Sports Direct confirms closures of four more House of Fraser stores around the UK November 14, 2018 Four more House of Fraser branches are set to close under new owner Sports Direct as negotiations with a landlord broke down. House of Fraser said today that its Intu-owned sites in Norwich and Nottingham, as well as shopping centre stores in Lakeside in Essex and Metrocentre in Gateshead, will close in early 2019. The [...]
British Land swings to £42m loss as challenging retail market hits portfolio value November 14, 2018 British Land has swung to a £42m pre-tax loss as its retail portfolio value fell 4.5 per cent due to the “challenging” market. The FTSE 100 property company, which owns shopping centres, supermarkets, high street stores, offices and residential properties, said its retail portfolio fell £307m to £6.3bn in the first half of the year. [...]
Intu requests deadline extension for talks to take the company private November 14, 2018 Shopping centre owner Intu has requested an extension from the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, saying it needs more time to come to an agreement on taking the firm private. The Manchester Trafford Centre-owner said the extension had been granted, and a consortium of buyers now have until 5pm on 22 November to make a formal offer, previously [...]
New Bond Street named the third-most expensive shopping street in the world November 14, 2018 West End thoroughfare New Bond Street has been named as the world’s third-most expensive shopping street today in a new global survey. Rent on New Bond Street came in at $1,744 (£1,344) per sq ft per year, behind the main street of Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay on $2,671 per sq ft and Upper 5th Avenue [...]
Brexit worries prompt nearly a third of consumers to cut spending November 14, 2018 Nearly a third of British consumers have cut their spending because of Brexit, scrimping on luxuries and postponing investments amid doubt over the future of the UK’s relationship with the EU bloc. A survey of 4,015 Brits, conducted by professional services firm KPMG, found 31 per cent had already cut their spending. James Stewart, KPMG [...]
John Lewis risks looking old hat as Iceland nails ad virality November 13, 2018 John Lewis’s Christmas adverts always provoke a huge reaction – generating the sort of headlines and cut-through that are the envy of marketers and company bosses everywhere. However, as we await this year’s effort, it is worth looking back to last year’s ‘Moz the Monster’ campaign. YouGov BrandIndex data from Christmas 2017 showed that while [...]
Fifty-year-old wedding dress chain Berketex Bride crashes into administration November 13, 2018 Wedding dress chain Berketex Bride announced today it had ceased trading and gone into administration. The chain, which had been trading for more than 50 years, said all of its stores had closed and will not re-open. Berketex had 11 branches in the UK, including one in the West End and one in Croydon, and [...]
Flipkart chief executive Binny Bansal resigns after misconduct investigation November 13, 2018 The chief executive of Indian online store Flipkart resigned today following an investigation into an allegation of “serious” personal misconduct. Binny Bansal, who co-founded the online retailer in 2007, denies the allegation, but has stepped down as the company said the claim risked becoming a distraction. Bansal’s departure comes after Flipkart carried out an independent [...]
Chewing the cud: Vegan startup Beyond Meat introduces plant-based burger to UK November 13, 2018 US plant-based food company Beyond Meat yesterday moved into the UK, bringing its vegan burgers to British supermarkets and restaurants. The Los Angeles-based business produces the plant-based Beyond Burger, which it says replicates the texture of meat while providing added nutritional benefits. The Beyond Burger went on sale yesterday at 350 Tesco branches across the country. [...]
Two headquarters are better than one: Amazon confirms New York and Virginia will be home to new HQs November 13, 2018 Web giant Amazon has confirmed it will build its new headquarters in New York City and Northern Virginia, after reports earlier this morning. The online retailer has whittled down over 230 proposals, and decided to split its second North American headquarters over two sites. The projects, which were announced today, will create up to 50,000 [...]