Card Factory shares dive as retailer warns on profit January 9, 2020 Shares in Card Factory plunged more than 19 per cent this morning after the retailer warned that profits will be lower than expected following a challenging Christmas trading period. The high street chain said full-year adjusted underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) will be in the range of £81m to £83m, reflecting [...]
Sainsbury’s Christmas sales slip despite online boost January 8, 2020 Sainsbury’s suffered the biggest drop in Christmas sales of general merchandise since it bought Argos in 2016, as consumer demand for toys and games weakened. General merchandise sales, which includes Argos, dropped 3.9 per cent in the 15 weeks to 4 January, driving a 0.7 per cent decline in total retail sales excluding fuel. However, [...]
Christmas supermarket sales growth slows to four-year low January 7, 2020 Supermarket sales growth over the Christmas period slowed to the lowest rate in four years as shoppers watched their budgets over the festive period. Retailers reported sales of £29.3bn, up £50m on last year, however growth slumped to the lowest rate since 2015. Read more: Morrisons sales fall in ‘unusually challenging Christmas period’ Year-on-year supermarket [...]
Morrisons sales fall in ‘unusually challenging’ Christmas period January 7, 2020 Supermarket giant Morrisons has announced a drop in sales for the Christmas period amid “unusually challenging” trading conditions and “sustained” customer uncertainty. Group like-for-like sales excluding fuel fell 1.7 per cent for the 22 weeks to 5 January. Including fuel, the drop was 2.8 per cent. Total sales excluding fuel were down 1.3 per cent, [...]
Aldi Christmas revenue tops £1bn but growth slows January 6, 2020 German discount retailer Aldi said today that its Christmas sales increased 7.9 per cent year-on-year to break £1bn for the first time. The supermarket chain said its sales in the four weeks ended Christmas eve were driven by strong growth in beers, wines and spirits, its premium Specially Selected range and fresh meat. Total beers, [...]
The top tech predictions for 2020 January 6, 2020 Welcome to 2020. After a week or more of festive cheer and turkey-induced fatigue, it’s time to get back to work. But don’t despair. The year — and decade — ahead is set to be an exciting one, especially in the world of technology. To find out what changes may lie ahead, City A.M. asked [...]
Lidl sales help it hit record stake in UK supermarket sector December 10, 2019 The biggest supermarkets shed yet more market share to discounters Aldi and Lidl in the three months to the start of December, new data out today reveals. The big four grocers saw their collective market share drop by over one per cent to 67.7 per cent as people delayed their Christmas shopping and Black Friday [...]
The Xmas endgame: Why retailers are wasting their money on Christmas TV adverts December 2, 2019 An estimated £6.8bn has been spent on creating and buying airtime for this year’s crop of Christmas commercials — up nearly five per cent on last year’s spend. Certainly, the ads boast high production values, but was this money well spent, or would these brands have been better off holding onto the cash and hoping [...]
Tesco chief resigns after turning the brand around November 27, 2019 Tesco’s chief executive Dave Lewis will leave the Big 4 retailer next summer, an announcement that sent shock waves across the industry. Tesco is currently the highest-ranking retailer in the FTSE 100 thanks to Lewis’ turnaround plan implemented shortly after his arrival in 2014. At the time Tesco was facing a crisis following the million-pound [...]
John Lewis, Ikea, or Aldi — which 2019 Christmas advert is the winner? November 18, 2019 From clumsy dragons to evil sprouts, here’s our review of the festive adverts from some of the UK’s biggest retailers. M&S Food: This Is Not Just Food… This Is M&S Christmas Food The premise of this entire advert hinges on presenters Paddy McGuinness and Emma Willis, who swan around a Christmas market for 1.30 minutes as [...]