Hornby: Mike Ashley-advised toy train giant steams ahead after festive boost January 8, 2025 Hornby, the international toy company advised by billionaire Frasers Group founder Mike Ashley, reported a boost in sales thanks to a bumper festive season and first-time customer attraction. The international models and collectables group told markets today it witnessed a seven per cent surge in group sales for the third quarter ended 31 December. Group sales for [...]
All change at Topps Tiles as sales return to growth and its chief retires January 8, 2025 Topps Tiles reported a return to sales growth during the golden quarter driven by trade demand, while its chief executive Rob Parker announced his retirement from the firm after five years at the helm. Sales in the golden quarter were up 4.6 per cent year on year, while sales in the shorter festive period – [...]
Retail gloom as festive season fails to save 2024 trading January 7, 2025 High street stores showed anaemic growth in the 2024 festive season, despite hopes that Christmas trading would inject some cheer into the sector. Sales grew just 0.3 per cent overall in the ‘golden quarter’, which includes Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Online sales continued to beat in-store, [...]
Emergency declared in Crimea as oil spill reaches Sevastopol January 4, 2025 Officials in Moscow-occupied Crimea have announced a regional emergency after oil was detected on the shores of Sevastopol, the peninsula’s largest city. Fuel oil spilled out of two storm-stricken tankers nearly three weeks ago in the Kerch Strait, close to eastern Crimea – some 155 miles from Sevastopol, which lies on the south-west of the [...]
UK braced for heavy snow and freezing rain amid amber weather warnings January 4, 2025 Large parts of the UK will be hit by heavy snow and freezing rain which could lead to disruption this weekend amid two amber weather warnings. Stranded vehicles on the roads, delayed or cancelled rail and air travel and power cuts are likely as the country grapples with a week-long spell of wintry conditions, the [...]
Not-so-golden quarter: Retail footfall slumps in another disappointing year January 3, 2025 A dull December marked the end of yet another “disappointing” year for UK retail footfall as fresh data has revealed 2024 was the second year in a row to see a decline. According to recent Sensormatic data by the British Retail Consortium, UK footfall fell by 2.5 per cent year-on-year during the three months to December, [...]
Why ‘Sunshine Saturday’ has travel operators crossing their fingers December 30, 2024 Black Friday’s travel-focused cousin, Sunshine Saturday, is set to fall on 4 January in 2025. Occuring on the first Saturday of every new year, Sunshine Saturday is the day most people book their holiday getaways for the year ahead. With Heathrow Airport set to cap off its busiest-ever year with two record months and Virgin Atlantic [...]
Retail in 2025: The year of personalisation, AI, wellness – and no more barcodes December 24, 2024 2024 has been a tough year for retail. From companies sounding the alarm on business rates in the first half of the year to low consumer confidence and footfall proving stickier than expected, the festive period has now been overshadowed by stark warnings about further cost rises next year. Restructuring partner at RSM UK, Gordon [...]
UK retail sales rise slightly in November amid concern over golden quarter December 20, 2024 The latest ONS data showed retail sales jumped 0.2 per cent last month, following a 0.7 per cent fall in October.
Currys could reveal Black Friday boost or Budget hit in interim results December 7, 2024 Electronics retailer Currys will reveal how much impact the recent Budget is likely to have on its sales next week. Investors will hope the chain has carried on a recent financial recovery into the autumn when it announces its interim results on 12 December. The company is expected to post a profit of £137m for [...]