Wine lovers cheer Majestic January 6, 2010 MAJESTIC Wine said its decision to half its minimum purchase to six bottles helped boost its pre-Christmas sales. The wine chain, which has 150 stores in the UK, said like-for-like sales were up 11.7 per cent in the nine weeks from 3 November. Majestic began selling six-bottle batches to customers in September as part of [...]
Haye: I’ve got a weak chin January 6, 2010 BOXING: World heavyweight champion David Haye admits he will always have a suspect chin – but insists it will not stop him in his tracks. The Londoner brilliantly dispatched Russian giant Nikolay Valuev to take the WBA title in November, but critics question whether he can achieve his aim of unifying the belts against the [...]
Shoplifting surges during downturn January 6, 2010 RETAIL crime rose 10 per cent to £1.1bn last year, according to a report published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) today. The biggest share of this figure is shoplifting, which accounts for 94 per cent of all retail crime incidents and £462m in lost sales, said the BRC’s Retail Crime Survey 2009. The BRC [...]
DO THE M&S FIGURES SPELL RECOVERY? January 6, 2010 RICHARD HUNTER | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN “The news from the High Street remains positive with today’s contribution from M&S underlining the ongoing resilience of the consumer. However, the abolition of VAT relief along with almost inevitable pressure on consumer budgets later in the year will continue to weigh.” JONATHAN JACKSON | KILLIK & CO “M&S has [...]
England face battle to save third Test in South Africa January 6, 2010 KEVIN PIETERSEN suffered yet another Test agony to leave England facing a gruelling uphill battle to save the third Test with South Africa at Newlands. The out-of-form batsman lasted just 22 balls before playing across his stumps to fall lbw to paceman Dale Steyn – adding to his second-ball duck in the first innings. It [...]
CARE HOME MOGUL GETS BOOST FROM REALITY TV January 6, 2010 A REALITY television appearance is usually more of a kiss of death than a gateway of opportunity, but the case of Balhousie Care Group chairman Tony Banks has proved an exception to the rule. Banks became a household name last year when he travelled to Liverpool on Channel 4’s Secret Millionaire programme and subsequently had [...]
Cadbury talks to Hershey to fend off Kraft January 6, 2010 CADBURY was last night locked in talks with Hershey in a bid to stave off Kraft’s hostile takeover attempt. The British confectionery giant is not only seeking a higher price than Kraft’s £10.5bn hostile offer, but also a merger partner that would let it have some say in a combined company, two sources familiar with [...]
Football, racing and rugby hit by big freeze January 6, 2010 HEAVY snowfall continued to wreak havoc on the sporting calendar yesterday, with last night’s scheduled Premier League clash between Arsenal and Bolton the most high-profile event to be called off. Horse racing was also severely hit, while several of the weekend’s rugby union fixtures have already been put back. Arsenal had been hopeful earlier in [...]
New look for Cannon Street station set to stun the City January 6, 2010 NETWORK?Rail (NR) has revealed the new look of its revamped Cannon Street station in the heart of the City. The rail infrastructure operator and property developer Hines have released new artists’ impressions of their Cannon Place office development, which is due to open in 2011. The two groups are building an eight-storey, 400,000 sq ft [...]
Reed in talks to sell magazines January 6, 2010 PUBLISHING and events group Reed Elsevier is in advanced talks to sell some of its loss-making trade magazines and will close other titles during the first half of 2010, according to an internal memo. John Poulin, chief executive of Reed Business Information in the United States, told staff he expected to announce the sale of [...]