Home Retail sales enjoy a sunshine lift June 11, 2009 HOME Retail Group yesterday brought some cheer to the market after its Homebase chain reported its first positive sales figures in two years. The DIY chain yesterday posted a 3.8 per cent increase in like-for-like sales for the 13 weeks to 30 May, beating market expectations. Homebase said total sales, which include those from new [...]
IS IT SUNNY SIDE UP FOR HOME RETAIL? June 11, 2009 JOHN STEVENSON KBC PEEL HUNT“Home Retail Group’s first quarter trading update has seen a notable boost to seasonal lines as Homebase at last delivers like-for-like sales growth. Argos sales were also ahead of expectations, although margins remains under pressure. We note a strong performance in toys, no doubt benefiting from the demise of Woolworths, a [...]
Alliance Boots woos HBOS’s Andy Hornby June 7, 2009 FORMER HBOS chief executive Andy Hornby is poised to become the new chief executive at high street giant Alliance Boot, giving him the chance to restore his reputation. Andy Hornby resigned from HBOS in October 2008, waiving a £1.6m bonus after the bank’s near collapse. Italian billionaire Stefano Pessina has been running Alliance Boots as [...]
THE LONDON REPORT June 7, 2009 CORPORATE data due out this week could help to steer the market, particularly with regards to retailer and consumer stocks, while investors in Independent News & Media will be hoping for an update on the future of the ailing publisher at its annual meeting on Wednesday. Today’s 17-week trading statement from JD Sports Fashion is [...]
HOME RETAIL CHIEF MISSES OUT ON BONUS June 1, 2009 TERRY Duddy, the chief executive of Argos-owner Home Retail Group, saw his pay packet fall by over £900,000 last year after he failed to hit performance targets. According to the firm’s annual report, Duddy’s total remuneration in the year to end February was £858,000, down from £1.77m a year earlier. No other executives at the [...]
SIR VICTOR BLANK May 17, 2009 SIR VICTOR BLANKCHAIR, LLOYDS BANKING GROUP EDUCATED at Stockport Grammar School and Oxford, Blank began his career with Clifford-Turner (now Clifford Chance), where he became an expert in takeover law and was made partner in 1969, at the age of 26. Blank joined Charterhouse in 1981 as head of corporate finance, rising to serve as [...]
Green: ‘I am worth £1bn pay’ October 21, 2005 Philip Green defended his stunning £1.2bn dividend payment from Arcadia Group telling City A.M: “Venture capitalists would take much more.” In a day dominated by retail news, Green earned the biggest headlines. Arcadia — which owns Top Shop, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Etam and Miss Selfridge — reported a 6.8 per cent rise in sales to [...]
WH Smith posts £73m profit October 14, 2005 Stationer WH Smith was the second high street institution to surprise the market this week with its turnaround progress. Chief executive Kate Swann followed Marks & Spencer boss Stuart Rose’s example as pre-tax profits came in at £73m for the year to 31 August. Although like-for-like sales fell 2 per cent during the past six [...]
GUS gloomy over retail sales October 13, 2005 Retail conglomerate GUS, which owns Argos and Homebase, yesterday predicted the retail sectors it serves would remain in negative like-for-like sales territory until at least September 2006. “We are planning on the assumption that like-for-like sales will remain in decline for the market as a whole for the next 12 months,” said finance director David [...]