Greggs soars as strategy shift boosts business January 9, 2014 HIGH street baker Greggs and FTSE 250 firm The Restaurant Group, owner of the Garfunkel’s and Frankie & Bennys chains, both saw their share prices boosted yesterday after reporting fourth quarter results that beat expectations. Greggs share price rose 10.6 per cent to 493p on news that its fourth quarter saw the first sales growth [...]
M&S boss Marc Bolland defends Xmas discounts January 9, 2014 MARKS & SPENCER chief executive Marc Bolland yesterday denied that the retailer had sparked this Christmas’s frenzied discounting as the chain’s clothing sales fell for a 10th consecutive quarter. The high street bellwether said like-for-like general merchandise sales, which include homeware and clothing, dropped by 2.1 per cent in the 13 weeks to 28 December. [...]
Bottom Line: CEO’s survival will depend on a revolution January 9, 2014 YESTERDAY marked a very unwelcome milestone for Marks & Spencer’s boss Marc Bolland. Three-and-a-half years into the job, the former Morrisons chief exec has clocked up his 10th successive quarter of declining clothing sales, leaving investors waiting for his promised turnaround yet again. That they’re giving him more time – as evidenced by yesterday’s 3.6 [...]
Festive boost for Ted Baker January 9, 2014 BRITISH designer clothing brand Ted Baker said it will meet annual profit forecasts after posting an 18.3 per cent rise in eight-week festive sales, helped in part by a 10.9 per cent increase in new space. Unlike many under-pressure retailers during the festive period, Ted Baker said it had not undertaken any significant promotional activity [...]
Foyles narrowly grows at Christmas January 9, 2014 Bookshop chain Foyles reported a 0.4 per cent increase in December like-for-like sales, helped by Morrissey’s new autobiography and sales of Alice Munro’s collections after her Nobel Prize for literature. The firm said its Westfield Stratford branch was doing particularly well, though the Crossrail construction work is continuing to hit footfall at Charing Cross Road.
Uniqlo owner picks up sales January 9, 2014 Asia’s biggest clothing retailer Fast Retailing posted a higher-than-expected first-quarter profit, helped by strong Japan sales at its flagship casual Uniqlo brand which lured thrifty customers with affordable luxury items. The retailer also boosted growth outside Japan, with a weaker yen helping to lift revenues.
Shine comes off jeweller Signet January 9, 2014 Shares in H Samuel operator Signet Jewelers fell over seven per cent on the US market yesterday after the retailer trimmed its profit forecast for the quarter. Like-for-like sales in the UK were up five per cent in the eight weeks leading up to Christmas.
Problems were isolated at RSA, report concludes January 9, 2014 AN INDEPENDENT report into problems at insurance giant RSA has concluded that financial inconsistencies led to a £200m hole in its finances, but were isolated to a few executives at the top of its Irish arm. The report highlighted “inappropriate collaboration” between three senior managers in the Irish business, which led to large claims being [...]
Inside Track: Reflections on Standard Chartered’s boardroom turmoil January 9, 2014 WHEN there’s as much background noise coming out of a boardroom as there has been from Standard Chartered’s in recent weeks, it’s a fair bet that changes are on the horizon. Yesterday the emerging markets bank dropped the bombshell that its finance director for the past seven years, Richard Meddings, was leaving. Meddings, so chief [...]
Decline of the PC accelerates January 9, 2014 WORLDWIDE PC shipments during the fourth quarter 2013 fell 6.9 per cent from the same period in 2012, reaching similar levels as 2009. Described as the worst decline in PC market history by research firm Gartner, shipments totalled just 82.6m units, marking the seventh consecutive quarterly shipment decline. “Although PC shipments continued to decline in [...]