Disaster-struck TSB set to lose three of its executives August 24, 2018 Three top TSB executives are set to retire from the bank, which is still recovering from an IT meltdown that has cost it more than £176m to date. Treasurer Ian Firth and chief marketing officer Nigel Gilbert are both retiring at the end of next month, TSB confirmed today. Current marketing director Pete Markey will [...]
Ditch the Chequers Agreement and Hammond can scrap his ‘Amazon tax’ August 22, 2018 Thanks to the Prime Minister’s commitment to raise NHS spending by an additional £20bn, the chancellor is now in a quandary. Philip Hammond signed up to the theory that raising taxes increases revenues, which goes against the volumes of evidence that it actually depresses economic activity, encourages switching of spending to other lower-taxed areas, and [...]
Price is right for Asda as it scores fifth quarter of growth August 16, 2018 Asda continued its streak of growth yesterday with a fifth consecutive rise in same-store sales ahead of its proposed merger with Sainsbury’s. The supermarket posted a 2.4 per cent improvement in net sales in its second quarter results, fuelled by its online business and a 25 per cent jump in sales of its George clothing [...]
Supermarket sweep: Which FTSE 100 grocer is the best buy? August 14, 2018 British supermarkets haven’t had an easy ride lately. There’s been plenty for them to worry about – the biggest being the rising cost of imports as sterling has continued to slide (the pound dropped to €1.11 and $1.28 last week). A weak pound has tightened profit margins. And with heavy competition from discount retailers, passing [...]
Fontelunga Hotel & Villas review: A beautifully renovated Tuscan guest house, nestled in the quiet hillsides surrounding Cortona August 13, 2018 Tuscany is wonderful. There are maybe only three or four places in the world that are more beautiful than Tuscany, but none of them are so damningly near to our own bleak, grey island. In Tuscany, tall cypress trees stand in long lines like great leafy quills, jabbed into the rolling green countryside by some [...]
Pets at Home share price leaps as lower prices pay off | City A.M. August 3, 2018 Price cuts and instore vets helped Pets at Home to increase sales in the first few months of the new financial year this morning, sending shares higher. The retailer’s share price was at a new low of 113p yesterday, but this morning’s update boosted it by 10 per cent. The figures Overall revenue was up [...]
Retail tech startup behind Tesco and Argos valued at almost £70m, after scoring additional funding | City A.M. July 31, 2018 Virtualstock, a London tech startup which provides cloud-based inventory solutions for retailers like Tesco, Argos and John Lewis, today announced a further £3.4m in funding which has valued the business at almost £70m. Rene Schuster, the former chief executive of telecoms giant Telefonica in Germany, is also joining the firm as its chairman. The funds, [...]
Coinbase announces a new deal to let you pay for your Uber with crypto | City A.M. July 25, 2018 Coinbase has today revealed a new partnership that will allow you to pay for physical goods and services from your favourite retailers with cryptocurrencies. The deal, which will be powered by WeGift, enables Coinbase users to buy an electronic gift card, load it with cryptocurrency from their Coinbase wallet and then use them at over [...]
Debate: After Tesco revealed plans to launch a discount chain, can it compete with Aldi and Lidl? | City A.M. July 24, 2018 After Tesco revealed plans to launch a discount chain, can it compete with Aldi and Lidl? Yes – Tim Smith is head of retail at Konica Minolta Marketing Services. One of Tesco’s strengths is having the confidence to observe and learn from the work of other retailers. After investing in the customer journey and looking [...]
Tesco gets hit with £4bn equal pay bill in first wave of legal challenge | City A.M. July 11, 2018 Supermarket giant Tesco is facing the music over claims it has been underpaying its female staff, as the first 1,000 workers successfully launched a legal challenge against the retailer today. The law firm Leigh Day helped 100 women file a claim against Tesco in February, and has since followed up with a further 900 claims [...]