City Moves for 22 August 2014 | Who’s switching jobs August 21, 2014 RBC Global Asset Management The asset management arm of Royal Bank of Canada has appointed Clive Brown as chief executive and managing director of RBC Global Asset Management International. He joins from JP Morgan Asset Management, where he was global chief operating officer and chairman of Asia. Brown has also previously worked as chief executive [...]
Latin America investing: Politics counts – Investment Comment August 20, 2014 This year has proven that, when it comes to emerging markets, politics matters. The recent wave of elections in India, Colombia, and Indonesia, alongside the 2012 vote in Mexico and the upcoming Brazilian general elections, have been (and will be) crucial for countries that need serious structural reform to lay the foundations for sustainable long-term [...]
Argos owner hires head of trends Alexei Cowan to lead brands from mini fridges to middle class August 20, 2014 Argos and Homebase have never been considered bastions of good style. With its belly button jewels and novelty mini fridges, we would almost go as far to say Argos is where trends go to die. But owner of both brands Home Retail Group (HRG) has a plan afoot. Concessions of middle-class taste-machine Habitat started the [...]
Argos offers eBay pickup with click and collect partnership July 3, 2014 Buyers of eBay items will be able to collect more of their goods at Argos stores, after the two companies announced yesterday that they would be significantly expanding their click and collect partnership as the service is rolled out across the UK. The deal will see the click and collect service extended to around 650 [...]
World Cup gives boost to Argos and Homebase sales June 12, 2014 Home Retail Group enjoyed a strong start to the year as the warmer weather and the World Cup prompted Britons to stock up on barbecues and new wide-screen televisions. Argos’ like-for-like sales rose 4.9 per cent in the 13 weeks to 31 May, the chain’s eighth consecutive quarter of growth, driven by sales of garden [...]
Bottom Line: Nothing mythical about Argos biting back June 12, 2014 WAY BACK in my student days I had a girlfriend from a rather affluent background who had never visited an Argos store. She laughed when I suggested we buy some or other dull household item from there, assuming that this was a joke. Yet half an hour later we were mooching around the Holloway Road [...]
Home Retail Group to open new smaller Argos stores in London April 30, 2014 HOME Retail Group announced yesterday it will trial two new formats of its Argos stores as well as extend its new digital concept stores and ramp up its home delivery offer as the retailer continued to turn itself around. The group, which reported a 27 per cent rise in full-year profit yesterday, said it will [...]
What you need to know before the open April 30, 2014 A slightly lower open is expected in Europe this morning, as earnings results continue to come in and investors look to economic data from both sides of the Atlantic. Growth data from the US could well show a weaker number after the freezing winter, and after that we’ve for the Federal Reserve’s rate decision. A [...]
Home Retail’s sales jump as Duddy departs March 13, 2014 HOME Retail Group’s outgoing chief executive Terry Duddy will leave the company on a high after reporting strong full-year sales yesterday across both of its businesses and raising full-year forecasts. Sales at Argos leapt 5.2 per cent to £526m in the eight weeks to 1 March, with same store sales growing by the same amount [...]
Home Retail shares jump in wake of higher profit expectations March 13, 2014 Home Retail has seen its shares rise by 6.5 per cent after the company reported higher sales and increased profit expectations. Home Retail reported an increase in like-for-like sales at Argos of 5.2 per cent to £526m for the eight-week trading period for the financial year ended 1 March 2014. The group reported an increase [...]