Davies returns to the high street June 14, 2009 George Davies, the designer responsible for Next, George at Asda and Per Una at Marks & Spencer, is poised to make his comeback to the high street this autumn with his new label, GIVe. Davies is set to plough his own money into a venture that will sell a 150-piece ranges in up to six [...]
Alliance Boots and the ex-banker: Pessina’s most daring appointment June 8, 2009 IT’S been quite a busy couple of days,” says the 67 year-old Stefano Pessina, in a somewhat understated sort of way. The executive chairman of Alliance Boots was supposed to have spent the weekend by the sea in his native Italy before flying off to a conference in the US. Instead, he’s in his financial [...]
Hornby lands top Boots job June 8, 2009 FORMER HBOS chief executive Andy Hornby, who was criticised for allowing the bank to ring up huge corporate losses, was yesterday named as chief executive of high street giant Alliance Boots. The failed banker is likely to receive a pay package of around £1m. Although the company refused to give a precise breakdown of Hornby’s [...]
Disastrous for Labour, good for the Tories June 7, 2009 IT was a disastrous night for Labour, and an even worse one for Gordon Brown, now a lame duck prime minister who cannot even appoint the cabinet of his choice. But Labour’s crushing defeat – it got just 21.3 per cent of the vote in London, was beaten in Wales by the Tories for the [...]
Alliance Boots woos HBOS’s Andy Hornby June 7, 2009 FORMER HBOS chief executive Andy Hornby is poised to become the new chief executive at high street giant Alliance Boot, giving him the chance to restore his reputation. Andy Hornby resigned from HBOS in October 2008, waiving a £1.6m bonus after the bank’s near collapse. Italian billionaire Stefano Pessina has been running Alliance Boots as [...]
IS ANDY HORNBY THE RIGHT MAN FOR ALLIANCE BOOTS? June 7, 2009 GAVIN GEORGE ERNST&YOUNGAlliance Boots will be looking at the top heavy-weight contenders for the role. But the problem is there aren’t that many experienced retail chief executives who are available on the market. Despite HBOS, Hornby’s reputation remains undiminished in retail circles. JOHN STEVENSON KBC PEEL HUNTHornby’s Asda background definitely lends itself to the Boots [...]
Asda’s staff cash in on shares June 1, 2009 Supermarket retailer Asda today has announced that over 16,500 colleagues will share in a £43m payout thanks to the company’s Sharesave plan. This years plan will be the largest ever payout since Wal-Mart acquired Asda in 1999. The current stock price means all investors will receive a 150 per cent return on their monthly investments. [...]
Retail sales fall in May as pain worsens May 28, 2009 SHOPPERS are belt-tightening again, according to data released yesterday which shows that high street sales fell by more than expected in May. New figures from employers’ organisation the CBI showed that some 17 per cent more retailers reported a fall, rather than a rise, in sales during May. The data suggests that April’s rise, which [...]
Value lines lift Northern Food’s sales May 27, 2009 A SURGE in demand for value lines helped Northern Foods beat market expectations for full year sales yesterday. But the group’s pre-tax profit still fell 5.4 per cent to £47.5m from £50.1m the year before due to restructuring costs. And it warned on future trading due to the rising price of ingredients and pressure from [...]
Morrisons outstrips its rivals May 27, 2009 Morrisons is growing at the fastest rate of the big four supermarkets with Tesco continuing to lag behind the pack, according to new industry data. Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer clocked up growth of 7.9 per cent in the 12 weeks to 17 May, lifting its market share to 11.6 per cent. Sainsbury’s, with 7.8 per cent [...]