Ofcom rolls out scorecards to compare phone and broadband deals January 9, 2020 Telecoms regulator Ofcom today launched a new initiative aimed at helping consumers compare offers from rival phone and broadband providers. The new performance scorecards will help Brits see which firms provide the best customer satisfaction, value for money and receive the fewest complaints. Read more: Ofcom to ban firms from selling locked mobile phones Overall, [...]
Four challenges Sharon White must address at John Lewis January 9, 2020 Incoming John Lewis Partnership boss Sharon White will have a big job on her hands when she joins the retailer next month, as this morning’s trading update showed. The department store issued a profit warning today and made the surprise announcement that John Lewis managing director Paula Nickolds will leave the partnership in February. It [...]
John Lewis issues profit warning as MD steps down January 9, 2020 John Lewis & Partners issued a profit warning today and said its managing director will leave the struggling business next month after underwhelming Christmas sales. The retail partnership warned full-year profits will be “substantially down” on last year as it revealed significant drops in both John Lewis and Waitrose revenue. Read more: Four problems new [...]
Liberty Steel to axe 355 UK jobs under ‘challenging’ conditions January 9, 2020 Liberty Steel today said it plans to slash 355 jobs from its South Yorkshire and south Wales plants amid pressure from “challenging market conditions”. Liberty Steel also blamed “a lingering reduction in demand for UK steel products” as it made the announcement. Read more: GFG Alliance launches $15bn Liberty Steel Group In a widely reported [...]
How dinner at the Golden Globes proved the influencer model January 9, 2020 For many of us, Ricky Gervais was the real winner at the Golden Globes. As visceral and contemptuously cutting as ever, he lost no time in bludgeoning the previous pretentiousness that has blighted Hollywood’s beauty parades. “If you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a platform to make a political speech,” he [...]
Twitter trials function to block all replies January 9, 2020 Twitter is trialling a new feature that allows users to block replies on their posts in a bid to cut down on online abuse. The social media giant announced the trial at Las Vegas’ Consumer Electronics Show, and will be brought in alongside an option to choose who can reply to posts. Read more: General [...]
Tesco sees Christmas sales rise for fifth year in a row January 9, 2020 Tesco delivered its fifth consecutive Christmas period of growth last year, outperforming its competitors in a tough retail environment. The grocer’s UK and Ireland division, which includes its wholesale business Booker, increased like-for-like sales by 0.4 per cent in the 19 weeks to 4 January due to a strong operational performance and competitive deals. Read [...]
All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers posts ‘good, not great’ Christmas sales January 9, 2020 Pub chain Mitchells & Butlers enjoyed a solid rise in like-for-like sales over Christmas, but suffered from strong comparative sales the year before. The core three-week festive period saw the firm’s pub chains – which include All Bar One, Ember Inns and Harvester – enjoy comparable sales growth of 5.6 per cent. Read more: Wetherspoon [...]
SIG shares plunge on yet another profit warning January 9, 2020 Building materials supplier SIG warned of a sharp fall in 2019 profit this morning, amid weak European construction markets and delays in its turnaround efforts taking effect. The company’s shares fell 20 per cent in early trading after it also said sales rates deteriorated towards the end of the year. Read more: Building materials group [...]
Nissan executives and Japanese officials hit back at Carlos Ghosn January 9, 2020 Former chief executive of Nissan and successor to Carlos Ghosn, Hiroto Saikawa, has slammed his former mentor’s daring escape from the authorities in Tokyo to his childhood home of Lebanon. Ghosn fled the country late last month while awaiting trial for four charges of financial misconduct. Read more: Carlos Ghosn lambasts Japanese government and Nissan [...]