Shoe Zone’s maiden results show profits up but a step back in sales June 24, 2014 DISCOUNT footwear chain Shoe Zone yesterday posted a jump in half-year profits in its first set of results since floating on London’s junior market last month. The family-run chain, which has 554 shops, said pre-tax profits rose to £2.7m in the six months to 5 April, a large increase from £200,000 in the first half [...]
Asos share price: Retailer shrugs off warehouse fire as website reopens June 23, 2014 Asos shares rose two per cent yesterday as the online fashion retailer reassured investors and said it had resumed taking orders following a fire at its main warehouse this weekend. The fire at its Barnsley warehouse in South Yorkshire on Friday night forced the company to suspend its website over the weekend and sparked fears [...]
Analyst Views: Are you concerned that the fire will dampen Asos’s performance? June 23, 2014 JOHN STEVENSON | PEEL HUNT Damage has been relatively limited and the business in now fully operational again, while Asos is fully insured for the damage and business interruption…Moving on from the fire, the same concerns are still there, there are still issues in terms of the relative pricing. It’s still very much a year [...]
Fired American Apparel chief Dov Charney seeks shake-up June 23, 2014 American Apparel’s founder Dov Charney said yesterday that he wants to hold talks with the company and its shareholders about shaking up the board after he was ousted as chairman last week. In a US regulatory filing, the 45-year-old who owns a 27 per cent stake said “certain persons” including other shareholders had approached him [...]
Warwick Business School to launch campus in the Shard June 23, 2014 Warwick Business School has struck a deal to open a London campus in the Shard skyscraper as it looks to attract students wanting to study in the capital. The school will convert the 17th floor of the 87-storey building into teaching space with two lecture theatres, eight smaller seminar rooms and an IT lab. [...]
5 retailers who’ve suffered warehouse woes June 23, 2014 Retailers have had their fair share of misadventures with their warehouses in recent years. The fire at Asos’ distribution centre in Yorkshire is the second time the retailer has suffered damage to one of its warehouses. An explosion at the Buncefield oil depot near to its former site in Hemel Hempstead in 2005 [...]
HS3 high-speed rail link planned to connect north’s leading cities June 23, 2014 George Osborne will today launch a fervent defence of the proposed £43bn High Speed 2 rail link from London to the north, and suggest that even more cash is spent on new rail links between cities such as Manchester and Leeds. Speaking in Manchester, the chancellor will argue that the UK economy is excessively dominated [...]
New tech lifts competition to Europe’s banks June 23, 2014 EUROPE’S biggest banks are under increasing threat from new competition thanks to technology and ultra-low interest rates, a report reveals this morning. The report by business advisory firm Deloitte warns that banks burdened with higher regulatory capital requirements will have to cut costs and invest heavily in their IT systems if they are to remain [...]
Asos suspends website after warehouse fire June 23, 2014 ASOS will this morning attempt to reassure investors after a fire at its main warehouse in Yorkshire forced the online fashion giant to suspend trading on its website. More than 50 firefighters and 10 fire engines were sent late on Friday night to put out the blaze at Asos’ 530,000 square feet distribution centre in [...]
Morrisons ramps up assault on rival supermarkets after slashing more prices June 23, 2014 Morrisons has launched a fresh round of price cuts today as the troubled supermarket group steps up its efforts to win back shoppers defecting to cheaper rivals. Britain’s fourth-largest grocer will cut the price of a further 135 grocery and household products today by an average 14 per cent. “These are permanent price cuts, not [...]