Ashley takes option for stake in Debenhams January 16, 2014 SPORTS Direct has sold its stake in Debenhams just four days after acquiring it in favour of an option that could eventually see it owning an even greater share of the struggling department store group. The sportswear giant controlled by billionaire Mike Ashley said yesterday that it has sold its entire 4.6 per cent interest [...]
Home Retail names Argos boss Walden as next chief executive January 16, 2014 HOME RETAIL GROUP yesterday announced that it has appointed the head of its Argos business to take over from outgoing chief executive Terry Duddy. John Walden, a former Best Buy executive who joined Argos last April, was a clear favourite to take over the post from Duddy, who will step down in March. The news [...]
Ocado delivers Christmas cheer January 16, 2014 OCADO said its online grocery service for Morrisons launched “on time and on budget” last week as it reported bumper Christmas sales. Sales rose 21.3 per cent to £111.1m for the six weeks to 5 January as it benefited from extra capacity at its new fulfillment centre in Warwickshire. Ocado boss Tim Steiner said the [...]
Halfords sales pedal forward January 16, 2014 HALFORDS said sales kept up a strong pace over Christmas thanks to “sparkling” performance from its cycling business. The FTSE 250 group, which is eight months into a £100m three-year turnaround plan, said that sales at stores open more than a year increased by 5.2 per cent in the 15 weeks to 10 January. Bikes [...]
Primark props up AB Foods as sugar slumps January 16, 2014 ASSOCIATED British Foods said yesterday sales at its Primark discount fashion chain were strong over Christmas after being dampened by unseasonably warm autumn weather, helping offset a weaker-than-expected performance at its sugar unit. AB Foods said group revenue was flat for the 16 weeks to 4 January, compared with nine per cent growth for the [...]
Owner of Currys and PC World enjoys record Boxing Day sales January 16, 2014 DIXONS Retail emerged as one of the winners in the battle for consumers’ attention this Christmas as booming tablet sales and demand for kitchenware and large televisions helped drive sales. The owner of Currys and PC World said like-for-like sales in the UK & Ireland jumped five per cent in the period from 1 November [...]
N Brown cheers revenue rise January 16, 2014 Home-shopping group N Brown, which targets older and larger shoppers, said yesterday it would step up investment in international expansion after enjoying strong Christmas trading boosted by online sales. The group posted like-for-like revenue during the six-week festive period up 7.2 per cent, with online sales accounting for over half of overall revenue, helped by [...]
Thorntons to meet expectations January 16, 2014 Chocolate maker Thorntons said yesterday its outlook for the financial year was in line with market expectations, after it reported a 6.3 per cent rise in sales to £93.1m for the 14 weeks to 11 January. The firm said a good Christmas performance had helped boost sales of its own-brand chocolates through supermarkets, with sales [...]
Games Workshop takes a tumble January 16, 2014 Shares in Games Workshop Group lost almost a quarter of their value yesterday after the games retailer reported a drop in both revenues and profits for the first half of the year. The firm, which makes miniature soldier sets, reported revenues of £60.5m in the six months to 1 December 2013, down 10.4 per cent [...]
Experian picks chief exec as its new chairman January 16, 2014 EXPERIAN’S chief executive is stepping into the chairman’s role from July, the firm announced yesterday, eight months after hiring headhunters to search for a new chair. The credit checking and data services group said Don Robert will leave the chief exec post to replace Sir John Peace, who said last May that he planned to [...]
