Fashion chain Hobbs winds up sister label NW3 after £1.9m loss September 7, 2014 Hobbs’ trendy NW3 fashion line is to disappear by the end of the year as part of chairman Phil Wrigley’s turnaround plan for the loss-making group. The former New Look boss, who joined Hobbs in January, is leading a restructuring of the retailer after it suffered a £1.9m loss last year and saw sales slump [...]
Red is the new black at retailer Net-A-Porter September 7, 2014 Online luxury group Net-A-Porter enjoyed a 23 per cent rise in sales last year thanks to growth across its three websites, despite the business remaining in the red. The group, which is owned by Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont, said revenues jumped to £533m in the year to 29 March 2014 as the launch of new [...]
SuperGroup gets ready for a hot autumn with “broadest and best range of jackets” September 4, 2014 SuperGroup boss Julian Dunkerton declared yesterday that sales were back in shape after the colder weather and the approach of autumn drove customers back into its stores. The owner of the Superdry fashion brand posted a 3.7 per cent decline in like-for-like sales in the first quarter of the year to 27 July after facing [...]
Analyst Views: What did you think of Supergroup’s recent trading performance? September 4, 2014 KATE CALVERT | INVESTEC SuperGroup’s slightly better-than-expected first quarter performance should reassure that the UK is solid and the long-term growth story intact. Encouragingly like-for-likes are positive in the second quarter to date…we believe the company is on the right trajectory to achieve our forecasts. JOHN STEVENSON | PEEL HUNT Like-for-like sales were in line [...]
Guinness brews up competition for craft beers September 4, 2014 Diageo is fending off rising competition from craft beer makers by launching its own under the Guinness brand, the drinks giant revealed yesterday. The FTSE 100 company said it had launched two new beers, a Dublin porter and a West Indies porter, which will be available in certain pubs and shops by mid-September. The West [...]
Battersea Power Station kicks off world tour to find retailers September 4, 2014 The owners of Battersea Power Station are to kick-off a worldwide tour to find hundreds of retailers, restaurants and office tenants for the next phase of its development. From November, the Malaysian-owned Battersea Power Station Development Company intends to hold exhibitions in 13 cities across 11 countries, from New York to Milan, Paris, Tokyo, Beijing [...]
LVMH agrees to peace deal with Hermes family September 3, 2014 FRANCE’S richest man Bernard Arnault yesterday agreed to relinquish most of his $7.5bn (£4.5bn) holding in luxury goods maker Hermes International, bringing to an end a bitter four-year battle. Arnault’s LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton agreed to distribute most of its 23.2 per cent stake in Hermes among its shareholders and not to acquire any [...]
McCarthy & Stone set to splurge £2bn on land as revenues jump September 3, 2014 Rrtirement home-builder McCarthy & Stone is to step up its investment in land to £2bn over the next four years as it seeks to tap into a growing demand from over 65s needing to downsize. The company, which has raised its target from £1.5bn last year, is planning to double in size and develop more [...]
Galliford Try wins two affordable housing deals in London and Middlesbrough September 3, 2014 Galliford Try said yesterday that it had won two affordable housing contracts in east London and in Middlesbrough, in the north east, worth £106m. The FTSE 250 housing and construction group has been hired by Notting Hill Housing to build Great Eastern Quays, an £81m regeneration scheme in London’s Royal Docks that will have up [...]
Pure Gym gets back on its bike and plots overseas expansion September 3, 2014 Budget fitness chain Pure Gym is shaking off its £300m failed merger with Gym Group by pushing ahead with ambitious expansion plans and hunting for smaller acquisitions. Founder Peter Roberts said yesterday that it expected to grow from 70 clubs to 90 by the end of the year, as well as securing its first two [...]
