MULBERRY AIMS TO BE BIG IN JAPAN WITH A RAFT OF NEW OPENINGS October 4, 2011 MULBERRY has clinched a distribution deal that will see its products sold in Japanese department stores and flagship shops opened in Tokyo and Osaka. The company said yesterday it had agreed a deal with a joint venture owned by Club 21 and Mammina, a unit of Japanese department store chain Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings. The 10-year [...]
Overseas sales boost Walker Greenback October 4, 2011 LUXURY wallpaper and soft furnishings group Walker Greenbank yesterday reported a 13 per cent rise in profits thanks to expanding international sales. The group held two big launches early in the year for Morris & Co and the Harlequin Momentum collection, which fuelled a rise in sales. Group revenues rose 11 per cent to £37.4m, [...]
Gucci and Tiffany in China bank spat October 4, 2011 European luxury-goods conglomerate Gucci Group and American jewellery house Tiffany have each alleged in federal court that major Chinese state-owned banks are maintaining bank accounts for counterfeiters in China who are shipping fake designer goods into the US. The banks – Bank of China, China Merchants Bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China [...]
Volvo revamps truck business October 4, 2011 Swedish truck maker Volvo said yesterday it will shake up its truck business. Under the revamp, sales and marketing of all of the truck companies will be put into three regional units. Responsibility for the group’s joint ventures will be organised in a new unit, Truck Joint Ventures, under the leadership of Par Ostberg, who [...]
Inflation hits a three-year high in OECD October 4, 2011 PRICES rose at their highest level since October 2008 in the twelve months to August, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) revealed yesterday. Consumer price index (CPI) inflation accelerated to 3.2 per cent over the year across the 34 member countries, up from 3.1 per cent in the year to July. Energy and [...]
Pause tax to boost jobs, say recruiters October 4, 2011 THE SLOWEST growth in job vacancies for two years was recorded in September by the KPMG/Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s (REC) monthly report on jobs, out today. For permanent staff placements the report’s index has fallen to 51.2, down from 60.6 in April. REC boss Kevin Green is calling on the chancellor to pause national insurance [...]
Construction flat-lines on stagnant housing market October 4, 2011 FLAT activity in the construction sector in September was revealed yesterday by Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI). A sharp fall from 52.6 in August to 50.1 in September was recorded, bringing the sector closer to the 50 threshold that separates growth from contraction. “UK construction companies continued to struggle in the face of growing concerns [...]
Manufacturing slow as factory orders decline October 4, 2011 FACTORY orders in the US fell 0.2 per cent in August, figures released yesterday from the Commerce Department showed. The decline marks a sharp turnaround from the 4.2 per cent increase in new orders measured in July. Inventories increased for the 20th consecutive month, led by transportation equipment which increased by 1.3 per cent. Analysts [...]
TAXMAN TAKES QUARTER OF PENSION INCOME October 4, 2011 TWENTY-SEVEN per cent of pensioners’ income is taken in direct and indirect taxation, according to a report out today from MetLife. Taxes such as VAT are the worst offenders, taking £2,966 from the average pensioner’s £18,834. Income tax comes next, the study found, taking £1,300, with councils accounting for a further £850.
Producer prices down across EU October 4, 2011 In a sharp turnaround from the situation in July, producer prices fell across the Eurozone and wider EU in August, Eurostat announced yesterday. The index fell by 0.1 per cent across the 17 countries in the currency union in August, while they dropped 0.2 per cent across the 27-nation EU as a whole. Over the [...]
