Brand Index: There’s still time for M&S’s autumn range to blossom October 15, 2013 LAST week Marks & Spencer’s general merchandise arm was dealt a blow when a number of respected analysts warned that it is continuing to lose market share in women’s fashion, leading to a fall in its share price. Autumn sales figures won’t be released until next month, but if the naysayers turn out to be [...]
HSBC clients raided in Belgium October 15, 2013 BELGIAN police raided the homes in Brussels and Antwerp of some 20 clients of HSBC Private Bank yesterday as part of an investigation into tax evasion, Brussels prosecutors said. The prosecutors’ office said in a statement that the investigation had begun after French tax officials handed a CD to their Belgian counterparts containing details of [...]
Diageo aims to speed up sales growth in Africa October 15, 2013 DRINKS giant Diageo wants to further speed up its sales in Africa by expanding into new countries, rebranding its Guinness brand and tapping into the growing spirits market. The FTSE 100 company currently makes £1.4bn in annual sales from its Africa division, accounting for 12 per cent of the group total. Over the past decade, [...]
Shell boss Voser says shale plan taking off slower than expected October 15, 2013 ROYAL Dutch Shell chief executive Peter Voser yesterday said it will take longer than expected for the oil major to reap benefits from its shale gas projects, due to poor short-term results. Weak US shale liquids production contributed to a $2.2bn (£1.4bn) charge, Shell revealed in August, and was a key factor in its decision [...]
BBA Aviation aims to appoint Sir Nigel Rudd as its new chairman October 15, 2013 SIR NIGEL Rudd, the outgoing chairman of Invensys, is expected to join the board of corporate jet firm BBA Aviation. Sir Nigel, who is also the chairman of Heathrow Airport Holdings, could be announced in the chair’s role at FTSE 250-listed BBA as soon as today, after the appointment was first reported by Sky News. [...]
Fashion group LVMH slows down October 15, 2013 LVMH, the world’s biggest luxury group, yesterday posted an unexpected slowdown in sales growth at its fashion and leather business, which includes the Louis Vuitton, Celine and Dior brands. The Paris-based group said growth at its biggest division was four per cent on a like-for-like basis in the nine months to 30 September, against five [...]
UK advertising spend dropping in line with EU October 15, 2013 TELEVISION ratings firm Nielsen said yesterday that advertisers have shunned the UK during the first half of 2013 as overall European advertising spending declined six per cent. Spending across UK media fell by 2.3 per cent, according to Nielsen’s data. But there were signs of a European recovery with ad spending in Norway, Switzerland, and [...]
WANdisco’s bookings doubled last quarter October 15, 2013 BRITISH software firm WANdisco yesterday said bookings growth was 120 per cent in its third quarter ending 30 September. The $4.4m (£2.7m) of bookings have been driven by a number of new multi-year subscriptions to WANdisco’s services and the renewal of all of its existing customer subscriptions. “We are pleased to report, once again, very [...]
Betfair suitor lowers stake October 15, 2013 RICHARD Koch, the businessman who gave up on an attempt to take over Betfair in May, yesterday sold around 1m shares in the firm to take his stake down to just 2.77 per cent. Koch, who held six per cent as recently as August, had teamed up with CVC and Antony Ball of investment group [...]
Amazon bulks permanent UK staff October 15, 2013 Amazon will take on 800 new permanent staff in the run up to the holiday period, alongside the 15,000 hires it will take on a temporary basis. The new staff will take on a new shift pattern as the online retail giant moves its fulfilment centre staff from five-day to four-day working weeks.
