Shares in Debenhams leapt this morning on solid annual results. But analysts are still waiting to see what the new chief exec will do October 27, 2016 Department store Debenhams' share price headed north by nearly four per cent this morning after revealing a decline in full year profits that still beat analyst expectations. The figures Gross transactional values, basically the company's sales before taking into account discounting, were up by 1.3 per cent to £2.9bn. However revenues – what it says on the [...]
John Lewis retail boss appointed chief exec at Moneysupermarket.com October 27, 2016 Price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com has appointed John Lewis' retail boss as its new chief executive. Current chief exec Peter Plumb announced that he would be leaving the firm in August and the company said today that John Lewis' retail director Mark Lewis will take over on or before 4 May 2017. Lewis joined John Lewis in [...]
Land of Beds: Running a family business isn’t always bed-lam October 27, 2016 With any family business, when fresh blood comes along, they need to make their mark,” says Mike Murray, managing director of Land of Beds. In 2008, that’s exactly what he did when he joined the family business, embarking on the process of taking the reins from his father, Michael Murray (Senior) – who 30 years [...]
Carpetright bosses up their stakes in the company after sales drop October 26, 2016 Carpetright's chief executive Wilf Walsh and chief of finance Neil Page have bought shares in the company following a drop in sales at the retailer. Walsh and Page bought up 12,500 and 10,000 shares respectively. Read more: Carpetright says the pound's plunge is hurting margins The £25,000 purchase from Walsh brought his company shareholding to 53,778 shares, or [...]
M&S’ Brexit: Marks and Spencer to close its Paris flagship store October 26, 2016 Marks and Spencer is planning to shut its flagship store in Paris, according to reports. The British retailer wants to scale back its international operations to save on costs, Bloomberg has reported. Read more: MPs call for debate on "loopholes" in national living wage legislation The decision will be formally announced by chief executive Steve Rowe [...]
Hilton stocks slide after it cuts its forecasts but says spin-offs on track October 26, 2016 Hilton Worldwide Holdings cut its full-year forecasts for the third time today, citing weak travel demand in the US and political uncertainty in Europe slashing demand. The hotel chain giant, which is in the process of turning itself into three separate entities, grew less than expected in the last quarter and issued a downbeat view [...]
E-cigarette could stop quitters from putting on weight, new research suggests October 26, 2016 Switching to e-cigarettes could help smokers who are trying to quit from putting on weight, experts have suggested. Research in Britain and New Zealand have suggested that e-cigarettes which contain nicotine but no tobacco, may help prevent weight gain and tackle a growing obesity crisis. The report, 'Could vaping be a new weapon in the battle of [...]
Head to Paraguay, Serbia and the Czech Republic for a cheap bottle, Wine Price Index 2016 shows October 26, 2016 The UK is the 24th most expensive place to buy a bottle of wine, with an average price of £10.70, a new index shows. The latest research from SHAREaCAMPER looked at the cost of wine in 65 countries around the world, comparing local and imported averages. Wine-lovers should head to Paraguay for a cheap glass of red, [...]
Bottoms up: Net profit down but beer sales up for Heineken October 26, 2016 Dutch brewer Heineken's net profit is down on last year's figures but higher beer sales contributed to a better than expected performance, its latest results have shown. The world's second largest beer maker, which includes Tiger and Sol, sold more than expected in its third quarter, but saw its net profits plummet. The figures Net profit for [...]
Ofcom fines Vodafone £4.6m for multiple service failings and taking customers’ money without providing a service October 26, 2016 Regulators have slapped Vodafone with a £4.6m fine for "serious and sustained breaches of consumer protection rules" across two key investigations. Ofcom said that the telecoms giant failed to credit over 10,000 customers' accounts after they paid top-ups on pay-as-you-go contracts. Over a 17-month period, Vodafone customers missed out on £150,000 of money that should have been [...]