70 years ago “uncle” was used as [...]
ITV reaps the benefits of controversial Diversity performance September 30, 2020 TV’s Britain’s Got Talent has restarted its 14th series after taking a three-month break during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kicking off the semi-finals, judge Ashley Banjo and his dance group Diversity gave a special performance retelling the events of 2020, including references to coronavirus and the death of George Floyd prompting global Black Lives Matter protests. [...]
