Meet the startups tapped by John Lewis & Partners in its experiential retail accelerator February 18, 2019 John Lewis & Partners has lined up six startups for its Jlab innovation programme, after more than 160 businesses applied to its experiential technology accelerator. A panel of judges heard pitches from 11 startups earlier this month, offering up new ways to navigate stores from a mobile phone or interact with digital screens without needing [...]
UK household sentiment falls to 11-month low on slowing economy and Brexit fears February 18, 2019 UK household sentiment has hit an 11-month low as job fears grow on mounting Brexit uncertainty. IHS Markit’s household finance index (HFI) – based on consumer’s financial wellbeing – has dropped to its lowest level since March 2018. Read more: Bank of England slashes UK growth forecast The survey also revealed that job security perceptions [...]
Labour pains: Seven MPs quit Corbyn’s party to launch The Independent Group February 18, 2019 Seven Labour MPs have resigned from the party and will now sit in parliament as an independent group in the wake of disaffection with the leadership's stance on Brexit and anti-semitism. The MPs, calling themselves The Independent Group, are Luciana Berger, Chuka Umunna, Former shadow chancellor Chris Leslie, Mike Gapes, Gavin Shuker, Ann Coffey and Angela Smith. Berger, [...]
It’s search and rescue time for the future of marketing February 18, 2019 Search marketing is all about making your brand easy to find on the internet. It accounts for half of all UK digital ad spend, and is worth over £3.1bn. Given all that, you’d expect that marketing degrees would devote some course time to this subject. However, it’s pretty shocking that none of the UK’s top [...]
Forget social networks – the future is community media, says the boss of Disciple Media February 18, 2019 In February last year, Matt Hancock (then culture secretary, now health secretary) launched his own smartphone app, imaginatively titled… “Matt Hancock”. Many scoffed at the idea of an MP thinking themselves so important that they needed an app. And there were jokes about how the app asked for user consent: “Matt Hancock would like to access [...]
Google and Salesforce inject $75m into London’s Gocardless February 18, 2019 City fintech firm Gocardless has raised $75m (£58.1m) in a series E funding round, led by new investors Adam Street Partners and the venture capital arms of Google and Salesforce. The company aims to fix the way businesses collect invoices and make recurring payments by building debit technology on top of the world’s existing banking systems. Chief [...]
McColl’s profits plummet after supply chain disruption but investors welcome recovery signs February 18, 2019 Profits halved at McColl’s in 2018 as like-for-like sales also slipped, it said today, blaming supply chain disruption as a key partner went under, even as overall revenue grew. But shares grew 13 per cent to 57.2p as investors welcomed the retailer cutting debt as like-for-like sales improved. The figures Profit before tax plunged to [...]
Tech giants should be held to compulsory ‘code of ethics’, MPs say February 18, 2019 Facebook and other tech giants should face stricter regulation to tackle the spread of fake news and misuse of personal data, MPs said today. Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was harshly criticised in the final report on disinformation by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee, having declined several invitations to attend [...]
Footasylum shares rocket as JD Sports snaps up stake in retailer February 18, 2019 Footasylum's share price surged 81 per cent this morning after JD Sports bought up an 8.3 per cent stake in the embattled retailer. Footasylum's share price soared to 52.5p, up from a 29p close on Friday as it recovered from lows last month when the firm warned over challenges to its full-year earnings. While JD Sports said [...]
Pearson sells US school textbook arm for $250m February 18, 2019 Pearson announced the $250m (£194m) sale of its US school textbook division today as it pursues a simplification strategy as it doubles down on digital. Read more: Pearson's shares fall amid declining US revenues The education publisher expects to net $25m today and the full sum over the next three to seven years from the [...]