John Lewis, Sainsbury’s, or M&S? Whose Christmas ad was best this year November 20, 2018 So this is Christmas. And what have you done? Another year over, and the festive ads just begun. Yes, ’tis the season for brands to splash the cash on fancy holiday-themed adverts in hope of attracting that sweet Christmas shopping revenue. Retailer John Lewis has been the reigning champion of the season for the past [...]
Twitter picks a man named John Lewis as the star of its new Christmas advert November 20, 2018 Every year, a man named John Lewis in Virginia receives over 50,000 tweets intended for UK department store John Lewis and Partners. This year, he's been made the star of Twitter's Christmas advert. Lewis secured the Twitter username @JohnLewis in 2007, and has become known for his witty responses to people who confuse him for [...]
Shares jump as caterer Compass points north despite pressures from UK business November 20, 2018 Shares in Compass Group have jumped up this morning after the company showed good revenue and profits for the full year. The figures The caterer’s underlying revenues rose 5.5 per cent to £23.24bn in the 12 months to October, it said. Meanwhile a 2.3 per cent rise profit before tax jumped to 7.3 per cent [...]
Big Yellow storage targets ‘aggressive’ expansion with new London stores announced November 20, 2018 Self storage company Big Yellow reported an increase in revenue today following investment in new capacity as the group targets “aggressive” expansion. Revenue for the six months to the end of September was £62.2m, a boost of seven per cent, while adjusted profit before tax rose nine per cent to £33.3m. However, statutory profit before tax [...]
British home electricals retailer AO shares slide as it gears up for Brexit November 20, 2018 UK online electronics retailer AO World has scraped back some of its losses in the first six months of this year, targeting European profitability despite market challenges. The company's share price tumbled almost 15 per cent in early trading this morning. The figures Overall revenue across the UK and Europe rose almost 10 per cent [...]
Bonmarche maintains dividend despite lower store sales shredding profits in half November 20, 2018 Retailer Bonmarche laid bare its high street struggles today after a recent profit warning, revealing that store sales fell in the first six months to the end of September despite a boost to online income. The figures Revenue came in flat in its half-year results compared to the same period last year at £97.9m. In-store like-for-like sales dropped [...]
Vision Direct promises to compensate customers who lost out in website hack November 19, 2018 An online contact lens supplier will refund customers left out of pocket when their credit card details were stolen from its site earlier this month. Vision Direct told City A.M. that over 16,000 people were at risk from a hack on its website at the beginning of November. Customers who logged in to the website, [...]
The Hut Group gearing up for boardroom reshuffle November 19, 2018 British online shopping giant The Hut Group is planning a major board reshuffle which would involve the departure of the company’s current chairman. The beauty retailer is set for a shake-up that would see founder and chief executive Matthew Moulding replace Richard Pennycook as chairman, according to Sky News. Pennycook, who has served as the [...]
Chinese online retailer JD.com’s revenue growth slows amid trade war concerns November 19, 2018 Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com today reported its slowest quarterly revenue growth since its 2014 initial public offering. The company, which is backed by Walmart, Google and China’s Tencent, reported a 25 per cent rise in revenues for the last quarter, totalling 104.8bn yuan (£11.75m). But the growth was well below previous rates, which hit 60 per [...]
Black Friday footfall to dip as retailers extend discounting into the weekend November 19, 2018 Footfall during this year’s Black Friday is expected to slide, with fewer consumers feeling the urgency to shop on Britain’s high streets as retailers plan to extend the frenzied day of discounting into the weekend. Research out yesterday from analytics firm ShopperTrak is predicting the volume of shoppers on the high street will be 6.5 per [...]