Now Sonos is hiking prices because of the weaker pound February 13, 2017 Trendy speaker maker Sonos has become the latest cult tech giant to announce it is increasing prices on its UK catalogue thanks to the weaker pound “Our prices are defined regionally,” the company said in an email to its customers. “In the UK, this includes local taxation and import duties, but we pay for everything we make in [...]
Kirin bows out of Brazilian market in style with £570m sale to Heineken February 13, 2017 The world’s second largest brewer, Heineken, has agreed to buy Japanese rival Kirin's Brazilian operations for 2.2bn Brazillian reals (£567m). Heineken said the acquisition will take place in the first half of this year, and will make the Dutch drinks maker second-largest beer producer in Brazil. Previously trading under the Schincariol brand, Brasil Kirin had been [...]
Can advertising be a force for good? Diageo’s Syl Saller certainly thinks so February 13, 2017 If the early bird catches the worm, then the attendees of this year’s Advertising Association LEAD summit must have been full by the time it began. Early starts are anathema to most in the media, myself included, but the full force of AdLand was on parade, bright-eyed – despite the culture secretary’s dry, cliched, keynote [...]
Trivago’s boss on how the travel group finds the hotel that fits you perfectly February 13, 2017 While Trivago was meeting American investors ahead of its December listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange, chief executive Rolf Schroemgens realised many of the people he met had a very limited understanding of the company. Despite a boost to the hotel search engine’s profile in 2013 when American travel giant Expedia snapped up 63.5 per cent of the company [...]
January footfall fell at the steepest rate since the Brexit vote February 13, 2017 In January the number of shoppers in the UK fell at the steepest rate since the month of the EU referendum. Footfall fell 1.3 per cent year-on-year in January, according to data from Springboard and the British Retail Consortium. This was the sharpest drop-off in customer numbers since a 2.8 per cent drop in June [...]
Clintons mulls shutting up more than a hundred shops February 13, 2017 Greetings cards chain Clintons is mulling the closure of more than a hundred high street stores. According to The Telegraph, the chain’s US owner American Greetings is contemplating shutting 120 of its 393 Clintons shops, which have not been modernised yet and are “subject to an ongoing strategic review”. American Greetings has also slowed down the programme to revamp [...]
All Star Lanes scores £3.5m strike after successful turnaround February 12, 2017 All Star Lanes has secured a £3.5m refinancing after a successful 2016 saw its underlying profits jump 39.5 per cent to £1.4m. The American-inspired ten-pin bowling chain has one branch in Manchester and four in London, including its recently reopened Brick Lane flagship location. Although the company was founded in 2006, it was only after [...]
Ocado chairman Stuart Rose bags £1.3m share award February 12, 2017 Online grocer Ocado gave its chairman Stuart Rose a £1.3m share award last year as part of a pay deal he agreed when he joined the company in 2013. When he was made Ocado chairman, former Marks and Spencer boss Rose bought £400,000 worth of Ocado stock. The company gave him 452,000 shares on the [...]
The Body Shop attracts buyout bidders in £850m sale February 12, 2017 Potential buyers are emerging in the $1bn (£850m) sale of ethical beauty brand The Body Shop. Apax Partners, a high-profile backer of companies including Karl Lagerfeld and Orange, has registered its interest, The Sunday Times reported yesterday. Current owner L’Oréal put the iconic British store up for sale last week, saying it wanted to “give it [...]
William Hill investor pushing for sale February 12, 2017 The high street betting chain, William Hill, is being considered as a potential target for acquisition, according to reports in the Sunday Times. Parvus Asset Management has been pushing for a sale of William Hill for four months, according to sources in the City. The Mayfair-based hedge fund is William Hill’s biggest single shareholder, with [...]