Retail’s Christmas results don’t match up to the gloom in the market Retail If you were to judge the health of the retail market solely from the last two weeks of festive trading results, you would think the market is in rude health. But that would be a significant departure from the actual sentiment in the market, which has taken on a sense of almost unrelenting gloom in [...]
JD Sports shares plunge after retailer warns on profit Retail JD Sports shares plunged more than 12 per cent this morning after the company issued a profit warning. The FTSE 100 giant forecast full year profit before tax at between £915m and £935m, down from its previous estimate of £955m to £1.035bn. This morning, the retail giant told markets sales fell 1.5 per cent across November [...]
Tesco shares drop despite bumper Christmas trading Retail Tesco shares dropped two per cent in early deals this morning despite the retailer reporting abumper festive trading period. Food sales rose by 4.7 per cent in the six weeks to January 4, with a “particularly strong contribution” from fresh food, the grocer said. That’s more than double the market average of 2.1 per cent. [...]
Marks and Spencer shares plunge despite bumper results January 9, 2025 Marks and Spencer shares plunged by eight per cent in early deals this morning as investors digested the company’s Christmas trading update. The food and clothing retailer told markets this morning that food sales increased 8.7 in the 13 weeks to December 28, and sales of its new Christmas products grew 14 per cent. This [...]
B&M: Festive season of bargain shopping helps ‘undistracted’ value retailer January 9, 2025 Value retailer B&M Bargains reported strong revenue growth throughout the golden quarter as consumers sought out low-discount options to meet their festive shopping needs. However, the caution imposed by a challenging environment ahead for the retail sector due to tax hikes and employment costs caused B&M shares to fall by 8.5 per cent today. In [...]
Mamas & Papas: Nursery brand reveals latest expansion amid record sales January 8, 2025 The festive season provided yet another boost in sales for high street nursery brand Mamas & Papas following a bumper year of trade thanks to the success of its deals with M&S and Next. The Huddersfield-headquartered firm today reported record sales during this year’s Golden Quarter, especially within its UK and overseas markets. It said [...]
Seasalt: Cornish clothing brand bucks retail gloom over festive season January 7, 2025 Cornish retailer Seasalt has defied the despondent British high street and reported a significant uptick in sales over the Christmas season despite significant cost pressures. Total sales across online, stores, and marketplace partners like M&S increased by 10 per cent compared to last year in the last five weeks of the year, with every channel [...]
Grocery spending hit record high at Christmas as Brits favour food over gifts January 7, 2025 Grocery spending hit a record high this Christmas as Brits dined out on premium goods and fizz, in a marked contrast to the anaemic growth in retail spending. Overall take-home sales at the grocers rose by 2.1 per cent over the four weeks to 29 December compared with last year. Brits splashed out on premium [...]
Next: FTSE 100 retailer hikes profit guidance but warns on costs January 7, 2025 Retail industry bellwether Next has upgraded its profit outlook for the year after sales and growth exceeded expectations during the Golden Quarter. The FTSE 100 company hiked its expected profit by five per cent as sales jumped six per cent in the nine weeks to 28 December, nearly double its previous guidance of 3.5 per cent. [...]
Not-so-golden quarter: Retail footfall slumps in another disappointing year January 3, 2025 A dull December marked the end of yet another “disappointing” year for UK retail footfall as fresh data has revealed 2024 was the second year in a row to see a decline. According to recent Sensormatic data by the British Retail Consortium, UK footfall fell by 2.5 per cent year-on-year during the three months to December, [...]