John Lewis hopes its new campaign has the X Factor November 7, 2013 EVER since its award winning advert two years ago featuring a boy impatiently waiting for Christmas to give a present to his parents – John Lewis has been under pressure to pull out all the stops for its Christmas campaign. And this year it has stopped short at nothing less than booking an entire commercial [...]
Any other business – 08/11 November 7, 2013 FARLOWS, the fishing and shooting equipment emporium on Pall Mall, has been rescued by a Russian with a particular passion for salmon. The shop and online retailer has been snapped up for several million pounds, including the repayment of its debts, by a group led by Vladimir Rybalchenko, who already has a deal to use [...]
City Moves for 08 November 2013 | Who’s switching jobs November 7, 2013 Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors has announced the appointment of James Sproule as chief economist and head of policy. Sproule was most recently at Accenture, where for the past seven years he led the firm’s UK and global capital markets research, and its thought leadership programme. Prior to that, Sproule was director of research [...]
Slashed costs aid Dairy Crest November 7, 2013 DAIRY CREST yesterday revealed that it had swung back into profit in the six months to the end of September as it further slashed costs and boosted sales of its key butter and cheese brands. The firm, which makes Cathedral City, said profits from continuing operations were £19.7m, up from a loss of £13.1m in [...]
ENRC’s revenues edge lower as it readies itself for delisting November 7, 2013 ENRC, the troubled Kazakh miner which is soon to go private after six turbulent years on the London Stock Exchange, yesterday said that revenue in the first nine months of the year was “marginally below” the same period last year, due to lower commodity prices. The firm – which officially delists on 25 November after [...]
Reed Elsevier expects modest growth this year as sales pick up November 7, 2013 PUBLISHING and events business Reed Elsevier said yesterday revenues have grown three per cent in the first nine months of the year, leaving it on track to deliver “modest” growth in the full year. The FTSE 100 firm said its exhibitions arm has been trading strongly, with modest growth in Europe bolstered by an uptick in [...]
Randgold soars as production offsets gold dip November 7, 2013 GOLD miner Randgold Resources topped the FTSE 100 yesterday, after a third-quarter update showed its plan to increase production and cut costs was paying off. Production rose 19 per cent over the third quarter and production costs per ounce fell by 17 per cent. Gold sales increased by 38 per cent from the previous quarter, [...]
Lack of thirst for soft drinks in Europe hits Coca-Cola bottler November 7, 2013 COCA-COLA HBC, the largest bottler of Coca-Cola in Europe, yesterday said quarterly sales fell five per cent to €1.9bn (£1.58bn) in line with a tough market for soft drinks on the continent. The firm, which recently moved its primary stock market listing to London, said volumes were down by three per cent. Net profit before [...]
Freight demand hurts Wincanton November 7, 2013 WAREHOUSE and freight provider Wincanton yesterday reported a two per cent dip in revenue as demand from the UK retail sector continued to remain sluggish. The company, which caters to clients such as Unilever, Tesco and Marks & Spencer, said sales fell to £542.3m in the six months to the end of September, from £551.2m [...]
Cable & Wireless sees mobile growth November 7, 2013 CABLE & Wireless Communications said yesterday its mobile services returned to growth in the first half, driven by the popularity of mobile data in its biggest markets of Panama and the Caribbean. In his last set of results before he hands over to Phil Bentley, formerly of British Gas, chief executive Tony Rice said the [...]
