Felix Capital leads £3m funding round in mental health app Unwind March 11, 2019 London venture capital firm Felix Capital has led a £3m funding round in workplace mental health app Unmind. The app, which is used by employees at John Lewis, William Hill and Yorkshire Building Society, launched in London in 2016 and provides clinically-backed tools, training and assessments to improve mental health in the workplace. Read more: [...]
The real John Lewis bonus today was Waitrose March 7, 2019 Caution was in no short supply at this morning's breakfast with the bosses of John Lewis Partnership. Over coffee and croissants at its Victoria HQ, the retail giant’s directors echoed worries that the industry as a whole has been voicing for months: namely, the major structural changes on the high street and fears over a [...]
John Lewis slashes bonus as profits plummet 45 per cent in ‘challenging’ market March 7, 2019 John Lewis has cut its staff bonus after posting a 45 per cent fall in profits as the retailer battles against high street woes. Profit before tax dropped to £160m last year as the department store chain slashed prices in a bid to combat declining footfall and excess retail space. Read more: John Lewis considers cutting staff [...]
Direct Line operating profits slip as it warns on impact of no-deal Brexit March 5, 2019 Direct Line posted a fall in full-year earnings this morning, with the blue-chip insurer striking a cautious tone over threats of a "disruptive Brexit". In outgoing boss Paul Geddes’ final annual results statement for Britain's largest motor insurer, operating profits dipped during the 12 months and the total dividend payout was slashed. "The increased focus on [...]
Swann and Geddes in contention for John Lewis post March 3, 2019 Two City heavyweights are reportedly being weighed up for the top job at John Lewis Partnership, following the news of Sir Charlie Mayfield’s planned departure as chairman next year. Direct Line’s outgoing chief executive Paul Geddes and departing SSP boss Kate Swann are both in the running to succeed Mayfield, along with the department store [...]
Meet the startups tapped by John Lewis & Partners in its experiential retail accelerator February 18, 2019 John Lewis & Partners has lined up six startups for its Jlab innovation programme, after more than 160 businesses applied to its experiential technology accelerator. A panel of judges heard pitches from 11 startups earlier this month, offering up new ways to navigate stores from a mobile phone or interact with digital screens without needing [...]
John Lewis to close historic Knight & Lee department store in Southsea January 23, 2019 John Lewis today said it is shutting its historic Knight & Lee department store in Southsea in the chain’s first closure for more than a decade. The department store said it will close Knight & Lee, which at 35,000 square feet (sq ft) is its smallest outlet, in July this year. Read more: John Lewis enjoys [...]
Christmas sales grow at St Pancras International despite retail gloom January 15, 2019 Commuters choosing to do their Christmas shopping at St Pancras International station grew 6.3 per cent in 2018 compared to the year before, according to figures released by the station's operator today. The rise was driven by growing passenger numbers and strong growth in non-food sales, the company said. St Pancras has welcomed a number of [...]
Fears over business rates mount as Britain’s major retailers prepare to form action group January 13, 2019 Some of Britain’s biggest retailers are coming together in an urgent bid to seek business rates relief from the government, City A.M. has learned. Around 50 major high street names are joining a mass lobbying effort to curb forthcoming rises in their property tax, as profits plunge in the face of falling sales and online [...]
Retail round up: What’s happening on the high street? January 11, 2019 | City Talk Not as bad as it could have been. That’s the general feeling about high street performance over Christmas after major retailers and the supermarkets published their festive figures this week. The British Retail Consortium says that 2018 was the worst Christmas for retails for 10 years but, as ever, the figures show there are winners [...]