Black Friday 2016 history: What is it, when did it come to the UK and where will it hit next? November 1, 2016 Black Friday fever is sweeping the nation, with many retailers saying they will get some of their best sales yet. But where did the bumper discount day come from and where will it hit next? Here's a short history. Where did Black Friday come from? Black Friday – like Halloween, McDonalds and theme parks – [...]
Utilitywise share price buzzes on double-digit turnover and 97 per cent cut to net debt October 18, 2016 Shares in utility cost management consultancy Utilitywise rose this morning after the company posted double-digit revenue growth and announced the appointment of a new chief financial officer. The figures Revenue at the group rose 22 per cent to £84.4m in the year to 31 July, up from £69.1m in 2015. Profit before tax grew by seven per [...]
Take that, Aldi: Tesco gains market share for the first time in years but Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Asda decline further October 18, 2016 It looks like Tesco is beginning to win the battle of the supermarkets, after new figures showed it won supermarket share in the last three months – for the first time in five years. Figures by Kantar Worldpanel showed Tesco increased sales by 1.3 per cent in the 12 weeks to 9 October, which pushed its [...]
City Moves for 17 October 2016 | Who’s switching jobs October 17, 2016 Yorkshire Building Society Yorkshire Building Society has appointed Mike Regnier as chief executive. Mike, who joined the Society in 2014, is currently chief customer officer and executive director. Mike, who has 20 years’ corporate experience in consulting and retail financial services, was formerly products and marketing director at Lloyds Banking Group, where he was responsible for the [...]
Law firm claims “dramatic victory” in its fight to gain equal pay for women working at Asda October 14, 2016 Law firm Leigh Day has claimed a "dramatic victory" in its fight to gain equal pay for women working at Asda. Employment Judge Ryan has ruled that women in Asda stores will be able to compare themselves to higher-paid men working in the supermarket's distribution centres. Read more: M&S makes £100m payout to employees to cushion [...]
Yorkshire Building Society has announced its new chief executive October 14, 2016 Yorkshire Building Society has appointed Mike Regnier, its chief customer officer, as its new chief executive. Regnier joined Yorkshire Building Society in 2014 and will move into the top job at the lender on 1 January next year. Read more: High street building society to close branches Chirs Pilling, the current chief executive, said in June [...]
Marmitegate is the “thin end of the wedge” for the retail industry October 14, 2016 Tesco and Unilever's public price war is the "thin edge of the wedge" for the retail sector after the Brexit vote, analysts have said, as the prospect of higher import costs and job losses weigh on the industry. Unilever has used the fall of sterling after the Brexit vote as a basis for increasing its prices for [...]
Walmart reckons profit will be pretty flat next year – but that’s because it’s investing in digital October 6, 2016 It's not only in the UK that supermarkets are struggling: Walmart, which owns Asda, has released updated profit guidance suggesting profits will be largely flat next year. Ahead of an investor day today the supermarket, the world's third-largest employer, said it expects earnings per share to lie between $4.29 and $4.49 in 2017 – then [...]
Analysts applaud Dave Lewis’ efforts to turn around Tesco October 5, 2016 Tesco posted a 0.6 per cent increase in UK like-for-like sales this morning and analysts have been reacting well to chief executive Dave Lewis' efforts to revive the embattled retailer. And the market seems to agree with them, with the retailer's share price jumping nine per cent in early morning trading. Lewis has been managing [...]
Malbec in Bordeaux and in Burgundy bottles to boot: The new label extraordinaire going against the grain October 4, 2016 France has always been a nation of revolutionaries, whether they are political ones like Robespierre and Danton, scientists such as Marie Curie, or philosophers like Descartes or Jean Paul Sartre. So I suppose I should not be surprised to find a genuine wine revolutionary living next door to my new home in Gascony, who is [...]