Next nudges up profit guidance after blistering summer despite ‘volatile’ market September 25, 2018 British fashion retailer Next nudged up its full-year outlook this morning, after the firm’s strong summer performance unexpectedly carried on into August and September. Next posted half-year pre-tax profits of £311.1m compared with £309m in the same period last year, raising its full year guidance by £10m to £727m. The better-than-expected forecasts have largely been [...]
Online retail to be Next’s summertime saviour as hot weather boosts sales September 23, 2018 Fast fashion stalwart Next is preparing to reveal its half year results to investors on Tuesday, with many eager to see whether its online sales uptick continued throughout the UK’s extended hot summer. The retailer had previously warned earlier this year that it was facing its toughest trading conditions in 25 years as customers [...]
Boohoo snaps up Primark exec John Lyttle as new chief executive September 17, 2018 Online retailer Boohoo has announced it has snapped up Primark's chief operating officer John Lyttle to be its new chief executive. Lyttle will take on the role from 15 March 2019. Over his eight years at Primark, Lyttle oversaw a turnover growth of 158 per cent to £7bn, and has boosted operating profit by 116 per [...]
Boohoo snaps up Primark exec John Lyttle as new chief executive September 17, 2018 Online retailer Boohoo has announced it has snapped up Primark's chief operating officer John Lyttle to be its new chief executive. Lyttle will take on the role from 15 March 2019. Over his eight years at Primark, Lyttle oversaw a turnover growth of 158 per cent to £7bn, and has boosted operating profit by 116 per [...]
Sweet relief: Primark boosts revenue to alleviate owner ABF’s sugar woes September 10, 2018 Despite a gloomy outlook for retailers, Primark expects to increase revenue by 1.5 per cent to boost profits this financial year, offsetting a fall in sugar prices in Europe for owner Associated British Foods (ABF). Strong first and second half sales are expected to help the budget clothes brand to post the increase, with UK [...]
Half of BHS’s former stores are still empty two years on from collapse August 29, 2018 More than half of BHS's former sites are still vacant two years after the retail chain's collapse, new data showed today. Some 84 of the 164 stores remain empty, according to the Local Data Company. This comes two years after the final branches of the business closed their doors, resulting in the loss of 11,000 jobs. [...]
Last Week in the City: Trade wars begin July 6, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (2 to 6 July 2018). The World Cup is “distracting” for participants in global markets, according to Citigroup. "We find that football is indeed distracting, subtly impacting market depth, traded volumes and execution cost,” the US [...]
Why Debenhams has had three profit warnings in a year and could Mike Ashley help? June 20, 2018 City grandee Crispin Odey, whose hedge fund holds a short position in Debenhams, said last year that the retailer was in a race with House of Fraser “as to who will go down first”. While House of Fraser’s fate will be sealed at its CVA on Friday, Debenhams’ future looks dark, with the embattled department [...]
Employee advocates could become the next generation of online influencers as brands search for new marketing methods April 30, 2018 RECENT scandals around the use of private personal data and incoming regulations such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation are pushing companies to find new methods of promoting their brands. One approach gaining ground is advocacy. Getting consumers to become an online advocate for a product and spread positive sentiment through the internet can [...]
Investors ignore disruptive weather at their peril March 5, 2018 The "Beast from the East" closed schools, kept trains in their sidings and hit Britain's productivity. But can inclement weather move the stock market by affecting investors' minds? Findings of a research project published in the Journal of Accounting Research in 2015 concluded that financial analysts respond more slowly to the implications of earnings announcements [...]