Curry king who spiced up UK April 22, 2010 ESCAPING the poverty net inspired Sir Gulam Noon to go into business. He lived with his five siblings in one room when he was growing up in Mumbai, India, but is now the UK’s unofficial curry king, after amassing his fortune by selling the food of his native country in the UK. After first travelling [...]
Tesco beats volcano with record profits April 20, 2010 TESCO yesterday reported record pre-tax profits of £3.2bn – while escaping the impact of the volcanic ash crisis because so little of its produce is imported by plane. The company saw its net profit up 10.4 per cent up on the previous 12 months. The supermarket giant said the reason for the gains included an [...]
Tesco April 20, 2010 THE LATE Jack Cohen, who founded Tesco in 1924, was fond of telling staff “you can’t do business sitting on your arse”. It’s a slogan that clearly resonates with the current management team, who show no sign of losing their expansionary zeal. Tesco has grown much further and faster than domestic rivals like J Sainsbury [...]
Supermarket boom will continue April 19, 2010 WHILE retailers on the high-street have been struggling with adverse weather conditions and consumers cutting back on spending during a downturn, their supermarket counterparts have been going from strength to strength. Giant grocer Tesco has seen its share price rise 10 per cent over the past six months and today’s full-year results are expected to [...]
Tories gain more support for jobs tax pledge April 6, 2010 THE TORIES were last night claiming another victory in the battle over National Insurance, after three business leaders added their names to a letter condemning Labour plans to hike the “tax on jobs” after the election. Tory sources said that Yell chairman and ex-Merrill Lynch banker Bob Wigley had decided to support the campaign, along with [...]
Sainsbury’s credit cards launch boosts finance unit April 6, 2010 J SAINSBURY has today launched two new credit cards in an extension of its personal finance services. The first card, the Sainsbury’s Nectar Credit Card, offers users an APR of 12.9 per cent on purchases and balance transfers, and double Nectar points on their shopping, and in petrol filling stations for two years. Meanwhile the [...]
…and FTSE chiefs agree March 31, 2010 THE top dogs of Britain’s business community have backed Conservative plans to reverse National Insurance rises for those earning less than £45,000. In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, they said Labour’s 1p in the pound rise in April had come at the wrong time and could result in heavy job losses. The 23 signatories [...]
Carphone Warehouse splits in two March 29, 2010 TalkTalk and Carphone Warehouse (CPW), the electronics retailer, both saw a positive reaction to their first day operating as separate entities. Carphone Warehouse added 7.3 per cent after it spun off its TalkTalk broadband supplier. Its shares began trading at 144p and closed at 155p. TalkTalk added 4.4 per cent on its maiden day trading, [...]
We’re being too gloomy on outlook for retail March 28, 2010 SO the clocks have changed, there’s now more daylight than darkness and spring is here. It’s time for some optimism, unless you happen to be a retailer. In the last week some of the biggest names in the high street have been queuing up to tell us how fearful they are about the consumer. Of [...]
Retailers on a roll but storm clouds looming March 28, 2010 EVEN the worst recession for at least 60 years hasn’t been able to stop the British consumer from flashing the plastic. Snowfall might have deterred the less hardened shoppers from hitting the January sales with full force, but statistics out last week showed we returned to the high street in our droves last month. Retail [...]