Hermes sales rise with luxury goods rebound February 3, 2011 LUXURY goods company Hermes said yesterday its fourth-quarter sales rose 25 per cent in 2010 and raised its profit guidance. The Paris-based company said pre-tax profit will rise by around 40 per cent for the full-year. Sales for the famous silk scarf and leather goods fashion house hit €736m (£621m) in the three months to [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE YOU BUYING MORE LUXURY GOODS AS THE ECONOMY BEGINS TO RECOVER? February 3, 2011 SHERIDAN MANGAL| SFM CAPITAL MARKETS “I’ve not bought anything major lately but if the economic recovery keeps getting better I might start to spend more. It looks like it’s improving delicately at the moment and it does impact on my spending.” JOE MCMANUS | KENNEDYS “I don’t think I would spend money on that kind [...]
Compass heading in right direction at start of year February 3, 2011 COMPASS Group, the world’s biggest caterer, said it had made a good start to 2011 with the strong performance seen in the second half of 2010 continuing into the new year across all the regions in which it operates. The group, which counts London’s O2 arena, Amazon.com and the Super Bowl among its clients, reported [...]
Waitrose sales top £5bn February 3, 2011 Overall growth of almost 10 per cent over the past 12 months meant that Waitrose total sales hit £5bn for the first time in the year to 1 February 2011. The figure is made up of sales from Waitrose branches, Direct Services and food halls, as well as business partners, and was boosted by an [...]
Tourist safety net extended February 3, 2011 Most holidaymakers are set to be protected from losses when a travel company goes bust, under plans announced by the government yesterday. Package holidays are already covered by the Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (Atol) scheme, ensuring refunds for customers whose tour operator folds. The government said that, by the end of the year, flights and [...]
OFT investigates advertisers February 3, 2011 Britain’s Office of Fair Trading said it had started an investigation into certain JC Decaux and Clear Channel contracts as part of a probe into barriers to entry in the outdoor advertising market. The OFT said it had written to the two companies to explain there were reasonable grounds for suspecting the agreements restrict competition.
IAG unveils maiden numbers February 3, 2011 International Airlines Group (IAG), formed by the merger of British Airways and Iberia, carried 4.5 per cent more passengers in January than the two carriers combined flew a year earlier. IAG said it carried 3.75m passengers last month, up on the 3.59m carried by BA and Iberia in January 2010. However, its passenger load factor [...]
GO OUTDOORS SALES CLIMB February 3, 2011 RETAILER GO Outdoors posted sales of £114.9m for the 52 weeks ending 30 January – up 57 per cent on the previous year. The retailer stocks brands including Berghaus and North Face as well as its own lines. It has 27 superstores across the UK and is planning to open a further ten this year [...]
Glaxo looks to repurchase up to £2bn shares February 3, 2011 GLAXOSMITHKLINE (GSK) posted a £476m loss for the final three months of 2010, after a $3.5bn (£2.2bn) legal charge over marketing practices. The results compared with a profit of £2.25bn in the final quarter of 2009, but chief executive Andrew Witty remained upbeat, announcing GSK’s intention to buy back up to £2bn in shares. The [...]
Chief reformer Witty stays down to earth February 3, 2011 WHEN chief executive Andrew Witty took the helm at the world’s third largest pharmaceutical company in May 2008, GlaxoSmithKline was looking for change. After eight years with Jean-Pierre Garnier at the top – during which the Frenchman improved the company’s fortunes while attracting controversy for refusing to provide discount HIV drugs to Africa – Witty [...]
