Ofcom boss Sharon White chosen as next John Lewis chair June 6, 2019 Ofcom boss Sharon White is set to replace Sir Charlie Mayfield as the next chair of John Lewis, taking on the role as the retailer battles to recover from a recent plunge in profits and tough trading conditions on the high street. White, who is currently chief executive of the UK’s communications regulator, is set [...]
Auto Trader drives up profit despite market uncertainty June 6, 2019 Online car marketplace Auto Trader raced to a 15 per cent rise in profit in the 2018-19 financial year, its results have shown today, with the company saying it is not worried about Brexit. Read more: Auto Trader profit zooms ahead as advertising spend accelerates The figures Auto Trader’s profit before tax rose 15 per [...]
Sir Philip Green’s fashion empire hangs by a thread as CVA vote is delayed June 5, 2019 SIR PHILIP Green made a dramatic last-minute bid to stall the collapse of his retail empire tonight after postponing a crunch vote that threatened the future of his high street brands. In a shock move the Topshop tycoon decided to delay the final decision from creditors on whether to approve an insolvency process for his [...]
Asda leads way as supermarkets slash fuel prices June 5, 2019 Drivers will get a boost at the pumps as Asda led supermarkets to cut prices this week. The supermarket will tomorrow slash prices by 3p per litre of diesel at all its 322 petrol stations across the UK, and 1p for petrol. Read more: Oil prices hit four-month low It brings the price to 128.7p [...]
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct lines up Game takeover June 5, 2019 Mike Ashley is set to lodge a bid for Game Digital, as the retail tycoon’s spending spree shows little sign of slowing down. Sports Direct, which already owned a 20 per cent holding in Game, has launched a takeover offer for the gaming firm after upping its stake in the group to roughly 38 per [...]
Findel posts surge in full-year profit as it unveils name change June 5, 2019 Home shopping company Findel has posted a sharp rise in profit and unveiled a new brand name, just weeks after it fended off a takeover bid from major shareholder Sports Direct. Pre-tax profit jumped 33 per cent to £29.4m in the year to the end of March, while revenue rose 5.7 per cent to £506.8m. [...]
Card Factory posts sales boost despite ‘challenging’ market conditions June 5, 2019 Card Factory has posted a modest rise in sales for the first quarter as strong performance in its range of seasonal cards helped offset tough conditions on the high street. Like-for-like sales rose 2.3 per cent in the three months to the end of April as the firm cashed in on a spike in demand [...]
Sir Philip Green faces a crunch moment June 4, 2019 THESE are not good times for Sir Philip Green. The scandal-hit tycoon has been spending more days than usual at his Monaco base in recent months, laying low in the sunny tax haven while both his reputation and high street empire take a beating back in the UK. But even Green will struggle to avoid [...]
Retail Sales Hit by Biggest Slump on Record June 4, 2019 | City Talk Retail sales have taken a dramatic tumble in May, as already challenging retail conditions are set against a background of Brexit uncertainty. In total, sales for May declined by 2.7 per cent, the biggest drop since the British Retail Consortium (BRC) started the monthly survey 24 years ago. Britain’s retailers are warning that the decline [...]
Matalan boosts revenue despite ‘tough retail climate’ June 3, 2019 Budget fashion brand Matalan boosted profits and revenue last year despite a “tough” retail climate which has seen other retailers forced to launch store closure programmes. The figures Revenue was £1.1bn in the year to 23 February 2019, up from £1.06bn in the previous year driven by a 31 per cent rise in online sales. [...]