A very merry Christmas: Sainsbury’s upgrades full year profits to £720m thanks to retail boom January 12, 2022 Sainsbury’s has reported a very merry Christmas this morning, upgrading its pre-tax profits for the full year to £720m.
Pret sales lag behind pre-Covid levels as office workers slowly return to desks after Omicron fears January 11, 2022 Workers have been slow to return to the Square Mile this year, Pret’s coffee and sandwich sales reveal. Transaction volumes in the City of London and Canary Wharf districts were more than one third down on pre-pandemic levels last week. Bloomberg’s Pret Index laid bare the impact of Covid guidance introduced at the end of [...]
Exclusive: ‘Omicron is a reminder the world is only as good as the weakest link in the vaccination chain,’ says abrdn exec January 11, 2022 Ongoing inflationary shocks, questions around interest rates and the emergence of the new Omicron Covid variant are all making navigating uncertainty more challenging. Nonetheless, when we look beyond the headlines, there remain some reasons for optimism going into 2022, according to Richard Dunbar, head of multi-asset research at global investment giant abrdn. Square Mile-based Dunbar [...]
Lingerie tycoon Baroness Mone sued for unlimited damages after reports of racist remarks January 11, 2022 Millionaire lingerie tycoon Baroness Michelle Mone is being sued for unlimited damages after allegations of racist remarks. Financial consultant Richard Lynton-Jones has filed a writ against the retail tycoon in London’s High Court, claiming Mone sent him racist WhatsApp messages. Lynton-Jones, who has Indian heritage, claimed that Mone sent him a message calling him “a [...]
Not so little: Christmas jumpers power Lidl sales with one sold every two seconds January 11, 2022 A surge in demand for Christmas jumpers helped discount supermarket giant Lidl to post a 2.6% rise in sales over the festive season. The firm said its Christmas jumpers were the fastest-selling item in its so-called Middle of Lidl aisle, with around one sold every two seconds on its first day of sale. The group [...]
Shoppers spend £14bn on Christmas categories as supermarket sales growth exceeds forecasts January 11, 2022 Shoppers dashed to supermarkets to make last-minute Christmas purchases as weekly sales growth peaked in the week ending 25 December. Brits splashed out £14bn on Christmas products over the three month festive period, according to data from NielsenIQ. Sales growth for the period surpassed initial forecasts from NielsenIQ analysts, who predicted sales would grow to [...]
Warhammer retailer Games Workshop reveals dip in profits but CEO says ‘we are on the front foot’ January 11, 2022 Games Workshop has revealed a dip in profits for the past six months as higher costs offset sales growth. The Warhammer retailer reported that pre-tax profits fell by 3.7% to £88.2 million for the six months to November 28. It came as the business highlighted £2 million in extra shipping and freight costs over the [...]
Strong retail sales in December despite Omicron onslaught January 11, 2022 UK retailers posted strong sales last month as shoppers splashed out on bumper Christmas celebrations despite the surge in Covid-19 cases, according to new figures. The latest BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor revealed that total sales rose 2.1% in the month to January 1 compared with the same period last year. It added that like-for-like sales [...]
Retail in 2022: Leisure explosion and flexible landlords will give the UK high street a much-needed boost this year January 11, 2022 Demand for property outside traditional retail and pragmatic landlords have given “renewed optimism” for some high streets and shopping districts despite the toll of the pandemic, according to industry experts. The pressure from lockdown measures, after a steady decline in recent years, saw vacancy rates across shopping destinations hit record levels in the second quarter [...]
Central London continues to feel impact of Plan B measures January 10, 2022 Central London has suffered another blow to its recovery as shoppers stay away from the city’s retail hotspots. Footfall in the West End and other areas dropped by more than a quarter (25.6 per cent) last week compared to the week before. “With employees continuing to work from home the drop in footfall in Central [...]