Sainsbury’s has named new chief exec of Home Retail Group June 10, 2016 Sainsbury's has announced that its finance chief John Rogers will take on the role of chief executive at Home Retail Group when the supermarket's takeover of the company is completed. Rogers will replace John Walden in the role – Walden has announced his intention to step down from the helm of the Argos owner when the [...]
Argos’ financial services profits wiped out by compensation payments June 9, 2016 In its quarter trading update today the owner of Argos, Home Retail Group, said it is shelling out £30m to compensate customers of its financial services arm. The company has launched a review after finding out that is charged customers on the "buy now, pay later" scheme late payment fees by mistake, affecting up to 10 per [...]
Online push helps Argos deliver best sales growth in two years June 9, 2016 Argos has posted its strongest sales growth in nearly two years and is on track to be taken over by Sainsbury's later this year, results published this morning confirmed. The figures Sales at Argos climbed by 0.1 per cent in the first three months of the financial year on a like-for-like basis, coming in at a [...]
Sainsbury’s share price rises despite first quarter sales fall June 8, 2016 UK supermarkets' problems are still lingering in the new financial year, after Sainsbury's reported a fall in like-for-like sales over the last three months and warned of challenging times ahead. With total sales looking steady and investors fearing worse, however, shares jumped 2.6 per cent to 253p in early trading. The figures Total retail sales excluding fuel were up 0.3 per cent in [...]
It’s time to celebrate consultants’ contributions May 10, 2016 The public and thousands of organisations benefit hugely each year from the skills and innovation provided by the UK’s world-class consulting firms. For example, partnerships between management consultancies, the private sector and government are improving the management of long-term health conditions, delivering reductions in crime and greater public safety, introducing new digital services, and helping [...]
Sainsbury’s beats forecasts on results, but profits and sales still slide as Mike Coupe warns of tough road ahead May 4, 2016 Sainsbury's share price fell this morning as full year profits came in ahead of analyst forecasts – but still show a hefty year-on-year decline as the price wars continue to take their toll. The figures The supermarket reported group sales of £25.8bn for the 12 months to 12 March – down 1.1 per cent on the same period last [...]
Sainsbury’s to double the number of click and collect grocery sites as full-year results loom May 3, 2016 Sainsbury's is doubling the number of click & collect sites in its store car parks over the next 12 months to take the total number to 200. The supermarket chain said its "drive thru" service was proving popular with customers as shopping habits change and plans to launch a further 100 sites by May 2017. “We know that time is precious [...]
Home Retail Group profits slump 28 per cent as firm admits “disappointing” performance from Argos April 27, 2016 Home Retail Group – the company everyone wanted a slice of earlier this year – has revealed a full year profits drop of 28 per cent as sales ticked down. HRG and Sainsburys' share prices were both down in early trading. The figures The Homebase and Argos parent company said benchmark pre-tax profit fell 28 per cent [...]
Week ahead: Brexit expected to knock GDP and earnings April 25, 2016 Concerns over Britain leaving the European Union are expected to have weighed on gross domestic product (GDP) over the first quarter of 2016. Economists are expecting to see growth cooled to 0.4 per cent in the last three months, when the latest numbers are released on Wednesday. In the fourth quarter of last year the [...]
Up to 870 jobs at risk in Sainsbury’s restructure April 6, 2016 Sainsbury's is planning to shed as many as 870 jobs as part of a major restructure of its stores. The restructure, which comes hot on the heels of its £1.4bn takeover of Argos got the backing from parent Home Retail Group, involves replacing store trainers with new learning and development managers. Around 870 jobs could be lost [...]