Expansion costs turn profits at Mulberry sour December 5, 2013 PROFITS at Mulberry slumped by more than a quarter in the first half as the luxury retailer continued to invest in driving international expansion. The British handbag and clothing brand still has a relatively small presence overseas compared to some of its larger rivals, like Burberry, and has been pushing ahead with growth in key [...]
Bottom Line: Overseas is the only place for luxury to grow December 5, 2013 IN THE UK, Mulberry is usually mentioned in the same breath as Burberry, with both brands attracting big name stars to their catwalk shows and campaigns, and copycat handbags rife on the high street. But the comparison is somewhat unfair. Burberry – with a market cap of £6.5bn and 206 stores (excluding concessions) worldwide – [...]
EasyJet profits trigger £6.4m payout for boss December 5, 2013 PAY for EasyJet’s top staff doubled last year as the airline beat targets for soaring profits and punctuality. Carolyn McCall was awarded a total of £6.4m, including £4.6m in long-term share awards and a bonus of £1.1m, EasyJet’s annual report showed yesterday. Her salary will rise from £665,000 to £681,000 next year. Finance boss Chris [...]
Inside Track: Moncler’s heavily subscribed new issue gives Milan a boost December 5, 2013 LONDON has enjoyed something of a return to form in the new issues market during 2013, but it’s the Milan stock market that is going out with a flourish. While the Dubai-based luxury property group Damac limped in a rather pedestrian way towards a £1.6bn London flotation this week after flirting with a postponement, there’s [...]
Marks & Spencer chooses a new auditor after 87 years with PwC December 5, 2013 MARKS & Spencer has parted ways with PwC, picking a new auditor for the first time since the FTSE 100 retailer became a public company in 1926. M&S said yesterday it has appointed Deloitte as its new auditor following a competitive tender. The switch comes at a time when the close and often decades-long relationship [...]
BNP Paribas snaps up Polish lender for £832m December 5, 2013 FRENCH giant BNP Paribas yesterday bought Rabobank’s stake in Polish lender Bank Gospodarki Zywnosciowej (BGZ) for 4.2bn zloty (£832m). The sale is the latest step in the Dutch bank’s efforts to cut down its non-core business and shore up its capital position. And the purchase of the 98.5 per cent stake is a sign of [...]
Credit Suisse offloads German unit to ABN December 5, 2013 CREDIT Suisse is selling its private banking division in Germany to an ABN Amro subsidiary for an undisclosed price, the company announced today. The Swiss banking giant effectively exits its private banking activities in Germany with the sell-off, but said it will keep on servicing its most wealthy accounts and individuals from the bank’s offices [...]
StanChart says private bank client data stolen December 5, 2013 BANK statements for almost 650 of Standard Chartered’s private banking clients have been found on the laptop of an alleged website hacker in Singapore, the police and the firm said yesterday. Standard Chartered said the February 2013 monthly statements for 647 of its clients were stolen, taken from the server of Fuji Xerox which provides [...]
Stimulus boost aims to balance Japan tax hike December 5, 2013 MINISTERS in Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government approved a burst of new stimulus yesterday, launching a package which will run to ¥18.6 trillion (£111.26bn) Most of the deal is made up of spending that is already scheduled, but it includes ¥5.5 trillion of new spending that was announced at the beginning of October to [...]
French unemployment soars to 15-year high as recovery stalls December 5, 2013 THE FRENCH unemployment rate reached the highest level in a decade and a half this autumn, climbing to 10.5 per cent during the third quarter. Joblessness is up 0.1 percentage points from the second quarter, and stands at the highest level France has recorded since 1998. The country now has over 3m people out of [...]