India’s Reliance to woo Amazon with $20bn retail stake September 10, 2020 Indian digital giant Reliance is said to be considering offering Amazon a $20bn stake in its retail arm, as it tries to recruit more major tech brass to its roster of backers. Reliance is willing to sell a stake of up to 40 per cent in its retail business to the e-commerce giant, a person [...]
Games Workshop shares level up on expectations beat September 10, 2020 Shares in Games Workshop jumped more than 18 per cent today, after the retailer said trading for the most recent quarter came in ahead of expectations. Strong performance in its online segment has meant current estimates for the three months to the end of August show sales of approximately £90m, up from £78m year on [...]
Dixons Carphone mulls Nordic float as online sales surge September 10, 2020 Dixons Carphone today said it was mulling a stock market listing for its Nordics business as domestic sales surged on increased online demand. The company reported a 12 per cent rise in electricals sales in the UK and Ireland in the 17 weeks to the end of August. This was driven by booming online sales, [...]
Morrisons profit sinks as Covid costs outweigh sales boost September 10, 2020 Morrisons today reported higher sales for the first half of the year but said costs related to Covid-19 safety measures had hit profit. The figures Morrisons reported total revenue of £8.73bn, down 1.1 per cent on the same period last year. But like-for-like sales excluding fuel rose 8.7 per cent. Statutory profit before tax fell [...]
Dunelm pulls final dividend as it forecasts a brighter 2021 September 10, 2020 Home furnishings retailer Dunelm has said it will not be issuing a final dividend this year, but said it had outperformed expectations despite the pandemic. It added that it expects to pay an interim dividend next year, provided it faces no further hits from renewed lockdown measures. Dunelm said today that profit before tax fell [...]
Exclusive: London consumer spending soars during cheap meal scheme September 10, 2020 The Eat Out to Help Out scheme gave London restaurants a huge boost in August, with spending jumping to just 10 per cent below its 2019 level, according to the latest data provided exclusively to City A.M. Food and beverage spending in London in July was a whopping 39.1 per cent lower than a year [...]
Pubs warn new restrictions will damage their recovery from ‘devastating’ year September 9, 2020 The pub industry has warned that the new restrictions outlined by the Prime Minister today will halt their recovery without additional government support. The British Beer and Pub Association said the changes to social gatherings will have an “immediate cooling effect on public confidence to go out and visit our pubs.” From Monday gatherings of [...]
Fashion retailer Quiz closes 15 UK stores after coronavirus lockdown September 9, 2020 Fashion retailer Quiz has announced it will permanently close around 15 stores in the UK following the UK coronavirus lockdown. The company is only planning to reopen around 60 of its 75 stores. It has reopened 48 sites since non-essential retailers were given the go-ahead to trade in June. Quiz has also reduced the number [...]
Pandemic pushes retail job losses to 125,500 this year September 9, 2020 More than 125,500 retail jobs have been lost so far this year as the coronavirus pandemic accelerated changes on the struggling UK high street. Nearly 15,700 roles were lost every month, while 13,867 shops have closed down across the UK this year. Small independent retailers shed 32,598 jobs between 1 January and 31 August, while [...]
Lawsuit at Tiffany’s: Jeweller sues LVMH over delayed $16bn merger September 9, 2020 Tiffany & Co has launched legal action against Louis Vuitton owner LVMH after the luxury goods giant said it would walk away from a $16bn deal to buy the jewellery firm. Tiffany has filed a lawsuit seeking to force LVMH to complete the merger after the French conglomerate announced this morning that it could not [...]